To be the best ultrabook, portability is great—and the Huawei Matebook 3 has that in spades—but having extra graphical power and a good CPU are even better. It just so happens the Matebook 3 has that as well. However, rather than pay outrageous prices, Huawei sweetens the deal with a price that’s hard to pass on.
Why We Like It – Huawei Matebook 13
The Huawei MateBook X Pro was already a great laptop, and Huawei made every effort to improve upon their Matebook line with the Matebook 13.
- Great performance for price
- Sleek, compact design
- Easy on your budget
- Missing Thunderbolt 3 and SD card
- Only 8GB of RAM
Performance
The Huawei Matebook 13’s performance varies based on the model you purchase, with one being largely better than the other. If you fit it with an Intel Core i5 and Intel UHD Graphics 620. That’s good for everyday use and the occasional game. However, the model fitted with the Intel Core i7 processor (Whiskey Lake quad core processor) fares much better with gaming thanks to its NVIDIA GeForce MX150. You may also want to know about the cheapest 4th gen Haswell core i7 laptops. The Huawei Matebook 13’s battery life is similar to a MacBook Air, at 10 and a half hours. It’s a better battery than the Lenovo Yoga 720.
See also: Check out our HP Envy Touchsmart Ultrabook 4 review for a powerful and durable touchscreen Ultrabook.
Design
Huawei’s MateBook 13 is a rather sleek ultrabook; it’s build quality is certainly on the premium side, sharing similarities with the ASUS Zenbook 14, even a MacBook Pro.However, it uses a rather unusual aspect ratio of 3:2, though the screen is a clear and crisp 2K. Along the screen is an ultra-thin bezel, with an 88 percent screen-to-body ratio, which is also touchscreen. Two USB C ports are found on the left and right-hand side. And Huawei was kind enough to bundle a USB Type C dock. For anyone looking to use a laptop in a remote area with no power, meet Sol the $300 solar-powered laptop.
Value
Huawei’s MateBook 13 is definitely a sneaky unit. Not only does it perform well alongside others in the i7 bracket—notably the Dell XPS 13—it does so at a cheaper price. Once you take that into consideration, and if you pick the i7 model over the i5, you’re getting an excellent deal. We would’ve really liked more than 8GB of RAM, but it’s still plenty for everyday use, with an emphasis on good gaming—a point that was clearly made in our Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Review.
Huawei Matebook 13 Wrap Up
The Huawei MateBook 13, with the right specifications, can easily mold to your needs. It’s compact and portable, looks good, and performs well should you make use of their i7 model with its better GPU. The lack of an SD card and Thunderbolt 3 is a bummer, but for the price you pay, you’re still getting a really great deal.
