Huawei Matebook X Pro: Hands-On A Powerful, Super-Thin Bezel Laptop With Pop-Up Webcam

Huawei has lifted the veil on a new thin and attractive ultraportable laptop called the Matebook X Pro today, and it has impressive hardware specs packed inside its svelte chassis. The machined aluminum-clad MateBook X Pro notebook measures just 304mm x 217mm x 14.6mm and weighs in at 1.33kg (a little under 3 pounds). Huawei will offer the device in Apple-esq colors of Mystic Silver and Space Gray.

This laptop looks solid on paper as a powerful little notebook with an option of having an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U or an i5-8250U processor under the hood. Its display is a 13.9-inch LTPS panel (3000x2000 resolution) with thin bezels thanks to a screen to body ratio of 91%, which is actually slightly better than even Dell's latest XPS 13 with its InfinityEdge display. The screen aspect ratio of the Matebook X Pro is 3:2 and it has 178-degree viewing angles and can reproduce 100% of the sRGB color gamut. Display contrast ratio is 1500:1 with a maximum brightness of 450nits and it  supports 10-point multitouch with an anti-fingerprint coating.

Depending on what model customers plunk down the cash for, you can also get a system with both integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 and GeForce MX150 with 2GB of GDDR5. System RAM options are 8GB or 16GB setups with storage choices of either a 256GB or a 512GB NVMe PCIe SSD. The notebook does sport a one-touch power button, 3.5mm headphone port, and dual USB-C ports with both ports supporting data transfer, charging and connectivity with the MateDock 2. 

One of the USB-C ports supports Thunderbolt 3 to boot. WiFi is integrated supporting IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4GHz or 5GHz 2x2 MIMO. Bluetooth 4.1 is integrated, and the notebook has a 1MP front webcam that pops-up from a key cap in its function key row, along with quad digital mics and quad speakers with a Dolby Atmos Sound System built-in. The camera is a unique design that is active only when popped up, which helps with privacy obviously, but also is a different solution to the lack real estate in its thin display bezels that can't support a web cam. We'll have to see just how the shot angle looks mounted here once we get a system in for review.

Power for the machine is backed-up by a lithium polymer 57.4Wh battery that Huawei claims is good for 12 hours of video playback per charge, and that battery is charged by a MateBook charger packing 65W of juice. Huawei will also offer buyers a slew of accessories that are made to go with the laptop including the MateDock 2, Bluetooth mouse, leather case, backpack, USB 3.0A/M to RJ45 cable and anti-glare film for the screen.

We did get some hands-on time to play with the machine in New York recently and you can check out that right here for a better feel of the machine in the flesh... 

The MateBook Pro isn’t all that Huawei has rolled out today as there are also several tablet variations being announced. The tablets include the MediaPad M5 with an 8.4-inch screen, Media Pad M5 with a 10.8-inch screen, and a MediaPad M5 Pro also with a 10.8-inch screen. All share the same 2560x1600 IPS display with the 8.4-inch offering 359 ppi and the pair of 10.8-inch tablets offer 280 ppi. All those tablets run Android 8.0 for the OS overlaid with EMUI 8.0 and a Kirin 960 octa-core SoC with 4GB of RAM. The difference between the 10.8-inch normal and Pro model appears to be the M-Pen that comes with the Pro. The Chinese market will be able to get the tablets with 128GB of storage, other markets can get the 8.4-inch and 10.8-inch tablet with 32 or 64GB and the 10.8-inch Pro tablet with 64GB of storage only. MicroSD slots are included and all support LTE.

Huawei notes, "Today’s consumers want more: they expect their technology to be both powerful and adaptable – and Huawei is committed to creating devices that not only meet these expectations, but create experiences that make everyday computing extraordinary," said Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group. "The HUAWEI MateBook X Pro and HUAWEI MediaPad M5 Series are at the forefront of a new generation of mobile computing that empowers every aspect of your life."