Huawei’s laptops have been gaining traction for some time now, and the new MateBook D 16 comes in to reaffirm its position in the market. Powered by 12th-generation Intel Core processors, we took this machine for a spin, and here is what we found out.
The Huawei MateBook D 16 is a 16-inch laptop with a large screen ideal for video streaming, powerful performance, and very comfortable to carry around.
So what’s new in this laptop ?
16-inch FullView Display
12th Gen Intel® Core™ H-Series Processor
HUAWEI Metaline Antenna
1080P AI Camera
Numeric keypad
Super Device
Design & Build
The MateBook D 16 is slim, measures 356.7mm x 248.7mm x 18.4mm and weighs 1.7kg. The metal design is well-built and looks and feels very premium with a vast port selection, which includes two USB-C, two USB-A ports, an HDMI and a 3.5mm audio jack. The Huawei MateBook 16s comes in Space Gray and Mystic Silver color variations. We got the latter for our review.
The keyboard is something I really liked while using this machine, although it can take sometime to get used to a full sized keyboard on a laptop, but once you do, the experience is actually great, and surprisingly a quiet one as well. The 1.5mm High Key Travel takes the typing experience to new heights. The soft-landing design provides comfort and individual physical shortcut keys allow you to directly access frequently used functions for higher productivity.
The touchpad is off-centered and aligns with the qwerty keyboard, which is a bit odd to use at first, but you get used to it eventually. The size of the touchpad is good and conformable to use. The power button sits at the top right side of the keyboard, and doubles as a fingerprint sensor which is very responsive and fast to unlock.
There are two speakers on the sides under the metal chassis. Audio quality is ok, loud, and without distortion when turned all the way up, but lacks the bass.
Display
On of the main selling points of this laptop has to be its screen. The 16-inch display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, with a 90% screen-to-body ratio providing a beautifully immersive experience. The 1920×1200 resolution screen produces sharp and crisp images, we were impressed on that front. The display also provides dual eye comfort as it has achieved the TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light (Hardware Solution) certification.
While watching content on the laptop, we feel that the screen had enough brightness and vibrant as well, the experience was overall a pleasant one. Huawei claims that the MateBook D 16 can reach up to 300 nits of brightness, which is enough for indoor and outdoor use. There’s no HDR support on this model.
On the top bezel, sits the 1080p which features an 88° wide-angle camera, AI background, FollowCam, Sight Correction, AI noise reduction algorithms and Personal Voice Enhancement, allowing for smart video conferencing anytime and anywhere. FollowCam is designed to follow you and keeps you centred while you move around during video calls.
Performance, Battery & more
The MateBook D 16 matches the new 12th Gen Intel® Core™ Processor, with Iris® Xe Graphics; a TDP of up to 40W. This means it can easily handle heavy multitasking such as data analysis, code compilation, opening multiple webpages, tables or slides. Our machine is packed with the latest i7 CPU on top of 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage.
The processor surely did not disappoint, and was able to handle day to day work with a breeze. From using office related apps, to keeping tabs open on the browser to streaming video and jumping on calls in between using Zoom and Teams, we do did not notice any hiccups or issues so far.
The Huawei MateBook D 16 packs some super wireless connectivity options, including Wi-Fi 6 to Bluetooth 5.1.
Battery wise, it’s a mixed feeling! The Huawei MateBook D 16 has a 60Wh battery, which can last around a 7 to 8 hours if usage is restricted to the basics, like browsing, using email, etc, but can quickly start draining if more demanding apps are used at the same time.
The USB-C power brick is a 65W adaptor that’s is small and packable, and can fully charge the laptop in around two and three hours.
Verdict
Without a doubt, the Huawei MateBook D 16 is an excellent laptop for a lot of different needs and is capable to deliver good performance. Moreover, the build, design and thinness, makes it a recommended machine for sure, if you are looking for a large-screen laptop for mainstream tasks and great value for money, then this is the one for you.
