It also works as a touch screen which was suitably reactive and made scrolling through websites a breeze. The maximum brightness is also 400 nits which is decent (again, on par with the MacBook Air), though you might still struggle to view the display if you're using the device outside in daylight. The screen has a slightly matte coating that helps to reduce glare in bright environments though it's certainly glossier than you'd assume. Dubbed as the 'golden ratio' by brands like MSI, this display size is starting to become a common site thanks to that additional height being of great use for productivity. The 14.2-inch has a resolution of 2520 x 1680p (sometimes dubbed 2.5K), which works out as a 16:10 ratio display.
If you need additional ports or an SD card reader, you can purchase a separate dongle to support your needs. Ultimately, the number of ports won't prove to be an issue if you use mostly wireless accessories so unless you're a creative who needs to use additional kit this should be enough for most folk to use at home, work or college. This may be worth considering if you have a lot of large files you need to add and remove from the laptop. However, if you pay extra for the Evo model, you do get Thunderbolt ports, offering faster data transfer speeds. You're also getting two USB-C ports, one of which doubles as the charging port for the laptop, a standard audio jack, and an HDMI port for you to connect to an external monitor for additional products, but It strangely lacks a Thunderbolt certification (given that Intel own the rights to Thunderbolt). You get one USB-A port (that standard style of USB), though it is at least USB 3.2, so if you have a lot of kit you like to plug into your device this could be a problem.
It runs Windows 10 out of the box, but it's compatible for the free upgrade to Windows 11 so you're not restricted to using the older operating system.Īs with many modern laptops, ports are an issue thanks to brands trying to slim down chassis designs. It's robustly built and seemingly difficult to scratch, so even if it gets grubby you won't have to worry about actual damage, but we noticed that it was easy to leave fingerprints on the surface so make sure you pack some cleaning wipes if you like to keep things looking like new.
This makes it slightly heavier than both the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Air, but only slightly, and we had zero issues carrying it around for hours during a commute. It has a CNC machined aluminium chassis that's surprisingly lightweight, coming in at 3.1lbs /1.4kg.
The MatePad doesn't quiet meet the lofty standards set by the current generation of iPad tablets, but hey, free is free.ĭesign-wise, the Huawei MateBook 14s has a simple, yet modern look that's similar to other Huawei laptops like the MateBook 16 and MateBook Pro X. That tablet can be used as an additional screen, as well as a sketching device that syncs with the Huawei MateBook 14s. If you order direct from the Huawei website then not only can you get a free external Huawei display monitor worth £109.99 (or a free mouse worth £49.99), but you also get the Huawei MatePad 10 32GB tablet for no additional cost, allowing you to make use of some of the ecosystem features. There are two configurations that we could find available to purchase, the base model that features an 11th Gen, Intel i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, or a slightly beefier configuration that boosts the storage to 1TB and the inclusion of Intel Evo for £1,299.99.įor the unaware, Evo is a marketing term announced alongside the 11th gen chips that means the laptop has met specific feature requirements such as having at least nine hours of battery life and Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, With Intel claiming that Evo- branded laptops are 'are designed to keep up with today's fast-paced lifestyle'.Īs mentioned, the asking price is a good chunk higher than products like the M1 MacBook Air or Microsoft Surface Laptop 4, but there are some benefits to be had if you're based in the UK.