HUAWEI MateBook D 16, my refreshing new love

The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 is one of the latest laptop offerings by the Chinese technology giant. It is not a gaming laptop, but one that is more suitable for your daily productivity needs. So, here’s our review of the HUAWEI MateBook D 16.

HUAWEI MateBook D 16 on the outside

The first that you will notice about the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 is its size, which goes against the portability trend, weighing at 1.7kg. While I do prefer a more compact laptop that’s lighter, it is a refreshing change for me coming from my MacBook Pro 13-inch. Grass is always greener on the other side, right?

So that you have a better idea, here’s the dimension of the laptop:

• Width: 356.7 mm
• Depth: 248.7 mm
• Height: 18.4 mm

The MateBook D 16 has a 90% screen-to-body ratio with a 16:10 golden aspect ratio. This means that I have more screen real estate to multitask, which I always do – working on this article on the left, playing YouTube video on the right and researching on the bottom right corner.

Oh, there’s also a 1080 AI-Wide-Angle camera at the top that can adjust the angle of view as you move around so that you are always in frame. Then again, the laptop is not as portable so you should probably find a comfortable locale for your meetings. This coupled with the built-in smart microphone noise cancellation technology that filters out noise around you in the 5 meters range can offer you a comfortable meeting experience be it audio or visual.

When it comes to the availability of ports, Huawei is not stingy in giving what is essential for the user’s productivity. Here’s the spread.

• USB-C × 1 (support data, charging and DisplayPort)
• USB-C × 1 (support data, charging)
• USB3.2 Gen1 × 1
• USB2.0 × 1
• HDMI × 1
• 3.5 mm headset and microphone 2-in-1 jack × 1

Rounding up our written tour of the laptop’s externals, one of the key selling points of the MateBook D 16 is its full-size backlit keyboard. Managers and accountants dealing with business planning and getting high on excel will love this bad boy.

There is also something unique about its keystrokes. Huawei said that the keys have a “1.5 mm key travel, along with a soft-landing design, which makes rebounds springy and soothing.”

While I cannot describe the feeling of typing on the keyboard, I can say confidently that it’s addictive and nice. Oh wait… does feeling rubbery makes sense to you? If it does, it’s rubbery in a positive way.

I also like the sound it makes when each key is depressed. It has a soft tapping sound to it and for a writer, it is fun. You know what’s more fun? Not having to deal with my accidental brushes against the trackpad. I’ll probably turn it off if I need full writing concentration and have a handy mouse at the side.

Before we jump into the internal gut of the laptop, I know some of you might be thinking if there’s a fingerprint sensor on the HUAWEI MateBook D 16. The answer is yes.

There’s a fingerprint sensor on the top-right corner of the keyboard. It also acts as a power button, which would have been better if there’s an LED beneath to show where I’ve turned the laptop on or not. Then again, the startup of the laptop is very fast so you will know in a second or two.

HUAWEI MateBook D 16 specifications

The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 I have for review has a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12450H 2.00 GHz. You do get the option to get the i7 12700 Processor.

It has a 16 GB RAM and 512 GB NVMe PCIe SSD. Huawei did highlight that the actual capacity after formatting may be lesser, which is true. So, do take note of that. But if you already have OneDrive and Dropbox on hand, this should not be a deal-breaker.

The graphics card that is in my review unit is an Intel® UHD Graphics. If you opt for the i7, you should get the Intel Iris® Xᵉ Graphics.

Audio-wise, there are two speakers hidden in the bottom left and right closest to you. Personally, I do not find anything special about the audio coming out from the speakers. But when I played some YouTube videos out loud at home, I was told it is not bad. So, I guess to each its own.

It does fit my purpose playing lo-fi music while I focus on writing my articles though.

Notable feature mention

Given that this is a Huawei product, you are automatically given a HUAWEI PC Manager, Display Manager (Eye Comfort Mode) and HUAWEI Factory Reset. It’s not something that I use often, but I guess there are good-to-have features to enhance your overall experience using the device.

Battery

The battery life on the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 is not that bad. I’m using it as a normal user to power my productivity than using graphic intense applications or multitask a universe of things.

An hour of use with my notepad and Chrome with YouTube playing in the background, it dropped about 20% from a full charge. But do bear in mind that power degradation happens to all laptops. So, you should keep your expectations real.

If you need to juice up, Huawei threw in a 65 W USB-C Power Adapter so that you can charge up quickly without having to hog that power point at the cafe for eons.

Conclusion

Is the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 for you? I think to answer this question you need to be realistic about your own expectations and consider these questions:

• How are you going to use the laptop?
• Are you always on the move?
• What is your budget for your next laptop?

If you are a regular user like me who writes, watch YouTube, surf the net and prefers bringing a tablet out than a laptop, the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 could be a good choice for you.

HUAWEI MateBook D 16 Price

That said, you should know that the i5 version of the Mate D 16 retails at S$1,298 and the i7 version retails at S$1,498. If this is within your budget, I say go try it out at Courts and Best Denki.