Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021 Review

Huawei’s MateBook X Pro is the company’s flagship laptop, having a noticeable edge over the fanless MateBook X, however, it does carry a noticeable price-tag, which puts it into the category of other top-tier laptops of its class. That said, the MateBook X Pro does have a few tricks going for it that could sway those hunting for a Windows device.

What makes the MateBook X Pro stand out?

An interesting design-choice regarding the MateBook Pro X is that, unlike many other devices on the market, this Huawei laptop comes in an Emerald Green colour, helping it stand out from the crowd (of course, there’s also a Space Grey one for you traditionalists). Still, Huawei has changed things up from the recognisable lighter Mystic Silver it showcased on the MateBook X Pro back in 2020. The laptop includes a 65W battery charger and an individual USB-C cable for fast charging capabilities.

The display of the MateBook X Pro 2021 is identical to that of the previous year’s model, which isn’t a bad thing at all. It has a 3:2 LTPS LCD featuring a 3000×2000 resolution, with 260ppi and 178-degree viewing angles. The bezels just about the machine are nicely curved, leaving in an arrogated 91% display screen to body ratio. Admittedly, the display is gorgeous and delivers some truly colour-popping images with very little to no blur. It does feature a shiny glass coating which picks up a bit of glare, but unless you’re working on the beach, you probably won’t even notice it.

Of course, the MateBook X Pro 2021’s display is a touchscreen, which is noticeably sensitive, and supports multi-touch motions for zooming and a host of other gestures (up to 10) for scrolling, minimising, taking screenshots, and other actions.

The MateBook X Pro features a subtle and tactile keyboard that does the job, although spacing between keys is a little tighter than some other laptops, so those who like bigger keys will want to keep that in mind.

Thanks to the tighter keyboard, though, the touchpad has been expanded and features a smooth, glazed surface which makes scrolling and multi-finger gestures easy and responsive. It can also record clicks anywhere, so you won’t have to awkwardly find the ‘click’ portion of the pad itself when focusing on the screen. Furthermore, you can use the Huawei Free Touch app to customise the click sensibility and oscillation intensity to your wishes. You are even able to switch off the click if you’re using an external mouse, which allows you to dedicate the touchpad for other actions, which would be perfect for image or video editing, for example.

Under the hood

From a performance perspective, the CPU ticks over approximately 1200MHz and clocks out at 4100MHz, and remains at 37°C to 40°C. On a stress examination, the CPU climbs up to about 90°C and has a time speed of around 4100MHz. Thankfully, the MateBook X Pro’s performance doesn’t push the device into the red zone too much, as the 2021 model features a second fan and slim vapour temperature reduction chamber.

Verdict

Thanks to a few tweaks and improvements, the Huawei MateBook X Pro is essentially a high-end ultraportable laptop that makes carrying it around an absolute breeze, while still delivering great performance even with the most demanding of tasks. The 2021 edition of the MateBook X Pro is one of the best in its category.