Modeled after the stunning MateBook X Pro, Huawei’s gorgeous new MateBook 13 offers similar quality in a smaller, even more affordable package.
I assume most readers are at least passingly familiar with the issues Huawei is having in the United States And with my contention that these issues are xenophobic in nature, and that the current administration is fighting a protectionist battle against anything and everything Chinese.
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But regardless of your opinions on geopolitical matters, let me just reiterate a less contentious point: Yes, in the mobile space, Huawei, like Samsung—which has no image problems at all, for some reason—started off just cloning as many of Apple’s products as it could. But today, Huawei, again like Samsung, is delivering products that outperform the quality and cost of similar Apple products. This is true in smartphones. In tablets. And in laptops, too.
Last year, I reviewed the Huawei MateBook X Pro, describing it as “the single-best portable PC I’ve ever tested, the perfect combination of brawn, beauty, expansion, and value.” With a starting price of $1200, the MateBook X Pro is absolutely a premium PC, but it lives up to the cost and delivers much better value than other contenders, like the Apple MacBook Pro with which it most closely competes. That laptop has only a single flaw, in my opinion: A weird webcam that is hidden under a fake function key in the top row of its keyboard.
I just received a loaner MateBook 13 for review on Friday, so I’ll need some time to fully develop my opinion of this smaller, less expensive MateBook variant. But my first impressions are exceedingly positive, and this MacBook Air competitor appears to deliver everything that was special about the MateBook X Pro, but in a smaller and even less expensive package.
The visual similarities between the MateBook 13 and MateBook X Pro are obvious, so much so that I had to study my photos of the earlier device—a review unit I returned to Huawei—to find the minute differences. Like its bigger sibling, the MateBook 13 features an excellent power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader.
It has the same basic touchpad design, albeit less tall to match the MateBook’s smaller frame; I prefer this smaller unit.
It has the same keyboard, too. And the same overall aluminum CNC design.
As a smaller device—it’s dramatically smaller than even the new MacBook Air despite having a full-sized keyboard—-the MateBook 13 does make a few concessions.
There’s no room for the MateBook X Pro’s excellent speakers, which were aligned on the sides of the keyboard; the MateBook 13 does offer Dolby Atmos capabilities, however.
There are two USB-C ports, but no full-sized USB port; in the good news department, however, Huawei put one USB-C 3 port on each side of the device, a configuration I prefer. More confusingly, the left port is for charging and power only whereas the rightmost port also supports DisplayPort.
The MateBook 13 also retains the very small display bezels found on the MateBook X Pro, but yet there’s room on the top for a webcam, eliminating my sole major complaint about that more expensive device. As its name suggests, that display is indeed 13.3-inches, with a resolution of 2160 x 1440, and with a perfect 3:2 aspect ratio. Bliss.
As a newer laptop, the MateBook 13 is outfitted with the very latest Intel processors, the “Whiskey Lake” 8th generation variants that were recently announced. The base version ships with an 8th-generation Intel Core i5-8265U processor, Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated graphics, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of NVMe PCIe SSD storage. The review unit, which costs $1300, is outfitted with an 8th-generation Intel Core i7-8565U processor, NVIDIA GeForce MX 150 discrete graphics with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 RAM, 8 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of NVMe PCIe SSD storage. Both ship with Huawei’s Shark Fin Design 2.0 cooling system, which is supposed to optimize cooling with minimal noise. So far, I’ve not heard a peep from the fans.
From a portability perspective, the MateBook 13 is small— 8.31” × 11.26” × 0.59”—but a bit dense with a curb weight of just under 3 pounds. Battery life is rated at almost 10 hours of video playback, but I will be testing that, of course.
The software loadout is mostly very good. Windows 10 Home version 1803 is preloaded and it comes with all the crapware we’ve come to expect. But Huawei’s additions are mostly well-intentioned: There’s a Huawei PC Manager application for driver downloads and support, which is fine, but it has a curiously large icon right in the middle of the notification area on the taskbar. Huawei also adds a custom eye comfort mode on top of Windows 10’s built-in controls, Microsoft Translate, and a few other apps. Nothing nefarious.
I’m traveling this weekend, so that will be my first opportunity to test the MateBook 13 in real-world conditions. But my experiences over the weekend suggest that this one, too, will be a winner. And that anyone knee-jerking it on Huawei might want to rethink things yet again. This is one impressive laptop.
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#400333">In reply to Bibbit:</a></em></blockquote><p><em>"The reality is that things are simply a lot more complicated than most folks want to believe."</em></p><p><br></p><p>You are correct, which is why the things you have said with respect to foreign conflict and disaster relief can be accurate but don't preclude xenophobic behavior. </p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#400333">In reply to Bibbit:</a></em></blockquote><p>The mindset of the branches of the US government aren't fixed over time. Trump can be xenophobic independently of what the US has done in the past. Having said that, some of US "protection" wasn't asked for and often was motivated by self-interest. </p><p><br></p><p>The Vietnam War killed many people and accomplished nothing that couldn't have been achieved in 1954 if the US hadn't interfered (not to mention all the previous years when the US financially supported the French in their attempt to reclaim their colony).</p><p><br></p><p>A common occurrence in the US is for people who haven't followed US activities around the world to wake up to find something done against us and wonder "Why do they hate us?". Often because we've screwed them in the past.</p>
Todd Northrop
<p>Dismissing the Chinese government use of Huawei and ZTE as "<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">xenophobic" is mind-bendingly stupid. I have lost a great deal of respect for you Paul. Clearly you live in a left-wing bubble and you believe what you read on your Twitter feed represents reality. Of course, your Twitter feed will not inform you that the Obama administration was making these same allegations, so I guess you're unaware that your dumb remarks about xenophobia would also apply to Obama.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I would like to dare you to switch all of your electronics to Huawei. Let's see if you don't possess that "xenophobia" that you're accusing others of.</span></p>
provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#400359">In reply to jbinaz:</a></em></blockquote><p>Bravo, well said. </p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#400346">In reply to Speednet:</a></em></blockquote><p>Why do you say "switching <em>all </em>electronics to Huawei"? Is it your hope that at least one product will contain malware? People who claim these products are compromised should be willing to go on record identifying the one (or more) they believe have a problem.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#400612">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>They don't need to audit the products, they can evaluate them using well known techniques of reverse engineering and disassembly. </p><p><br></p><p>I don't deny the human rights abuses in China or in any other country including the US, but banning products is unlikely to have any impact on such behavior.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#400572">In reply to Greg Green:</a></em></blockquote><p>The most recent shutdown is rather easy to understand IMO. It occurred because the President wanted money for his wall and he didn't understand that after the midterms, he simply lacked the power to make it happen even if all Republicans were willing to vote the way he wished.</p><p><br></p><p>But shutdowns in general occur because of a systemic "vulnerability" in the appropriations process. Government funding should automatically continue based on the last budget agreed upon until a new budget is agreed upon. That would prevent any political party from creating chaos in the hopes of getting what they want and encourage more thoughtful negotiation.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><em><a href="#400605">In reply to Waethorn:</a></em></blockquote><p>US influence has waned in recent years, particularly since Trump was elected. Zero chance that the UN is going to ban Huawei products no matter what the US wants. Even if a majority of members were in favor (unlikely) China is on the UN Security Council and could simply veto the resolution. </p><p><br></p><p>Despite the self-importance of some US government officials, the US has no superior legal standing in the world and other countries are fully capable of conducing their own investigations and come to their own conclusions. </p>
skane2600
<p>I don't know the legal issues surrounding a foreign company not complying with US sanctions against a third, but the latest charges the US is making have nothing to do with malware or backdoors. As I've stated before, such backdoors would be easily discoverable by US intelligence services and if they found some there would be no security issue in revealing them to the public. Based on that, I don't believe there are any.</p>
t-b.c
<blockquote><a href="#400515"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a><em> Back doors are not easily discoverable, especially if they are baked into the hardware. I'm not saying there is any, only challenging your presupposition. I used to work for a company that manufactured high speed network switches used primarily in hospital campuses and cell phone towers. For critical infrastructure you need to be very certain a foreign power cannot shut down your network. </em>Huawei switches are used in phone networks all across South America, North America is not that trusting. </blockquote><blockquote><br></blockquote><blockquote>Despite Paul's political bias, none of the last four Presidents have allowed Huawei equipment into the US. I wouldn't have a problem with Huawei consumer products being sold here, but I wouldn't be comfortable with their network devices being used in government or hospital facilities, power plants, or phone networks. And I wouldn't want members of Congress using Huawei cell phones or PC's. Although if the Secretary of State can run her own unsecured email server from her home for government business maybe it doesn't matter if Huawei monitors us. We're already giving away the store. </blockquote><p><br></p>