The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 is aimed at both professional business users as well as consumers that want a capable laptop wrapped up in a stylish, eye-catching frame, and so the MateBook D 16 doesn’t dissappoint from a looks perspective. Our review unit boasted the Mystic Silver finish, characterised by a sturdy build, quality feeling materials, and a 16″ IPS canvas for your creativity and workflows (16:10 aspect ration, 1920 × 1200 resolution, 142 ppi, 300 nits maximum brightness, 90% Screen-to-body Ratio). This display features nice colours (100% sRGB coverage) and viewing angles, is notably non-touch so it won’t get covered in fingerprints. All this style is wrapped up in a 17mm thin frame for a laptop that tips the notebook PC scales at under 1.72kg.
Speaking of weight, the powermance of this PC does not make it a lightweight, as it is powered by Intel’s 13th Gen Core i5-1340H that is clocked at 2.1 GHz, coupled with 16GB worth of RAM, meaning Windows 11 Home runs smoothly and quickly, even while multitasking. Adding another dimension to the user experience presented by this laptop is something HUAWEI smartphone and tablet users will really like, and that is the ability to drag any text, images, and files to SuperHub at will, and simply paste, transfer, and share them to your connected devices in batches with remarkable ease (as with Airdrop on Apple devices and notebooks).
In terms of the typing experience, the keyboard was comfortable to use (1.5 mm Key Travel) even over extended periods. Business users will appreciate the numeric keypad, which inputting data and numbers for spreadsheets easier and quicker as it allows you to input numbers with only one hand. The trackpad was also smooth in operation and large enough to use, whilst the Fingerprint Power Button on the laptop meant quick and easy access for Windows 11 was always a button press away.
Another business fan favourite feature that home users will also learn to love is the fact that this laptop is the first to obtain the SGS five-star Wi-Fi signal capability certification, meaning that it boasts file download speeds that are boosted by as much as 51%. Moreover, it packs the longest connection distance of a whopping 270 m, enabling you to stay connected through greater distances throughout the business premises or home.
Like many other laptops, you only get a 720P HD camera for video calls on Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Skype and the like, but at least this notebook PC delivers addes functionality to boost the webcalling, virtual meeting experience through auto-adjusting AI camera technology that allows you to stay in the centre of the screen, and maintain interactive communications via eye contact. You can also set the background freely to protect your privacy with virtual background and expect clearer audio by way of Mobile Personal Voice Enhancement and AI noise cancellation to filter out unwanted noise in your midst such as gardeners mowing the lawn or kids running amock in the house.
When it comes to connectivity, you get a variety of ports including USB-C (support data, charging and DisplayPort), USB3.2 Gen1 (supports data and charging), USB2.0, HDMI and a 3.5 mm headset and microphone 2-in-1 jack for connecting headsets.
All in all, the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 is a stylish, well built machince for business users and consumers. We are awaiting pricing info but HUAWEI usually allow for competitive pricing that offers customers a lot of value in terms of your hard-earned bucks. It packs a lot of additional features that make it stand out like the faster, better Wi-Fi, AI online meeting enhancements, and SuperDevice connectivity with HUAWEI smart mobile devices. Really worth considering in our book.
