Huawei has reached unexpected heights with its first notebook range. The Matebooks have been appreciated for the good price-performance ratio and for the build quality, superior to that of competing models. These are not products that focus on high technical specifications, but rather on a balance between the various components, thanks to which they can bring beautiful looking and functional laptops to the market for all-round working use.
Huawei's notebook range has been renewed a few weeks ago, among the new models we also find the Matebook D15, already available for sale. The list price is € 649 for the version we tested, slightly higher than that of other similar laptops in terms of features, but online it is already at € 599, a figure that places it close to competitors, the HP Pavilion 15 and the Acer Swift 3, both with Ryzen 3500U processor.
Superior build quality
Huawei Matebook D is made entirely of aluminum, with a quality unibody shell and which conveys a good feeling of solidity. In this case, the experience accumulated by Huawei in the creation of smartphones can be seen entirely, the Matebook D looks more expensive than it really is. Despite the 15.6-inch screen, the dimensions and weight are quite contained, with its 1.53 kg and a thickness of 16.9 mm. If you need more portability you can rely on the smaller Matebook D14, which carries the weight to 1.38 Kg. The design chosen by Huawei is deliberately minimal, we are faced with a laptop designed for work, where the most sought-after designs are not much appreciated. On the right edge there are two USB 2.0 sockets and the 3.5 mm jack, on the left one there is a USB 3.0 and a USB Type C 3.1, together with the HDMI port. Turning it upside down you can see the grids that hide the dissipation system and the stereo speakers.
The minimalism seen on the outside is also found once the lid is raised, where symmetry reigns supreme. The keyboard is in the center of the body while at the bottom it can be observed a large touchpad without physical buttons. Even the surface occupied by the screen is large, equal to 87% of the space available on the lid, with edges of 5.3 mm, not the smallest we have seen but it is still very good values.
A result achieved thanks also to the moving the webcam, installed under the dedicated button between F6 and F7, a solution that also eliminates any privacy problem but that puts some limits in the frame during video calls. Also interesting is the solution used for the fingerprint reader, implemented directly above the power button on the right of the keyboard.
In general, the Matebook D15 fully satisfies the view and maintains a weight and dimensions that make it transportable. For use on the move, for example on the train, the 14-inch variant is probably preferable, but even with this model the use remains comfortable.
Good hardware
The Matebook D15 is a laptop born for mobile work, without however reaching the performance of the most powerful mobile workstations. This means that there are no problems with Office and the like, or with the basic editing of photos and videos; gaming is also possible, with many sacrifices, both in resolution and in the level of detail. At the base of the laptop we find the Ryzen 5 3500U processor, equipped with 4 cores and 8 threads and made with a 12 nm production process. It is able to go up to 3.7 GHz and also integrates the GPU, a Vega 8 with 8 Compute Units. The test model then has 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD disk. The screen is a 15.6-inch IPS with Full HD resolution, with a declared peak brightness of 250 nits and an aspect ratio in 16: 9. The battery is 42 Wh and the sound system is managed by two small stereo speakers.
This is a hardware well aligned with the price range in which the Matebook D15 is located today, remember that this generation of AMD CPUs competes with Intel's "H" range of processors, therefore products optimized especially to moderate consumption rather than to maximize performance.
MateBook D15 to the test
We spent a couple of weeks in the company of the MateBook D15 and we can be satisfied with the user experience. The use on the move is pleasant, of course the 14-inch model is probably more suitable if you use the PC a lot outside the office or at home, but also this 15-inch variant is easy to transport and guarantees a discreet autonomy . This changes according to use, in our case we managed to do about 5 hours, not many but more than enough to cover an entire working day on the move, provided that the laptop is not used for 5 hours in a row . The keyboard is well made and very comfortable for typing, just a pity the backlight of the keys is missing, present instead in the 14-inch variant.
The screen, with a matte finish, performs well outside despite not having a very high brightness of small, but given the price of the laptop we are in line with other models in the same category. The display does not particularly shine in the representation of the color, the images tend to be lackluster, but even here the containment of the price has won over the overall quality, a choice that we would like to share to propose a product with a competitive cost. The feedback on the audio is decidedly positive, it is not easy to insert speakers of adequate power in notebooks of this size but Huawei has done a good job. The bass hides, but it is foreseeable given the size of the speakers, which nevertheless manage to offer a high volume and without distortion.
The 256 GB of internal memory are divided into two partitions, a choice that allows you to preserve the data saved on the second partition in case of problems with Windows 10, but that on a 256 GB drive provides only 80 GB in the partition main. Good performance in reading and writing, however, with a sequential transfer rate of 3501 MB / s in reading and 1533 MB / s in writing.
The general performance of the laptop meets the needs of classic office work, from Office to web browsing, all tasks that the MateBook D15 absolves without the slightest problem or jamming. Even video editing, at least at a basic level and with Full HD resolution, is possible, as long as you don't put too much weight on it with effects that put the CPU and GPU in difficulty. This is not a machine that can replace the most powerful, and even heavier laptops, but a good travel companion for daily work, with which to give yourself, even a little bit, to gaming. Like all the integrated ones, the Vega 8 GPU is not a power champion but for indie titles or for lighter games it can be enough, even if with minimal details and often lowering the resolution to 720p.
