Station wagon with OLED screen: Huawei Matebook 14 (2024) laptop review

Content

1. Construction, design, ergonomics
2. Hardware and performance
3. Display
4. Battery and runtime
5. Software
6. Flaws
7. Specifications
8. Conclusion

Matebook 14 (2024) is a representative of the largest, so-called universal class of laptops. That is, this is not a budget “machine”, not a gaming machine, not upgraded for working with graphics, and not an ultra-premium laptop using the most expensive components. This is a laptop on which you can do almost everything, taking into account the fact that for specialized tasks, PCs specially designed for them are usually used.

Construction, design, ergonomics

At the same time, Huawei Matebook 14 is not just a “workhorse” for work, study and entertainment. If we continue to use horse breeding terminology, this is more of a thoroughbred horse. And the point here is not only in advanced hardware “for growth”, which will not become obsolete for several more years. Other vendors also make laptops with the same processor, memory and storage.

The Matebook 14’s trick lies elsewhere – in its design. And this is a durable aluminum case, a 14.2-inch OLED touch screen (!) with a resolution of 2.8K, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and an aspect ratio of 3:2, an upgraded cooling system with two large HUAWEI Shark fin fans and a system for smart adjustment of their operation . But, what is important, air is sucked in not only from below, but also from the sides. Anyone who has worked with a laptop on any soft surface (plaid, blanket) understands what we are talking about.

And also a 70 Wh battery and a universal USB-C charger that can charge a smartphone, an advanced camera with AI mode, AI sound processing and integration into the Huawei ecosystem using the “Super Device” function.

But that’s not all. Matebook 14 is equipped with a proprietary HUAWEI Metaline Wi-Fi antenna, which provides a very stable and reliable signal with the router and, accordingly, a faster and higher-quality Internet connection. The laptop weighs 1.31 kg and has a thickness of 14.5 mm.

As for the keyboard and touchpad, everything is up to par, normal backlighting, Russian layout. In general, everything is as we like it.

It is the design and build quality that sets the Matebook 14 (2024) apart from the crowd of “workhorses with the same processor, memory and storage capacity. But we also cannot ignore the basic technical characteristics.

Hardware and performance

The Matebook 14 (2024) is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor and integrated Intel Arc graphics.

The 2023 Intel Core Ultra 5 processor is built on the Intel Meteor Lake architecture and delivers multitasking, advanced AI, and improved power efficiency through a combination of high-performance cores and efficient, low-power cores. The minimum power of Core Ultra 5 is 28 W, the maximum in turbo mode is 115 W. This strikes a balance between performance and energy-saving features for laptops that require long battery life.

Intel Core Ultra 5 125H has 14 cores (4 + 8 + 2) and 18 threads. 4 productive cores operate at frequencies up to 4.5 GHz, and 10 efficient ones, of which 8 main cores plus 2 additional low-power cores at frequencies up to 3.6 GHz. The Intel Core Ultra 5 series is equipped with Intel Arc Graphics based on 128 Xe cores, which gives decent performance in games and when creating graphical content. But still, the main feature of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125P is the combination of performance and energy efficiency.

In tests, the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H shows more than 1.7 thousand points in the single-core Cinebench R23 test, 15 thousand in the multi-core test. In the Geekbench test, 2.31 thousand (single-core test) and 11.57 thousand (multi-core test).

The Intel Ultra 5 125H has a built-in 7-core Intel Arc Alchemist GPU with 112 Xe Vector Engines, 7 ray tracing units, 7 samplers and 4 pixel server modules. The graphics card runs at a clock speed of 2200 MHz and has access to 6.27 GB of system memory, which plays an important role in the performance of the integrated graphics. It is clear that in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Next-Gen: v4.00 with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and the Ultra graphics setting, you will get an uncomfortable 20 frames per second, but if you cut down on appetites, you can achieve 65 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 90 FPS in Call of Duty: Warzone and even 120 FPS in Fortnite.

The laptop also received 16 GB of dual-channel RAM and a high-speed 1 TB PCIe SSD drive.

Display

The screen is another component that particularly makes the Matebook 14 (2024) stand out.

What do we have? Well-calibrated 14.2-inch OLED display (1.07 billion colors) with high contrast and support for sRGB, P3 and Adobe color gamuts. This allows you to see the image as close as possible to the original intent of the creators. The 2.8K resolution (2880 × 1920, 243 ppi), the screen refresh rate of 120 Hz speak for themselves, but I would like to separately note the 3:2 aspect ratio, which is very convenient for work. Maximum brightness 450 nits. Very decent for a laptop.

Yes, I almost forgot. Touch screen with support for 10-point touch and Huawei M-Pencil stylus.

There are also special vision protection technologies that can reduce blue light levels. At the same time, the developers managed to avoid (almost) the appearance of a yellowish tint on the screen, which is so annoying to many users. Good news for “pulse-width modulation” users, that is, those whose eyes tire when controlling the brightness of OLED screens using pulse-width modulation. 1920Hz dimming in dim lighting ensures you can use your laptop comfortably in the dark.

Battery and runtime

Huawei Matebook 14 (2024) is equipped with a 70 Wh battery and can work without recharging for up to 19 hours, and switching to power saving mode provides an additional 90 minutes. This is, as they say, “just in case of fire”.

In real-life scenarios, charging lasted for 6-8 hours (depending on screen brightness). These are not record numbers, but very good figures. The time to fully charge the battery is approximately 1.5-2 hours, depending on whether you are working in it at the time or not. There is fast reverse charging (up to 40 W), that is, you can charge your smartphone when connected to a laptop. Since charging occurs through the Type-C connector, smartphones can also be charged using “native” charging. When charging a Huawei smartphone, it “overclocked” to 65 W

Software

The laptop runs on Windows 11, but the most interesting thing is not this, but Huawei’s proprietary software and how the Matebook 14 (2024) interacts with the company’s ecosystem. There is support for the proprietary “Super Device” option, when in just a couple of clicks you can connect a Huawei smartphone, tablet, monitor or TV to your laptop. Without a wire, of course. You can view up to three applications from your smartphone on your laptop and even answer calls without picking it up. It was also nice to quickly connect the display and TV to the laptop. But I would call the “killer feature” the instant connection of the tablet. That is, on any trip (and at home) you essentially get a computer with two displays. Very convenient for work.

I would especially like to note Huawei PC Manager with intelligent settings for power consumption and performance, as well as AI software for controlling the FullHD camera, with drawing backgrounds, auto-centering, and the “eye contact” option so that during a conversation it seems like you are looking at the camera and not at the screen (by the way, the camera is in its usual place, at the top of the screen). You can even turn on “improvers” for your appearance; there is proprietary AI software for improving sound during calls and conferences, removing noise, highlighting voices, etc.

Flaws

But, as they say, even the sun has spots. Let’s start with the fact that the Matebook 14 (2024)’s pretty good speakers are located at the bottom. They play well on the table, but if you put the laptop on the bed, then, of course, they are drowned out.

The second point is the glossy screen. Despite the presence of an anti-reflective coating, it, of course, glares. This in itself is normal; all glossy screens have glare, compensating for this with a brighter and clearer picture compared to matte ones. But! Huawei has advanced PaperMatte technology, which reduces the disadvantages of matte display coatings (RG recently published a review of the Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2″ tablet with such a screen).

Why they didn’t make a version of the Matebook 14 (2024) with a matte PaperMatte screen, which is also very convenient to use with a stylus, is a mystery.

Connectors: USB-C × 1 (data transfer, charging and DisplayPort), USB 3.2 Gen 1 × 2, HDMI × 1, 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones and microphone. Let’s be honest, it’s not rich. One more USB-C port is clearly missing; the only one that is there can be occupied by the charging cable during operation.

Well, the last complaint about the branded charger. It has a permanent cable. That is, if you accidentally damage the cable, you will have to repair or buy a new charger. Somehow this was not thought out. I would say, “not in the Huawei way.”

Specifications

• Dimensions 12.6 x 226.8 x 14.5 mm;
• Weight 1.31 kilograms;
• Aluminum body;
• Display 14.2 inches, aspect ratio 3:2, OLED, 2880×1920 pixels, 243 ppi, maximum brightness 450 nits, 1000000:1, frequency 48-120 Hz 100% sRGB, 100% DCI-P3, 95% Adobe RGB, touch, up to 10 simultaneous touches, M-Pencil stylus support;
• Viewing angle 178 degrees;
• Operating system Windows 11 Home;
• Platform Intel Core Ultra 5 125H; GPU Intel® Arc;
• Memory 16 GB LPDDR5X;
• 1 TB PCIe SSD storage;
• Wireless interfaces IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz, 2 × 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.2;
• Keyboard Full-size QWERTY keyboard, backlit;
• Ports USB-C × 1 (data transfer, charging and DisplayPort), USB 3.2 Gen 1 × 2, HDMI × 1, 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack 2 in 1 × 1;
• Fingerprint sensor (built into the button);
• Front camera 1080P HD;
• Battery 70 Wh;
• HUAWEI 65W USB-C Power Adapter (cable and power adapter connected);
• Colors Space gray, green;
• Sound Two speakers, two microphones.

Conclusion

Huawei Matebook 14 (2024) is an excellent laptop, and if it did not have the disadvantages described above, it could be called ideal. However, this is a really productive, well-designed and well-built all-in-one laptop for work and home, with a few features that set it apart from the competition. We’re talking about a 2.8K OLED screen with 3:2 aspect ratio and very thoughtful integration with other Huawei devices. The price of Matebook 14 starts from about 90 thousand rubles. Well, the fact that this model is in demand is evidenced by the fact that in order to find it now on sale “not to order”, you will have to make an effort.