Huawei Matebook 14S, review

Huawei Matebook 14S

It is not easy to find a laptop that combines all the best aspects: design, performance, portability, features. Generally speaking, it is easier to find a notebook that is excellent in one respect but only sufficient in other respects. The Matebook 14S, however, is a champion in all respects.

The design is the classic one of this brand, but finally Huawei has put the webcam where it belongs, that is at the top of the screen. However, there is an extra key, between F6 and F7, which activates the dictation and speech recognition functions - at least under Windows. Otherwise, the aluminum unibody design is always nice, and Huawei brings even more screen space this year, thanks to ultra-thin bezels and a 3: 2 aspect ratio.

It's also relatively light, albeit 1 , 4 Kg are not really very few for a fourteen inch (sorry, the precise diagonal is 14.2 "). But aluminum weighs more than magnesium alloy and polycarbonate, and Huawei has also added a battery here that lasts really long, so long that you could actually leave the house without carrying your charger.

At the same time , the Matebook 14S is also very powerful, thanks to the Intel Core i7-11370H processor paired with 16GB of RAM. There are very few things you won't be able to do with this computer, but if you have to use very demanding graphics programs you probably don't care about such a computer. At least not as a main machine, while as a second device it could be quite interesting.

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Design

The Matebook 14S has an aluminum chassis with unibody design. It is not a new thing, in fact the Matebooks have had this aspect for some time now. But it's always a feast for the eyes, and even when handling it this is a computer that stands out. One could argue that it looks a lot like a MacBook, which is true, but if you make two aluminum laptops with top specs, they are unlikely to be very different.

Externally the Matebook 14S is uniform apart from the logo Huawei on the lid. It is obtained with a very discreet polishing, and overall the elegance is not affected. Below are the slots for the ventilation and the speakers, but also two rubber strips that replace the classic rubber feet.

The screen is surrounded by very thin bezels, less than a centimeter, which allows Huawei to declare a screen-to-body ratio (STBR) of 90%. However, there is space above the screen for the webcam. Huawei finally took it off the keyboard, where it created some horrible shots.

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The hinge is soft enough to open the notebook with one hand, but also stiff enough to hold the screen in place. position, whatever angle you choose. The power button integrates the fingerprint sensor, but Windows Hello's facial recognition can be used as an alternative.

The island keyboard has flat keys, with a pleasant touch surface. It is an excellent keyboard, which allows you to type quickly and without errors. The design is very low but still has a good run. The answer is soft but precise. The virtual numeric keypad is missing, so if you happen to enter a lot of numbers you have to make do with the standard numbers.

As for the touchpad, once again Huawei inserts one of really generous dimensions, and it is a pleasure to use. Fast and precise, it allows you to move easily between Windows windows thanks to multiple finger gestures. If you're one of those who click, it's accurate but the noise isn't exactly the most pleasant.

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Screen

The Matebook 14S has a 14.2 ”touch screen with 2560 resolution × 1680, and a density of up to 213 PPI. The panel is an LTPS type LCD, which guarantees brilliant colors and low power consumption.

It is a very clear and legible screen, even in direct light conditions. The maximum brightness, 400 nit declared, is average and is adequate even if you have to use the laptop outdoors, in broad daylight.

If turned up to the maximum it is annoying, and in most occasions you can use it 50% or less without problems. A fact that, among other things, helps to obtain a better autonomy.

Huawei Matebook 14S The chromatic and HDR performances are adequate, even if on the second aspect (HDR) perhaps something better could be done.

The screen has full glass coverage, which improves the aesthetics but creates some too many reflections. It is good for multimedia use, and when you watch a movie in the evening you will appreciate it, but when you work the reflections are a little annoying. And, in theory, it's a computer that's made more for work than for watching Netflix.

Hardware and performance

In the version we tested, the Huawei Matebook 14S uses an Intel Core i7-113670H processor paired with 16GB of RAM. The video card is the integrated one, Intel Iris Xe.

During use, we really did everything with this computer, including video editing. If you do intense activities very frequently, such as video editing or 3D rendering, you may want a computer with a more powerful GPU. But apart from that specific case, here is all the power you might need.

Benchmarks confirm practical experience: among non-gaming laptops, in fact, the Matebook 14S is one of the most powerful that we have tested. Here are the scores:

PC Mark 10: 5.302 points

CrossMark: Overall 1509, Creativity 1506

Geekbench 5: Multi-core 5946, Single Core 1567, OpenCL 19.344, Vulkan 17.814

PC Mark Battery Test - Modern Office: 9 hours 20 minutes

PC Mark Battery Test - Video: 8 hours 45 minutes

Autonomy

With the highest performance in its class, one could expect a range below average, or at best discrete. But no, the Matebook 14S is a champion also from this point of view.

By doing normal office work, we were able to use it for almost seven hours, achieving the same result three times in a row. It's a tremendously high value, which allows us to say that this laptop is among the absolute best when it comes to battery life.

You could theoretically leave the house at 8:00 am and come back in the evening without carrying you. in the bag also the charger (which is still very light). It is possible, if during the day there are interruptions, meetings and moments of pause in which the computer can go to sleep.

Competition

Due to the aluminum chassis, the Intel processor of the H series, and of the superfine design, there are no perfectly superimposable competitors to this Huawei Matebook 14S. That said, if you are looking for a 14 inch laptop, there are some alternatives you can consider

Acer Swift 5

A laptop that is now a classic among Ultrabooks, the Acer Swift 5 has 11th generation Intel CPU, Full HD touchscreen, Nvidia MX 350 graphics and weighs just one kilogram. It lacks the aluminum of the Matebook, and is inferior in many respects. But it's lighter, has adequate performance, and the price is more than inviting. In fact, you can find it at € 1,199, € 200 less than the price list.

Dell latitude 7420

Another great classic, the Latitude 7420 is a durable and versatile laptop, more work-oriented than to the Matebook 14S. And in fact it is equipped with an LTE modem, Smart Card slot and microSD card reader. And it's a 2-in-1, with the screen that rotates 360 degrees. The price list costs almost 1,900 euros but at the moment you can have it for € 1,199.

Conclusions

Huawei Matebook 14S In the version we tested, with Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD , the Matebook 14S costs € 1,499. At the time of writing (January 2021) you can find it directly on the Huawei website for one hundred euros less, so € 1,399.

And it's worth it.

This computer in fact has practically no defects ; apart from perhaps the glossy finish of the screen, but it is a subjective matter, since there are those who prefer it. And there's questionable audio, too, but very few laptops do really well in this regard.

Not the cheapest of laptops, and we've seen there are competitors that cost less with specs. similar. However, if we consider all the features, and not just the technical specifications, the added value of this Matebook is evident. And it becomes a relatively inexpensive laptop.

Indeed, you will have a robust and aesthetically successful design, two types of biometric login via Windows Hello, a very good quality screen in 3: 2 format, a beautiful keyboard with a touchpad of large dimensions.

Considering the very powerful hardware platform and the best autonomy we have seen in months on a Windows laptop, we believe that the Huawei Matebook 14S is an excellent laptop, a product that you can buy peacefully, without fear of being disappointed. .

In short, it is beautiful inside and out, and it costs the right amount.