In one look
Expert Rating
Benefits
- Slim and lightweight design
- Excellent keyboard and haptic trackpad
- Strong performance
- Quick charge
The inconvenients
- No discrete GPU
- Battery life less than normal
- Only USB-C ports
Our opinion
The 2023 MateBook X Pro is almost identical to its latest iteration, but an upgrade to a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 unlocks higher performance – if only we could say the same for battery life.
Huawei’s high-end MateBook X Pro laptops have long been among the best high-end Windows machines on the market, and the 2023 edition – albeit a minor redesign – doesn’t change much of that.
The thin and light design and beautiful 90Hz display of last year’s laptop return, this time bolstered by an upgrade to more powerful 13th Gen Intel chips.
With no discrete GPU option and only USB-C ports, it won’t work for creative users and battery life remains a sticking point – but if you need a sleek machine for general productivity and you can afford the high asking price, it’s one of the few machines that really rivals Apple’s options.
Design and build
- Magnesium alloy or aluminum construction
- Sleek and lightweight
- Only USB-C ports
Huawei hasn’t updated the physical design of the MateBook X Pro for this iteration, which remains identical to its late 2022 counterpart.
The 2023 model is available in three colors and finishes, although availability varies by market. I reviewed the White model, which along with the Ink Blue version has a soft, smooth, almost velvety finish. Both are constructed from magnesium alloy, which helps keep the laptop lightweight at 1.26kg.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
There’s also a cheaper ‘Core’ edition of the laptop in some regions, which comes in Space Gray and is constructed from an aluminum alloy, making it a bit heavier at 1.38kg. .
The White model has a soft, smooth, almost velvety finish
Either way, the laptop is slim and sleek, with a narrow, angled chassis, rounded edges, and a thin bezel around the screen when you open it up – easy to do with one hand thanks to a slight lip on the front edge.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The ports are, slightly frustratingly, also unchanged. There are at least plenty of them: a headphone jack and four USB-C ports, with the two on the left also supporting Thunderbolt 4. That means if you’re still using USB-A accessories or SD cards, you’ll experience this life dongle.
Keyboard, touchpad and webcam
- Excellent spacious keyboard
- Large haptic trackpad
- 720p webcam
Also unchanged, the MateBook X Pro’s keyboard and trackpad are excellent.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The keyboard is a joy to type on, with a spacious, edge-to-edge design, responsive action, and adjustable backlighting. It really is one of the best in the area.
The trackpad is also flawless. It’s huge for one, extending to the bottom edge of the chassis.
It supports multi-touch, but more impressively, it’s part of the modern wave of haptic trackpads, which Huawei uses to implement a range of additional shortcuts.
The trackpad is also flawless
You can take screenshots, adjust brightness and volume, fast forward or rewind video, and more, all with a series of quick interactions with the trackpad. None of these are game changers, but the added convenience is certainly welcome.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
As for the webcam, the 720p camera found on the top bezel here is fine, but nothing special. Other manufacturers are striving to improve webcam quality and resolution, and this looks a little below par for 2023.
You can also use the webcam for facial recognition to log in, as well as the fingerprint reader built into the power button. Both have worked well for me.
Screen and speakers
- 14.2 inch screen
- 3K resolution
- 90Hz refresh rate
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Huawei hasn’t changed the display of the latest model.
That’s certainly not an issue here, where the screen remains one of the laptop’s strong suits. It’s not OLED, but with a 90Hz refresh rate and 3K resolution, the tech is top-notch in every other way.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Deep colors and inky blacks make it a great display for everything from working to watching movies, and it also impresses on color accuracy – covering 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut in my tests – and it’s bright enough to use in most lighting too.
It’s also a touchscreen, so there’s an extra level of convenience if you want to type on the operating system while you’re using the laptop.
The keyboard is flanked by the laptop’s six speakers, which are punchy enough for a Netflix session, although you wouldn’t want to rely on them too much for your music.
Specifications and performance
- 13th Generation Intel Core i7
- No dedicated GPU option
- 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage
Huawei has kept things simple with the MateBook X Pro this year, which only comes in one major version, but the CPU jump here is also the main reason to buy the 2023 model rather than a older model. ancient.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
It’s powered by the 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P processor, offering a respectable generational leap in performance, especially since last year’s X Pro scored suspiciously low in Geekbench. It’s a match for Apple’s standard M2 chip in its latest MacBooks, and on par with similar compact Windows devices like the Dell XPS 13 Plus, despite running 12th Gen Intel.
With 16GB of RAM, there’s enough power to easily drive web browsing and Excel sheets, and it’ll also be a great machine for light creative work, including Photoshop or a bit of video editing.
If you’re a more demanding user – whether editing 4K footage, creating 3D assets, or just playing the latest games – you’ll likely be limited by the power-efficient P-series chip and the absence of a discrete GPU, but for the rest of us there’s more than enough punch here.
The CPU jump is the main reason to buy the 2023 model rather than an older model
Storage is a generous 1TB as standard, and Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E cover wireless networking options.
Battery charging
- Below-average battery life
- USB-C fast charging
I’ve reviewed a number of Huawei’s MateBook laptops over the past few years, and one common thread has been disappointing battery life.
Despite the efficiency gains of the 13e-gen processor is still true here. Battery life is not bad on its own – the laptop lasted just over ten hours in our constant HD video playback test – but that’s definitely below par, and an area where rivals are unequivocally better.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
There’s enough power to last pretty much a full workday as long as you’re not doing anything too demanding, but I’ll admit I’d be hesitant to leave the house without a charger just in case.
At least that side of things is easy: charging is via USB-C, and any of the laptop’s four ports will work. It’s fast too: the included 90W compact charger delivered 53% battery capacity in just half an hour in my test, among the fastest on the market.
Software and features
- Runs Windows 11
- Huawei PC Manager with some additional features
The MateBook X Pro comes with Windows 11 as standard, and the basic Windows experience is pretty pure.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
To its credit, Huawei adds very little extra software to its laptop, so you won’t have to put off unwanted antivirus or pre-installed games.
The only extra is the Huawei PC Manager, a relatively unobtrusive program that handles driver updates as well as connectivity features if you also have other Huawei hardware.
You can share your screen or files with Huawei phones or tablets, or connect wirelessly to a supported monitor. Everything is surprisingly smooth, but of course you can only benefit from this if you have another Huawei kit.
Pricing & Availability
The 2023 MateBook X Pro is available now in the UK and Europe from Huawei’s official store or Amazon, but it’ll cost you £1,799 / $2,199.
The laptop is not available in the United States at all.
There’s no denying that this is an expensive laptop, although that’s partly thanks to Huawei’s choice to start from generous allocations of 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The likes of the Dell XPS 15 and 15-inch MacBook Air both have lower starting prices (despite slightly larger screens), but spec them the same and the Huawei is actually more affordable.
Still, other manufacturers give you more flexibility to build a machine to your liking, so make sure you need all that RAM and storage before you commit.
Check out our full ranking of the best laptops for more options.
Verdict
The MateBook X Pro is another excellent high-end laptop from Huawei, although essentially unchanged from the late 2022 model, save for a bump in the latest Intel chip.
This brings a modest performance boost, but no real gain in battery life, which remains the hardware’s main weak point.
If you can live by keeping your charger handy and don’t mind paying a premium for lots of storage, then this is as high-end as light laptops go, a sleek device that looks looks as good as anything and delivers the performance to match.
Specifications
- Windows 11 Home
- 14.2-inch 3120×2080 LTPS touchscreen, 264ppi, 90Hz
- Intel Core i7-1360P processor
- Intel Iris Xe graphics card
- 16GB LPDDR5 RAM
- 1TB SSD storage
- 720p webcam with Windows Hello
- 4x USB-C (data, charging, DisplayPort, 2x Thunderbolt 4)
- Headphone jack
- Fingerprint Power Button 2.0
- Dual band Wi-Fi 6E
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Six speakers
- Four mics
- 60Wh battery
- 90W charger
- 310x221x15.6mm
- 1.26/1.38kg
- Space Gray, White, or Ink Blue
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