Huawei MateBook D laptop: inner beauty matters

Presentation

Huawei, which entered the computer market three years ago now, has won over with its high-end models. We will especially remember the MateBook X Pro, the best PC tested by us in 2018.

By releasing the MateBook D, a promising 15-inch at less than € 800, the Chinese manufacturer is targeting the mid-range market instead. If the PC is not necessarily the most attractive at first glance, it still has strong arguments to assert.

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Construction

Huawei has taken less care of its MateBook D than its MateBook X Pro, which is logical given its pricing positioning. Apple's inspiration is set aside here for a wiser design, somewhat reminiscent of the HP Pavilions.

The chassis is therefore not original. Huawei mixes aluminum and plastic here for a solid and visually consistent result. However, we are far from the quality of finish of the MateBook X Pro, especially in terms of the keyboard and trackpad.

If the trackpad is obviously not of the same level as that of the MateBook X Pro, it is nevertheless correct and responds well to requests. The keyboard is unfortunately not so well finished and offers a rather unpleasant grainy plastic coating under the fingers. Similarly, the strike could be described as "rubbery" because of its lack of resistance.

Regarding connectivity, the MateBook D is a bit archaic, since the PC offers two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port and the traditional mini-jack. Huawei here has chosen not to place USB Type-C ports on its chassis, which is a shame in 2019. We also regret the absence of a memory card reader.

The MateBook D manages heat properly when tested. During our usual test protocol (Unigine Heaven benchmark for one hour), the PC temperature rose to 45 ° C at the ventilation grille placed under the chassis and to 39 ° C between the keyboard and the screen. Relatively well managed heating. The background noise, measured at 41 dB, is quite audible, but is not deafening.

The MateBook D is not a very attractive PC at first, especially because of its somewhat archaic chassis. However, the PC hides many qualities.

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Screen

The MateBook D is equipped with a 15.6-inch IPS screen and a definition of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The manufacturer has not focused on the thin edges of its screen, but the screen / facade ratio is still high, since it is 83.11%.

contrast 1460: 1 Delta E 7.4 temperature 6 660K

We passed the slab of the MateBook D under the lens of our probe and the results obtained were correct, despite a large Achilles heel. The contrast was measured by us at 1,460: 1, a very good score. The color temperature is very close to the video standard of 6,500 K, since it is measured at 6,660 K. The grayscale thus does not draw towards red or blue. However, it is the respect for colors that is the problem. The average delta E of 7.4 is very high. Here, it is the greens, blues and purples that are not respected on display. The gamma curve also reveals a weakness, reflecting poorly faithful blacks. Pity.

The brightness is in a small average for a matte panel (282 cd / m²). The remanence is however high (17 ms), but this does not affect a PC not dedicated to games.

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Performances

The MateBook D has an Intel Core i5-8250U processor (clocked at 1.6 GHz, 4 cores, 8 threads, frequencies between 1.6 GHz and 3.4 GHz) supported by 8 GB of RAM. The model we tested has a 256 GB SSD.

During our usual test protocol (file compression, photo editing, 3D calculation, audio and video conversion), the MateBook D reached the score of 76 on our scale of values. This places it just behind the MateBook X Pro, with the same processor, and in the average of current laptops. An unsurprising but reassuring score. It is therefore possible to perform a wide variety of tasks on this model: advanced office automation, web surfing, video, video editing or light photo.

It should also be noted that the PC is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics card, which allows the user to play low-power games (like Overwatch) with the graphics set to medium.

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Mobility / Autonomy

The MateBook D is a 15 inch computer, which necessarily makes it less mobile than an ultraportable. It weighs 1.9 kg and has dimensions of 358 x 239 x 16.9 mm.

In terms of autonomy, the MateBook D is doing very well for a 15 inch. During our usual test protocol (Netflix in Chrome, backlight off, headphones plugged in and brightness set to 200 cd / m²), it lasted 7.18 hours before turning off. A good score which places it in the high average of current laptops.

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Audio

The Huawei MateBook D offers Dolby Atmos software preinstalled. If it is obviously ridiculous to think here of having a real Dolby Atmos three-dimensional sound on such a machine, it must be admitted that the software, in personalized mode with all the auxiliary processing deactivated, provides just the right amount of equalization to the sound to produce a very good sound balance, especially in the low mids. However, in return, it brings a slight box effect, but clearly noticeable, as if the whole chassis vibrated with the speaker. If the user decides to deactivate the software, he will get rid of this problem and obtain a more natural rendering, at the cost of a significantly reduced depth. Everyone can choose between one or other of these options, according to their preferences; in all cases, the rendering remains very correct for an ultraportable. As often, alas, note that the speakers are placed under the chassis, at the front, which is not ideal - especially because the perceived sound source is therefore very far from the screen.

The headphone jack produces excellent results in the lab, with a generous available power - greater than any smartphone on the market - and sufficient current withstand to power the vast majority of headsets. Only very greedy hi-fi headphones could put this outing in difficulty.

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Conclusion

The Huawei MateBook D may seem rough at first contact, especially because of its "cheap" chassis. Nevertheless, the manufacturer delivers a solid device in terms of engineering, with good power and surprising autonomy for a 15 inch. In short, a safe bet that you have to keep an eye on.

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