Huawei is already making waves in the smartphone industry as the up-and-coming rival to the Apple-Samsung duopoly, and now the firm is setting its sights on the computer market.
At Mobile World Congress, rather than introduce a new phone as is customary for most brands, Huawei unveiled a new premium laptop – the MateBook X Pro.
It runs Windows 10 and Huawei says its purpose is to offer Windows users a premium experience that has not been seen before.
And though the company said after its press conference that it does not take inspiration from the likes of Apple, the design of the MateBook X Pro is clearly geared towards MacBook owners who could be tempted to switch.
Slender and minimal in detail when closed, the MateBook opens to an impressive 13.9in display that fills most of the front panel with a 3K touchscreen.
The bezels have been reduced to such a level that the built-in webcam has moved to an interesting new location – the keyboard.
Hiding behind its own dedicated function key, the camera pops up when pressed and offers a novel approach to what is normally a mundane aspect of laptop use.
The pop-up webcam on the Huawei MateBook X Pro is quite fun #MWC18 pic.twitter.com/melwPjYeiA
— Martyn Landi (@MartynLandi) February 26, 2018
The firm’s Walter Ji said the company was determined to bring the innovative attitude it has towards its smartphones to its computing line, with this camera being an early example of that thinking.
As a privacy tool it also has merits, with users no longer having to resort to taping over cameras should they be paranoid about hackers gaining access to the lens.
But the pop-up nature of the camera does have a tinge of novelty to it, and on a device that is otherwise stylish and premium, it stands out for not entirely positive reasons.
The FullView display itself is bright and responsive as a touchscreen when you want to leave the keys and trackpad and get more hands-on with the device.
The touchscreen is fast and easy to work with, and the larger display means users have plenty of space to work in, no matter the project or hobby they are working on.
The MateBook feels slightly heavier than you might anticipate before you pick it up, but at 1.33kg it is still comfortable to move around with.
On first impressions then, the MateBook X Pro certainly fulfils its tag as a premium laptop for Windows 10 users.
It is more stylish and less bulky than Microsoft’s Surface Book, and has enough functionality to be able to answer most laptop needs.
For Windows 10 users, and maybe even MacBook ones, this is a device to keep an eye on.
