Huawei Matebook X Pro (2019)

VERDICT

Even if the MateBook 14 is a better deal, the updated MateBook X Pro is a lovely high-end laptop

- Jonathan Bray

THE HUAWEI MATEBOOK X Pro was one of the surprise best laptops of 2018. With its incredible display, a slim, well-made chassis, and decent performance and battery life, it was an ultraportable with very few flaws.

Now, there’s a new model for 2019, launching alongside the cheaper MateBook 14 (Shopper 376) and a refreshed MateBook 13. In fact, the MateBook X Pro is close to being more of a refresh itself: aside from a change to the logo on the lid (from a simple logo to a big ‘Huawei’ stencilled in plain text), the laptop looks pretty much identical. There are some more substantial changes, too, but it’s much more of an iterative update than the MateBook 14, which is a brand-new product.

The key differences are contained within: there are a couple of eighth-generation Intel Core processors to choose from, more RAM, extra storage and a new Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics chip as well.

SHARING IS CARING

The spec options are simple, in that there are only two: a £1,400 model containing the Intel Core i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and the MX250, and the £1,750 model we tested, which combines a Core i7-8565U with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and the same graphics chip.

Intriguingly, those are the same CPUs with which you can equip the MateBook 14, so while the equivalent MateBook X Pro specs also offer more storage space, the latter will need to pull out some other advantages to justify its higher pricing.