Huawei MateBook X Pro (2020) with Intel’s Comet Lake processors

24/5/2020

Huawei has introduced the MateBook X Pro (2020) earlier in Q1 2020. The MateBook X Pro continues the same design language of the last year model, with the only notable differences being the new Emerald Green color option and upgraded internals to Intel Comet Lake-U and NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics.

The MateBook X Pro (2020) weighs just 1.33 kg and is only 14.6 mm thick. The display is a 13.9-inch Ultra FullView LTPS display with a 3K resolution (3,000 x 2,000 pixels) and ultra-slim bezels. It is also a touchscreen and can display 100% of the sRGB color gamut.

However, the super-slim bezels means that Huawei has once again no option but to retain the pop-up webcam in the keyboard. This will surely irk those who need to do quite a bit of video conferencing as the awkward webcam positioning essentially turns it into a "nose-cam". We wish Huawei brought back the original MateBook X design from 2017, which had the webcam in the proper place yet offered slim bezels.

Webcam gripes apart, the MateBook X Pro (2020) gets the mandatory upgrade to Intel Comet Lake-U with a choice of either the Core i5-10210U or the Core i7-10510U. An NVIDIA GeForce MX250 GPU powers the graphics subsystem. Huawei said that the latest MateBook X Pro uses an "intelligent cooling system" with Shark Fin Fans 2.0 for dynamic switching between active and passive cooling along with real-time temperature monitoring.

What's new is that underneath the keyboard, the notebook now comes with an Intel 10th Gen Core "Comet Lake" processor. While it's not using the 10nm Ice Lake parts, but 14nm Comet Lake processor is quite a keen performer as seen in our review of the ASUS Zenbook 14. Huawei's MateBook X Pro will still be offering the notebook with an NVIDIA GeForce MX 250 discrete GPU, and the CPU processor options go up to the maximum SKU possible of a quad-core Core i7-10510U processor. Core i5 models are also offered too.

The 56 Wh battery should provide a decent battery life to get through a typical workday, and it can be quickly topped up with the 65W Type-C charger. Speaking of Type-C chargers, the MateBook X Pro (2020) comes with a minimal port selection with just two USB Type-C ports and a USB 3.0 Type-A port along with a 3.5mm combo audio jack.

The MateBook X Pro supports Huawei Share, which is the company's way of ensuring Windows and Android play well together seamlessly. Huawei Share offers Multi-Screen Collaboration that allows controlling the phone's interface directly from the Matebook X Pro. Huawei Share requires a compatible Huawei or Honor smartphone with NFC capabilities.

Officially, the MateBook X Pro isn't yet available in Singapore, but we'll update this space when that changes.

For something more mainstream, Huawei offers the MateBook D 15 and MateBook D 14 that use Full HD displays though not quite the same edge-to-edge feel of the MateBook X Pro's display. At half the price of the MateBook X Pro, you'll likely forgive its aesthetic differences. Processor options are quite interesting as it starts with an AMD Ryzen 5 with Radeon RX Vega graphics, goes up to a Ryzen 7 and an Intel Core i5 processor with GeForce MX 250 discrete graphics.