Huawei Matebook 14 (2024) Review
Amazing ultrabook value
Verdict
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) represents outstanding value, offering superb specs, a vibrant OLED display and a wide selection of ports at an affordable price. It’s an excellent alternative to the MacBook Air, even if the battery life isn’t quite as impressive.
Pros
- Superb specs for the price
- Vibrant and colourful OLED screen
- Lovely green finish
- Fantastic port selection
Cons
- Mediocre battery life
- Poor speakers
Key Features
- 2.8K OLED screenThe move to OLED enhances the contrast of the screen, while also increasing the max brightness
- Touchscreen supportOne of the few modern laptops to offer 10-point touch control
- Up to 19 hours video playback By increasing the capacity of the laptop, Huawei believes it can last for up to 19 hours playing video.
Introduction
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) isn’t the kind of laptop that will set your pulse racing, and there aren’t many features here that help this ultrabook stand out from the crowd.
In spite of this, I couldn’t help but fall for this MacBook Air rival as it’s a fantastic all-rounder that’s available for surprisingly low price of £1199, despite featuring 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a bang-up-to-date Intel Core Ultra processor. You even get an OLED touchscreen, fingerprint sensor and a generous port selection. That’s great value on paper.
So what’s the catch with this laptop? I’ve spent the last few weeks with the Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) to see whether it’s worth the hype. Here are my thoughts.
Design
- New green design looks excellent
- Excellent port selection
- Poor sustainability effort
Here’s a bold claim: I think Huawei makes the nicest-looking Windows laptops on the market right now. There is clear inspiration from Apple’s MacBook series, but there’s a reason why those laptops sell so well.
The 14.2-inch screen is surrounded by a slender black bezel, all of which sits behind a single sheet of glass. I quite like how the black keys stand out from the metal chassis too, especially with the gorgeous green colour option photographed here.
I’m a big fan of Huawei adding a splash of colour, as it gives it a little more personality than the average laptop, although a Space Grey version is available too.
While Huawei has used a magnesium-alloy for the MateBook X Pro (2024) in order to make the laptop as lightweight as possible, the company has instead opted for the more conventional aluminium metal for the MateBook 14 (2024).
The laptop is still pleasingly light at just 1.31 kg, making it easy to lift with one hand, but it’s just not quite as remarkable as its more luxurious sibling that hits the scales at an impressive 980 grams.
That said, the use of aluminium helps to keep the price down, while also making the laptop feel sturdier – a few taps on the chassis results in reassuringly solid thumps.
I reckon Huawei could be a little more creative on the laptop’s lid, which simply has the company’s name in bolded capital letters. Many laptop makers have moved onto subtler logos instead that feel a little trendier, whereas Huawei’s lid just feels like an advert.
I have mixed feelings about the keyboard. There’s plenty of key travel here for a pleasant typing experience, but the feedback does feel a little mushy, and not quite precise as that of a MacBook. Nevertheless, I still happily typed up this review on the keyboard without an issue.
There’s a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button on the top-right corner of the deck, but there’s no room for a full-size number pad, and the up/down arrow keys have been slashed in half to save space.
I also found the Function key a little confusing. Instead of holding it down to trigger secondary functions of the top row of keys, you instead press to switch between the two functions, with a faint light indicating which mode you’re in. I’d often forget this, and wonder why I wasn’t able to quickly alter the laptop’s volume or screen brightness via the shortcuts.
The keyboard backlight is rather faint too, to such an extent that it’s difficult to determine whether it’s on or off in a brightly lit room. However, it’s just about bright enough to illuminate the keys when sitting in the dark, so I can’t be too critical.
There’s not much to say about the trackpad, other than it’s responsive, smooth to the touch and isn’t so big that it gets in the way.
The port selection is fairly impressive, especially compared to the MacBook Air. You get a HDMI port (a surprise for such a compact laptop), as well as 2x USB-A, 1x USB-C and a headphone jack. I would have preferred to have one extra USB-C connection though, especially since it will be taken up by the power adapter when charging.
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) comes in a cardboard box, but the laptop is held in place by polystyrene and wrapped in a plastic sheet, which isn’t a good look in terms of sustainability. There’s also no mention of using recycled materials for the laptop on the official website. It’s a poor effort from Huawei; the laptop may be going green in terms of colourway, but it certainly isn’t embracing an eco-friendly philosophy.
Screen
- Vibrant and colourful OLED touchscreen
- 120Hz refresh rate
- Sub-standard speakers
The new OLED screen is arguably the biggest upgrade for the Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) compared to its predecessor.
OLED allows individual pixels to be completely switched off when producing deep, dark blacks. This results in an outstanding contrast, therefore making bordering colours appear bolder and brighter by comparison.
That comes across when watching videos on the MateBook, particularly the Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga trailer, with the deep blue sky and golden desert afforded more vibrancy, and the fire explosions more striking.
The move to an OLED screen has also allowed Huawei to increase the brightness from 300 nits (which is average for a laptop) to a more impressive 450 nits, which I’ve been able to verify during the testing process. This brings the MateBook closer to the peak brightness (500 nits) of the MacBook Air, and I never found the screen difficult to view in bright conditions.
The OLED panel also ensures the MateBook 14 (2024) excels when it comes to colour accuracy. It has a Delta E score of 0.54 (which is excellent) and near perfect colour coverage, hitting 100% of sRGB, 90% of Adobe RGB and 100% of DCI-P3. All of these results mean the OLED screen of the MateBook 14 can be used for colour sensitive workloads such as video editing – although I’d still be reluctant to call it a MacBook Pro rival due to the limited graphics performance.
Huawei has upped the screen resolution to 2.8K, ensuring there are enough pixels here for a crisp and sharp image. I think this is the sweet spot for a laptop this size, as 4K doesn’t make too much of a difference to image quality, yet can be devastating to the battery life.
The 3:2 aspect ratio remains the same, which is optimised for productivity use and viewing websites. The touchscreen also returns, which is becoming a rare luxury for a laptop at this price. While Huawei’s M-Pencil stylus is supported, it does not come bundled with the laptop.
Impressively, the Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) features a 120Hz refresh rate, allowing for smoother scrolling. This is a feature that isn’t even available on the MacBook Air, with Apple reserving the technology for the MacBook Pro series instead.
There are two speakers built into the MateBook 14, both positioned on the laptop’s underside. This is probably the weakest element of the laptop, as the speakers offer a flat and meagre performance, failing to give the Furiosa trailer the blockbuster bombast it deserves. Dialogue is presented clearly, but I’d still rather use a pair of headphones for music or video streaming than settle for these sub-par speakers.
Performance
- Upgraded to 14th Generation Intel processor
- Lacks an option for a discrete GPU
- Spacious 1TB SSD with nippy speeds
As with the majority of laptops of 2024, the Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) has been upgraded to the 14th Generation of Intel Core processors. Not only do these new Intel chips provide a performance boost, but they also enhance the AI skills of this laptop – at least once more AI apps finally become available.
Huawei is shipping the MateBook 14 (2024) with both the Intel Core Ultra 7 (tested here) and Ultra 5, although only the former will be available in the UK. I think that’s a great shame, as most people probably don’t need the added power of the Ultra 7.
As expected, the MateBook 14 performed very well in our benchmark tests for processing power, posting similar scores to its key ultrabook rivals such as the MacBook Air, Zenbook 14 OLED and Dell XPS 14. The default inclusion of 16GB of RAM also helps to keep the performance smooth even with multiple browser windows and apps open.
In my real-world tests, the processor proved perfectly speedy too. I can’t remember any instances of when the laptop slowed down while I worked, proving it to be an excellent choice for productivity. I also can’t think of any instances when the fans became noisy or the laptop became hot to the touch.
The MateBook’s limitations only become apparent when you attempt to run more graphically intensive workloads, whether it’s gaming or video editing. The 3DMark TimeSpy benchmark results show that it’s lagging behind most modern Windows laptops, especially anything with a discrete graphics chip.
In terms of storage, the MateBook 14 comes with a generous 1TB capacity for the price point, and I doubt most users will need more than that. SSD speeds are pleasingly nippy too, with the 5223MB/s read score, and 4954MB/s write score ensuring that installation times and large file transfers should be relatively quick.
Software
- Works seamlessly with Huawei smartphones and tablets
- AI Search is a handy feature
- No third-party bloatware
The MateBook 14 (2024) ships with a fair few Huawei-made apps and software, but some of them are genuinely quite useful.
The Huawei Control Panel offers a lot of handy shortcuts for useful settings such as taking screenshots, adjusting display settings and deactivating the webcam. These are all things you can do via Windows, but it’s still nice to have all of these controls in one place.
I really like the AI Search feature here too, which can quickly locate any apps or files installed on your PC. Again, the Windows search bar can also accomplish this, but I personally found Huawei’s AI search feature to be slightly more effective and efficient.
And then there’s Huawei Mobile Cloud, which makes it easier to transfer files, images and videos between the MateBook 14 and any other Huawei-branded smartphone or tablet.
I’m glad to see that Huawei hasn’t pre-installed any third-party bloatware, so there’s no need to go on a cleaning spree when you first boot up this laptop.
Battery Life
- Lasted for 10 hours in our battery test
- Takes 90 minutes to replenish the battery
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) has a 70Wh battery capacity, which is a notable increase on the 56Wh cell of the previous entry. Huawei claims this will extend the battery life up to 19 hours of video playback, one hour more than Apple’s claim for the MacBook Air.
Extended video playback is great, but it’s not the deciding factor. My own testing shows that the MateBook 14 could last for 10 hours and 6 minutes when looping productivity workloads via PCMark 10 with the screen brightness dimmed to 150 nits. This test gives a general overview of daily battery life, and 10 hours should get most people through a busy workday even if it’s not the very best I have seen.
The laptop comes bundled with a 65W charger, which is more than double the power of the default 30W MacBook Air charger. It took me roughly 90 minutes to fully replenish the laptop’s battery, with a 30 minute charge delivering a 20% charge. I wouldn’t say that’s super speedy, but it’s plenty fast enough for the average user.
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Should you buy it?
You should buy if you want a good value productivity laptop
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) provides impressive specs at an affordable price. You get 16GB of RAM and 1TB storage for just £1199. It will be tough to top that value.
You shouldn’t buy if you want graphics firepower
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) lacks a discrete GPU, and so isn’t a good option for the likes of gamers and professional content creators.
Final Thoughts
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) represents fantastic value for money, with £1199 bagging you 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. For the equivalent specs on the latest MacBook Air, you’ll need to pay at least £1699 which is a huge £500 difference.
You also get a couple of extras such as an OLED touchscreen and a wider selection of ports. Battery life may not be quite as good as the MacBook Air, but it’s still perfectly reasonable here with our tests indicating 10-hour stamina.
The Huawei MateBook 14 (2024) doesn’t necessarily excel in one specific area, but it’s a fantastic all-rounder productivity machine for your money. For more options, check out our best laptop and best ultrabook guides.
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key factors, including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real-world checks, such as how well it runs popular apps.
Used as our main laptop for two weeks during testing.
We test the performance via both benchmark tests and real-world use.
We test the screen with a colorimeter and real-world use.
We test the battery with a benchmark test and real-world use.
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FAQs
Our tests show that the MateBook 14 lasts around 10 hours on a single charge when dealing with productivity workloads.
No, this is not a waterproof laptop.
It took us just under 90 minutes to fully charge the Huawei MateBook 14.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
