Priced at €599, the Huawei Matebook D 16 is THE best cheap laptop PC for January 2025 – LaptopSpirit

Our opinion on the Huawei Matebook D 16

Elegant, sober, light (1.7 kg) and responsive, the Huawei Matebook D 16 is the comfortable ultrabook par excellence. Its metal case contains an advantageous productive configuration with a 10-core Intel Core i5 at the center supported by 16 GB of RAM and a fast 512 GB SSD storage, a powerful configuration perfect for a web developer for example. In addition, the 16:10 IPS borderless screen takes care of immersion, there is a 1080p webcam, satisfactory connectivity and the battery life exceeds 8 hours. Too bad the Thunderbolt isn't there.

Want to know what our testers thought? It’s over here!

The Huawei Matebook D 16 faces the competition

THE Huawei Matebook D 16 stands out among the selection in our comparison thanks to its sober look evoking the finesse of a MacBook, its powerful processor, its light weight and its borderless screen.

Features of the Huawei Matebook D 16

Chassis, connectivity, screen of the Huawei Matebook D 15 2021

Renowned for the quality of its cases, Huawei reserves the same treatment for its Matebook D 16. All metal, the 16-inch ultrabook inspires confidence in the hand. The surfaces are smooth and matte, assembled with care and have no sharp edges that could make handling uncomfortable. Some would even give it a little austere side as the gray color conveys a very neutral image, without Huawei having tried to brighten things up. Fans of Apple PCs will be won over, fans of garish design a little less so. Either way, the Matebook D 16 will be able to slip into any environment without being noticed. Note also that its 16-inch format remains easily transportable thanks to its low weight.

When opening, we are immediately struck by the borderless screen which occupies 87% of the space. The immersion is convincing, especially since the IPS panel ensures wide viewing angles (Huawei announces 178 degrees) and that the screen can open flat to benefit from a more modular approach in all circumstances. The definition ofFull HD screen (1920 x 1200 px) is suitable for the greatest number of people and allows you to display your HD content in the best conditions while the 16:10 format scores points for comfort. We actually gain a few lines in height, perfect for expanding the work space. The max. brightness is in the good average with 300 nits.

The keyboard is white backlit and includes a numeric keypad.

For its part, the connectivity is of a good level even if some may regret the absence of a card reader. Here, an HDMI output, two standard-sized USB ports (1 x USB 2.0 and 1 x USB 3.2) and two USB 3.2 Type-C are in the game. Note that one of the two USB-Cs is also and above all used for charging. Connectivity is entrusted to recent Wifi AX and Bluetooth 5.1 wireless modules and a biometric reader is hidden in the Power button for quick and secure authentication via Windows Hello. This is the most natural integration in our opinion.

Last point to emphasize regarding the chassis, the webcam is in its initial place above the screen (and no longer hidden under a key) but more importantly, it has a 1080P definition, more suitable for modern video than small traditional webcams ( 720p) still too common among laptops.

Performance, autonomy of the Huawei Matebook D 15 2021

To animate this Matebook D 16 2021, we have a processor Core i5-12450H (10 hearts) supported by 16 GB of RAM. This duo is perfectly capable of supporting high performance tasks (45W). Overall, this translates into complete management of versatile use consisting of video editing, 3D rendering, programming or parallelization, with advanced calculations, but in measures to be qualified given the absence of a dedicated graphics card. Indeed, it often has an impact in creative tasks.

Integrated, integrated graphics chip Iris (48EU) allows you to play many games at 1080p in good conditions and to work on tasks that are quite demanding in graphics power (Lightroom) without delay. We are not at the level of a dedicated GPU but the small integrated chip is more than sufficient for everyday use and for some occasional graphics tasks.

For its part, storage is entrusted to a 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD which will bring a welcome dose of responsiveness to the system. Compared to a standard mechanical hard drive, it is quieter, more robust and energy efficient and allows Windows to achieve a remarkable level of fluidity with short loading times and execution without latency. What's more, its capacity is not ridiculous and can accommodate a good part of your game library even if some may not find it sufficient.

Finally, the 60 Wh Li-Polymer battery should allow you to last a short day away from a power outlet, i.e. 8 hours of battery life approximately. It is not the best placed in this area but it remains average.