Huawei MateBook X Pro

Huawei may not have a reputation as a high-end laptop manufacturer, but it’s clearly gunning for Apple’s MacBooks and Microsoft’s Surface devices with its MateBook X Pro. It’s borrowed the all-aluminium chassis from Apple’s playbook, and the MateBook X Pro has the specs of a serious contender. The device tapers from 14mm at its deepest point, while the 13.9in touchscreen has a resolution of 3,000 x 2,000. The X Pro is powered by an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, a GeForce MX150 GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, and a 57.4Wh battery that Huawei says supports 12 hours of HD video playback. There’s also a fingerprint reader built into the power button and Huawei claims the power-on routine will take just 7.8 seconds.

There’s a growing market in security shields to cover webcams and the MateBook has tucked the webcam under a top-row keyboard tile that pops up like a 1980s sports car headlight. This also means that screen’s top bezel is a mere 4.4mm.

The prices range from €1,499 for a model with an i5 processor, 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage, to €1,899 with a Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Huawei also revealed a flurry of Android tablets under the MediaPad M5 brand – with the devices featuring 8.4in or 10.8in screens and 4GB of memory. KEY DIGITS AND DETAILS Price €269 Availability Expected March Processor Intel Core i5-8250U or Core i7-8550U processor Memory 8GB/16GB Storage 256GB/512GB SSD Ports 3.5mm stereo headset jack, 2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 OS Windows 10 Screen 13.9in 3,000 x 2,000 Weight 1.33kg