Huawei announces new MateBook D 14 & 15

25/02/2020 DRSC Pro DRSC Pro, Huawei News, Huawei News-English

Huawei announced updated versions of their mainstream MateBook D line-up of laptops.

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Following the announcement of their updated MateBook X Pro line-up, with the release of the MateBook X Pro (2020), Huawei showcased updated versions of their mainstream laptops, the MateBook D, with two different sized models, the MateBook D 14 inches and the MateBook D 15 inches.

Just as with the MateBook X Pro (2020), the naming of these new variants is rather confusing, with us settling for MateBook D 14 (2020) and MateBook D 15 (2020). The 15” version comes with a 15.6” display, with a screen-to-body ratio of 87%, slightly less than the 91% achieved by the MateBook X Pro (2020).

For the processor, we also find various versions with Intel’s latest generation, up to the 10th generation i7. Otherwise, there are also versions coming with AMD’s Ryzen 7 mobile processors, coupled with Radeon RX Vega 10 graphics, making of this variant a rather capable machine which could be used to play games on low settings.

To properly cool the processor and graphics card, Huawei uses their updated Shark Fin Fan 2.0, with 33% more blades for 27% more airflow, which allows the laptop to maintain its performance for longer periods of time. A new feature on the MateBook D is the inclusion of a fingerprint reader on the power button, which, until now, was reserved to the more premium MateBook X Pro line-up. With this, users can unlock the laptop at the same time as they are powering it up, not requiring inputting the password each time. Lastly, we also see the arrival of the camera hidden under a key on the keyboard, reducing the size of the bezels around the screen and improving privacy.

One of the few advantages of the MateBook D line-up compared to the MateBook X Pro line-up is that, since these laptops are thicker, there is more space for extra connectivity. While the MateBook X Pro depends on the external MateDock for extra connectivity, the MateBook D 14 has a type-C port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port and a headphone jack, while the larger MateBook D 15 has the same number of ports, except it comes with three USB-A ports instead of two.

Pricing-wise, there are various versions of these two laptops, with the MateBook D 15 starting at 649€ and the MateBook D 14 starting at 699€:

  • MateBook D 15:
    • R5 [Ryzen]/8GB/256GB SSD for 649€
    • R7 [Ryzen]/8GB/512GB SSD for 799€
    • i5/8GB/256GB SSD/1TB HDD/MX250 for 949€
  • MateBook D 14:
    • R5 [Ryzen]/8GB/512GB SSD for 699€
    • R7 [Ryzen]/8GB/512GB SSD for 799€
    • i5/8GB/512GB SSD/MX250 for 949€

However, while we previously praised Huawei for only offering the MateBook X Pro (2020) with 16GB of RAM, for the MateBook D 14 & 15, the manufacturer appears to be sticking to 8GB of RAM, which, as mentioned, is not enough anymore in 2020. The presentation didn’t mention anything about availability either.

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