Bangkok — Can Buy or Not made a special trip up to the City of Angels to check out Huawei's latest Smart Office devices. What's new is the Huawei MatePad Pro 11, a 5.9mm, 11-inch tablet with a 120Hz OLED display. Check for our hands-on impressions below. While most of the laptops had been announced earlier this year for the China market, we know now that the MateBook 16s, MateBook D16, and MateBook X Pro are heading to Singapore soon. We also checked out the latest FreeBuds Pro 2 wireless earphones. Pre-orders for the MateBooks begin August 5, local pricing to be released later.
Huawei MatePad Pro 11
The Huawei MatePad Pro 11 will inevitably draw comparisons with the Apple iPad series. It comes with a magnetic detachable keyboard, and the second-gen Huawei M-Pencil. The premium build, and 120Hz OLED screen were impressive. I quite like how it felt in my hands. It's also smaller than expected despite the 11-inch screen. The frosted glass rear is also fingerprint-resistant, which makes me happy. There's really nothing more I hate to see than fingerprint smudges on my shiny new tablet.
As always, ecosystem issues abound, but Huawei has made some inroads into building its own OS — HarmonyOS 3.0. There's no 5G support, but you do get LTE. It also sports a circular camera cutout similar to the Mate 50 series. However, I'm not sure if I will be taking photos with my tablet. But better than not having an option I guess. Pricing has not been revealed, but you can get it from Aug 19.
Huawei MateBook 16s
Huawei's 16-inch laptop for professionals and creatives pack Intel's 12th-gen processors, and Iris Xe graphics. The 16-inch screen sports super-thin bezels, a 2,520 x 1,680-pixel resolution, a 100% sRGB wide colour gamut and 300nits brightness.
The laptop looks pretty premium. The design may be familiar to Apple users, down to the tiny metal grills for the speakers. Keyboard flex is definitely minimal, and I loved the typing experience. There's a natural bounce that's appealing. The screen, too, is as advertised, bright and vibrant. And as part of Huawei Smart Office, there's the Super Device cross collaboration feature, which lets you pair Huawei smartphones, tablets, or monitors easily. Buy it from Aug 19.
Huawei MateBook D16
While it's yet another 16-inch laptop, the ultraportable MateBook D16 packs a 16:10 display, 1.7kg weight, and Intel 12th-gen i7 H-Series processor. It reminds me of a super-sized MacBook Air — the older design — but with cooling fans. However, it does look a little plasticky at first glance. But the build does feel solid. I liked that Huawei has squeezed in a full-sized keyboard with a dedicated camera button to turn it off. And like the MateBook 16s, there's Super Device support, as well. It will go on sale on Aug 19.
Huawei MateBook X Pro
Last but not least, the 14.2-inch MateBook X Pro packs a 3.1K display, 500nits brightness, and a touchscreen. It's running on Intel's 12th-gen processors, and will come with a 30W TDP performance mode. At 1.38kg, the laptop is light as heck. The keyboard, like the MateBook 16s, is excellent, springy with a nice feel. The screen is rated for professional use, and I love just how good it looks. The build quality for this laptop is top-notch, and I expect pricing to be similarly premium. It will go on sale from Aug 19.
Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2
These Apple AirPods Pro lookalike true wireless earbuds pack pretty legit sound, especially in the bass department. I listened to Jessi's What Kind of X at the demo area, and came away impressed. Jay Park's Gandara also sounded pretty clear with IU's guest vocals shining through. Lastly, noise cancelling was excellent — the crowd's buzz was only slightly audible when turned on. It goes on sale from Sep 1.
