Laptops

HUAWEI MateBook X Pro 2024 review: Air Thin, Pro Build

With plenty of power to spare

Published

July 9, 2024

More Air than “Air”. More Pro than “Pro”. Non-verbatim, but this was the claim that Huawei boldly made during the regional launch of the MateBook X Pro (2024) held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The “Air” and “Pro” here pertain to the laptops made by Apple — MacBooks.

I had the privilege of spending a couple of weeks with the latest MateBook X Pro. Does it live up to the lofty standards it set for itself? The answer isn’t a clear cut yes or no – especially for someone like myself who prefers Macs over Mates (or any other productivity-leaning Windows laptops). But what Huawei has here is pretty darn compelling.

Air thin, Pro build

I’m gonna come right out the gate and say I wish there was a MacBook built exactly like this.

Screen size-wise, it sits in that sweet spot between the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook air while retaining a similar level of thinness. The 15-inch MacBook Air M3 measures at 11.5mm while the MateBook X Pro comes in at 13.5mm. That’s a negligible difference for most people.

But that minute difference let Huawei put a key component that the MacBook Air does not: Fans. Specifically, the Shark Fin Fans. The importance of cooling cannot be understated. And while it’s more of a necessity for the MateBook because of the nature of its processor, it’s still quite a feat to add fans to such a razor thin device.

In case you’re curious, Huawei claims that the cooling tech they applied boosts performance by 37%. You won’t even hear the fan unless you’re actually pushing the laptop. For us, it only happened while playing games. More on that later.

Stunning look and feel

In terms of build quality, I absolutely give the edge to the MateBook X Pro. They’re calling it the “Skyline Design: Sleek at first sight,” and it certainly lives up to that billing.

It’s a little hard to put into words but every single design decision – from its shape, to the hinge, and all the way down to its finish – just screams premium.

Huawei says it’s made with magnesium alloy that is less dense but is stronger than aluminum and steel. It’s likely not a material that’s cost-effective which is why you don’t see it in more laptops. But it’s key in giving the MateBook X Pro an ultra-light feel. Icannot stress ultra-light enough because it’s one of the most important things about this device.

You see, I personally have been on a mission to make my daily loadout as light as possible. I’ve primarily switched to foldables to be able to do light work on-the-go. But there are tasks that are just simply more efficient on a laptop. And the MateBook X Pro is hands-down the lightest I have ever carried without compromising on performance.

It also has a matte finish that just feels so damn good to touch. I’ve had this laptop for a while now but whenever I use it I still find myself gushing at its finish in between moments of typing and thinking. Also, the matte finish isn’t all for show. It’s also scratch and stain resistant.

“Premium” just doesn’t fully encapsulate what it’s like to touch, hold, and feel the MateBook X Pro. At the risk of hyping it too much, it’s an experience that’s akin to opening gifts during Christmas morning as a child. It offers a sense of awe and wonder that stays with you for a while.

An executive’s pro partner

I always felt like a million dollars whenever I used the MateBook X Pro. And that goes beyond its undeniably well-crafted design and build. For most work tasks, this won’t leave you wanting.

As the Managing Editor, I dabble into a little bit of everything. However, none of my tasks are particularly demanding in terms of my need for raw processing power from my laptop. On days that I’m out and about, I rely on my foldable smartphones for many of my coordination and liaison duties. With those, I can also do a little bit of light writing and editing.

However, many days require hunkering down and spending plenty of quality time in front of a laptop screen and with a keyboard that feels satisfying to type on. In the days when my partner was the MateBook X Pro, it felt like I’m breezing to many of my deliverables. If anything, I was the only one who was slow. Skill issue.

Split screen helps with the less than stellar multi-desktop switching

On regular laptop work days, I have a couple of browsers with multiple tabs open. Nothing too crazy, just around 15 to 20. On top of that, I also have around four to five messaging apps open. Through these, I do everything from email and message correspondence, assigning articles to writers, copy editing, transferring video and photo files for our video editors to process, signing documents, and more. Pretty standard stuff. But never did I experience a hiccup.

Oh and the keyboard feels incredibly good to type on despite having a thin profile. There’s enough travel and you feel every key press glide through. It makes you want to use the laptop even more.

Plenty of power for multiple tasks

In the event that I had to do some light photo and/or video editing, I found that the display is color accurate which is helpful for any media work. I didn’t expect the machine to struggle here because most of it is indeed just light work.

That’s about what I expected since the MateBook X Pro is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. And despite its small body, it’s able to push up to a 40W TDP. Essentially, that’s what makes it easy for the machine to breeze through all the multi-tasking. I find myself lagging more than the laptop. Naturall, that’s a me problem.

In case you’re curious, that processor is complemented by 32GB of RAM and 2TB of on-device storage.

I should also mention that this does come with support for Copilot. That means you’re free to dabble with AI thingamajigs.

Helpful Huawei additions

The one thing holding the MateBook X Bro back is Windows. I briefly spoke about it with our Modern Creatures friend, Vikka and she hit the nail on the head: Windows’ File System, its general trackpad feel, and its sleep-to-wake function just isn’t as smooth and seamless as it should be. But Huawei included some helpful things to help mitigate some of these.

First, the sleep-to-wake function is certainly faster than most Windows laptops I’ve used in the past. Still not faster than Macbooks, but that’s an advantage the Apple has for developing both the hardware and software in-house – which really, is their advantage over all Windows laptops.

To help mitigate some of what I find to be horrendous implementations by Windows, Huawei has the FreeTouch feature which are additional gestures you can use for quick controls.

It was turned on by the default on Huawe’s PC Manager, but if you wish to check if these gestures are indeed turned on, use two fingers and swipe inwards from the right edge of the touchpad. That should launch the PC manager.

That already tells you that the gestures are turned on. But to check what else you can do, go to My Devices and select FreeTouch. There you’ll be able to toggle the FreeTouch gestures you want to use.

Some of the ones I found really helpful and used regularly are the following:

Screenshot: Knock twice with a single knuckle.
Screen recording: Knock twice with two knuckles.
Brightness adjustment: Swipe one finger along the left edge of the touchpad.
Volume adjustment: Swipe one finger along the left edge of the touchpad.

The last two I found really helpful and amusing. I’m coming from a MacBook Pro with a broken touch bar and the only way for me to make these adjustments there now is to go into settings.

These two FreeTouch gestures are so intuitive that I strongly believe every laptop maker should copy it. Also, those edge touches have haptic feedback so you will feel something as you slide your finger along the edges.

Other gestures are:

Minimizing a window: Press the upper left corner of the touchpad.
Closing a window: Press the upper right corner of the touchpad.

I prefer working on multiple desktops and swiping from left to right to jump through these just doesn’t feel as smooth on Windows. And while that will likely remain a paint point, I’m thankful for these added gestures that make certain little tasks more efficient.

P.S. Hopefully they add a gesture to quickly access the emoji keyboard. I use that a lot.

Camera cover

Another tiny but helpful addition is the camera cover slider on the right side of the laptop right next to a USB-C port.

Simply slide as needed to cover the camera when not in use or when you don’t want to show your beautiful face during conference calls.

Gaming???

Didn’t see this coming, did you? I’m actually a pretty big gamer. I primarily play on a PS5 but have dabbled into PC gaming of late. PC Game Pass is a godsend and guess what, I was able to use it on the Huawei MateBook X Pro.

The combination of the specs already mentioned along with the Intel Arc Graphics and a 3:2 aspect ratio display that supports 120Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response speed means I can sneak in some play time when I bring this machine to out of town trips.

In fact, I played a bit of the opening minutes of Lies of P, while I’m in Paris, France for a coverage. This was the only time that I heard the fans buzzing. Playing a title like this will push the machine. And even if the Graphics Settings were only set to medium, it was still more than good enough to look at and get a little bit of progress on your playthrough.

Works extremely with Freebuds

Oh and if you happen to use Huawei’s own Freebuds Pro, they pair perfectly with the MateBook X Pro offering fantastic audio for gaming and other media consumption. You also get high-quality noise cancelling whose effect is improved when these two are in tandem. Perfect combination? Most definitely.

Is the Huawei MateBook X Pro 2024 your GadgetMatch?

There’s not enough talk about how HUAWEI hardware is so expertly crafted. They prove their proficiency once more in this regard with the HUAWEI MateBook X Pro 2024.

It’s a machine that will have you waxing poetic like how Andrew Garfield once described Emma Stone so endearingly: “She was like a shot of espresso. She’s like being bathed in the sunlight. She’s incredibly energetic and enthusiastic and she had this sense of play and fun which was incredibly exciting”.

It just has that overall effect despite being held back by certain implementations of its operating system. And you should want that kind of effect since it’s a machine that will ask a lot from you monetarily. It retails for a staggering PhP 129,999 with massive pre-order bonuses (details down below).

There are plenty of other options at that price point depending on your needs. However, I’m fairly confident there’s only a handful that can compete against the unique experience that the Huawei MateBook X Pro brings due its combination of look, feel, performance, and build.

Personally, I can certainly say the MateBook X Pro is MY GadgetMatch. Whether it’s yours or not depends entirely on the kind of work you do and the system you want to operate in. But despite my preferences, I still opted to carry this laptop because its positives are unique and heavily outweigh my disdain for how parts of its OS feels.

The Huawei MateBook X Pro 2024 launched alongside the MateBook 14 Pro. Pre-order period is from July 12-31. Price and first-sale freebies are as follows:

MateBook X Pro 2024 – PhP 129,999
Freebies: Huawei Vision S 65″ TV (worth PhP 45,999) + Backpack (worth PhP 1,899)

MateBook 14 Pro – Starts at PhP 59,999
Freebies: MateView SE Monitor (worth PhP 7,999) + Backpack (worth PhP 1,899)

Pre-order here.

Laptops

Are you ready for a more colorful MacBook?

Apple is experimenting with quirkier colorway options for the MacBook.

Published

February 16, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

In recent years, Apple has relented on limiting the colors of its devices to only the more premium-looking options. Users can now pick quirkier colors for their iPhones, highlighted currently by the Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max. Soon, the same splashes of color might make its way to the MacBook lineup.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has been testing different colorway options for its upcoming entry-level MacBook. The unannounced lineup might come in pink, light yellow, light green, and blue.

It’s a big change for MacBooks. Currently, the only “quirky” option that users can get is the MacBook Air’s Sky Blue, which honestly looks more silvery than blue. Other than that, the MacBook simply seesaws from different shades of gold, silver, and black.

To be fair, the upcoming MacBook will still have the traditional colorways of the current lineup. Additionally, it’s unclear whether Apple will ultimately include all its experimental colors into the final lineup.

Reportedly, the new lineup will cost somewhere between US$ 699 to US$ 799. Of course, the lower price tag will come at the expense of some specs. Although, it should still be good if we’re talking about an entry-level laptop.

It’s even more interesting if it’s hinting at the return of truly colorful options but for the notebook. The iMac already got a similar renaissance back in 2024, which mimics the classic computer’s colorful history.

SEE ALSO: M5 MacBook Pro review

Laptops

ASUS, Acer PCs are banned in Germany

And it’s all because of Nokia.

Published

February 16, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Brands getting banned are commonplace in today’s tech landscape. These usually happen because of geopolitical reasons, especially if it’s in the United States. In Europe, brands sometimes get banned for anticompetition reasons. Today, however, a commonly used codec, HEVC, is at the center of a controversy that has led to the banning of ASUS and Acer in Germany. Even crazier, Nokia is involved.

For context, Nokia owns several patents for video codecs. One of those codecs, HEVC (or High-Efficiency Video Coding) is ubiquitous in every PC, which means that every PC maker must purchase a license to include the codec in their machines. It’s an essential these days, so it’s unusual for ASUS and Acer to miss it.

In Germany, where licensing is stricter, both companies were found guilty of infringing the patent, as reported by German outlet Hardwareluxx. As a result, ASUS and Acer must stop selling PC and laptop sales until they obtain a license from Nokia.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean that the two brands have disappeared from the country. Third-party retailers can still sell their remaining stock. However, the companies cannot import or sell any new stock, pending a conclusion to the issue.

Naturally, the easiest fix is to just buy the license. Hisense, another company that found itself in the same mire, bought a license last month. Either ASUS and Acer are running into more technical issues, or they just didn’t feel the license was worth it for a single market.

Laptops

TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th review: No-frills beneath those grills

All-around laptop without messing around

Published

February 8, 2026

Vincenz

For the record, the last time I held a Windows laptop was back in 2022. It wasn’t even a conventional one. Rather, it was a gaming hybrid — or a laptop and tablet rolled into one. That was a short escape though.

After being a religious Mac user since 2016, it’s high time to re-experience Windows four years after that very limiting ROG review.

Here’s my 16-day stint with the TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th – Intel Edition.

All-metal clad that’s far from being bad

Gone are the days of Windows laptops that are icky plasticky.

If it is not evident enough, the TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th uses real metal. It looks and feels solid. And by that, it has characteristics of being decently hefty and light at the same time.

The only problem with this finish is how much of a smear magnet it is. But hey, at least it’s on par with my 2023 MacBook Pro for this smudge madness (or smudge-ness in my vocabulary).

With a laptop this size, port selection should be the least of its concerns.

It has twice the USB-C and USB-A 3.1 ports, as well as inclusions of HDMI 1.4, Ethernet / RJ45, and 3.5mm audio jack. Kensington lock is still present as well — not that it’s badly-needed.

If I were to nitpick, two things that ick me are the arrangement of ports. Look at how inconsistent they are, much like seeing your disorganized spoons, forks, and knives in a single tray.

Another would be the inclusion of a microSD card slot instead of a regular SD one. I don’t get how the latter was not chosen especially with its sheer size.

Now Playing: Can This Love Be Translated 🗣️🔥⁉️

Just like waiting to re-experience a Windows device, the same can be said when I waited for the premiere of the K-Drama “Can This Love Be Translated.”

The title was already compelling to begin with. That curiosity sparked twofold upon knowing that my two favorite stars (Kim Seonho and Go Younjung) will steer drive the whole series.

Speaking of star, the biggest star of this laptop has got to be its massive 16-inch display.

Not only I was able to reinvigorate my heart with the rom-com scene of Joo Hojin and Cha Muhee in front of that dreamy Mt. Fuji scenery.

Their Aurora Borealis scene was also breathtaking. Although not as vivid as other displays, its max brightness felt just right to make the visuals pop against that harsh sunlight.

And while we’re already at it, the matte coating of the K16s 13th has been a real savior. It’s more useful for users (like me) who work at cafés with large windows every once in a while. My MacBook Pro definitely loses this fight with its awfully reflective panel.

While it is not, in any way, greater than any other OLED display nor some panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, it still feels justified considering where the K16s 13th is positioned in this vast laptop market.

On Queue: EXO’s REVERXE, ZB1’s Running To Future,

My idol anticipation doesn’t stop there. EXO’s much-awaited comeback as a full group is another one. Then, there’s ZEROBASEONE’s release.

These comeback promotions should sound good, right? Well, not really.

EXO is coming back with three missing members, all because of a justifiable lawsuit against their agency.

On the other hand, ZB1 is coming back — but, for the last time as they will disband real soon after completing their 2.5-year contract as a project group. A real disadvantage of a group being formed during a survival show.

Just look at how cohesive the K-Pop album covers look for January 2026

Much like all that bittersweet aftertaste, I can relate the same feeling with the MEGABOOK K16’s speaker setup.

On paper, TECNO says it’s a master-level 2.5W 4013 quad-speaker setup that delivers 300% louder volume. I am not sure how it was tested nor compared.

Without much comparison, it’s adequately loud. However, it lacks the fullness and all the necessary thump and oomph to make the sound fuller than ever.

This just means a big laptop isn’t directly synonymous to having a greater audio system.

Unparalleled performance for its price

NGL, I have been spoiled by power-packed laptops especially for the creative work that I do.

That said, the MEGABOOK K16s 13th is far from being a slouch with the Intel Core i9 (specifically the 13900HK) at its core. That’s then paired by Intel’s Iris Xe graphics, alongside 32GB of memory, plus 512GB of SSD storage.

Without a hitch, I immediately installed all the essential creativity apps I use.

Lightroom is less demanding so post-processing the photos I took for the MEGABOOK K16s 13th was easy-peasy.

I then managed to make static graphics using Adobe Photoshop for another review article.

As for Premiere Pro and After Effects, you can still scrub through heaps of layers with tolerable amount of hiccup considering how packed my timeline was.

This laptop boasts a cooling fan system that kicked in heavily when the laptop was in dire need of releasing all the heat within — which went out through its four air vents.

Work-life balance achieved

My test doesn’t end just yet. I have installed both the Forza Horizon 5 and Euro Truck Simulator 2 for greater measure.

As expected, having integrated graphics (and the lack of a dedicated graphics) mean lower graphics support.

Surprisingly, both titles were playable enough. I enjoyed playing Forza Horizon 5 even in the lowest playable setting for more than 30 minutes — just with some stutters in between.

ETS2 felt smoother though. Driving the bus with the custom livery I made on Photoshop last 2019 was still working — and my pre-pandemic nostalgia kicked in.

Using the keyboard for playing isn’t the best thing in the world but it does the job — much like how I was able to write this review piece using the laptop itself.

As for the feel, the keys are more on the mushier side that felt like typing on a mashed potato. Not that I’m expecting a mechanical nor MacBook-level type of clickiness.

Good thing is, its trackpad supports gestures I’ve been heavily using since transitioning to a Mac.

Security-wise, the TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th can be unlocked with your fingerprint button using the power button as the reader.

That 1MP webcam also has a sliding cover for that extra level of protection against privy hackers.

Enduring that endurance

For the most part, the 70Wh battery of the MEGABOOK K16s 13th delivers a satisfactory endurance.

You will not feel its gradual decrease for the most basic of tasks — writing notes, being in a call meeting, even juggling through tens and hundreds of webpages for your write-ups.

Even between consuming several hours of entertainment, the MEGABOOK K16s 13th can still manage just like any other modern-day laptop would.

With the excellency and efficiency of hardware components in this digital age, it’s hard to kill a laptop with these day-to-day habits.

That said, the MEGABOOK K16s 13th isn’t totally meant for anything graphics-heavy.

As one would (and should) expect, the battery level instantly descends the moment you enter the start screen of a game or export a 10-second motion graphic in After Effects.

For instance, after running Forza Horizon 5 for 20 minutes, it depleted significantly from 51% all the way down to 27%.

Fortunately, the MEGABOOK K16s 13th packs a 65W GaN charger out of the box.

Charging speeds isn’t all that great, though, as it will take a long time filling the battery from zero to the brim.

I have honestly given up my GadgetMatch Charge Test upon realizing that in the 45-minute mark, it was only able to fill it at 27%.

This just means that in order to enjoy your me time, you have to sit very near a plug outlet. Moreover, expect severe battery health degradation in the long run if you intend to use it for casual gaming.

“Win”dows is far from winning

Before being a Mac user last 2016, I have been a long-time Windows user. My youthful years made me experience Windows 98, XP, Vista, 7, and even as far as Windows 8.1. My university years in 2015? Relying on Windows 10.

Now that we’re in the era of Windows 11, it’s still far from being flawless.

Even before Fruitiger Aero aesthetics of Windows Vista, Apple was already way ahead of its time with the first iteration of the OS X dubbed “Cheetah” and its translucent UI elements along a cleaner overall look.

2.5 decades after, Windows is as cluttered as it was in its prime days. Settings are for one, file system for another.

Task Manager, Explorer, and even Recycle Bin still crash like crazy — even if the MEGABOOK K16s 13th is already equipped with a pro-grade processor in its core.

The lack of fluidity is also for another. It will really make any Mac user justify the “once you go Mac, you can never go back” saying. Reality speaking, Windows is far from winning over.

This isn’t a TECNO problem per se. It’s always been about Microsoft not fully immersing and polishing their software for the longest of time.

If you happen to own other TECNO devices, TECNO’s PC Manager saves the day.

That so-called “OneLeap Collaboration” not only enables seamless data sharing and file transfers between all your TECNO devices, it also has support for Multi-Screen or Remote PC.

PC cloning, laptop optimizations, even troubleshooting, can also be done in this one-stop app.

Is the TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th your GadgetMatch?

The TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th in the Philippines retails for PhP 46,999 — and I am not even surprised by this.

I have known TECNO as a brand for quite a while now. The MEGABOOK K16s 13th is another testament to the brand’s vision of bringing devices within the reach of consumers at the middle to the lower-end of the working class.

For those who need better performance, especially those who need intensive graphics power (emphasis on intensive), this is obviously a Swipe Left.

However, it’s a no-brainer Swipe Right for buyers who want a shiny new all-rounder laptop without spending a fortune.

Even with the similar price as the ASUS Vivobook S16, the TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th has the upper-hand with its more powerful 13th-Gen Intel Core i9 chipset plus Iris Xe graphics (versus the Core 5 + UHD Graphics pairing).

That’s if you don’t care about the latter’s smoother 144Hz IPS display.

Being “basic” is neither a bad thing

The TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th is as “basic” as a Windows laptop can get — at least compared to a swarm of 2-in-1s, ultrabooks, creative powerhouses, and gaming machineries.

I am not saying this is a letdown. In fact, I have to commend the K16s 13th for being a simple yet straightforward laptop that delivers all the necessities without frills.

Although it’s the core definition of a “basic” Windows laptop, it’s still a powerful one — way beyond its price point. It should serve as an example of how “basic” Windows laptops should be in the first place.

The TECNO MEGABOOK K16s 13th is simply an all-around laptop that delivers without messing around.