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)
Gaming
HP OMEN Max 16 review: Gamer-maxxing in deep black
Peripherals deemed necessary to max this out
It’s not every day that you come across a machine that looks good and plays even better. Oftentimes, subtle aesthetics take a back seat to sheer performance and power. Whenever a gaming machine looks sleeker, it seems to lack the power to push it forward. Simply put, you can’t have the best of both worlds these days.
But what if you could have it all? Not just money, fame, and other fortunes, but also a machine with everything you’re looking for! Gone are the days of wanting only power to keep you playing all day or wanting to look good while playing. On paper, this is what the HP OMEN Max 16 promises: the best of both worlds.
Unboxing a beast inside
When you first take it out of the box, the HP OMEN Max 16 looks unassuming in its overall design. It’s bulky yet sleek in its Shadow Black colorway, with nothing too fancy or flashy while powered down. From the outside, the machine screams premium, even though its dark color can attract more visible dirt than lighter finishes.
Opening it up reveals a 16-inch OLED display with a peak refresh rate of 240Hz, seamlessly connected to a base with a full-sized keyboard and a large trackpad. The bright, seemingly anti-glare display makes colors pop when watching or editing videos on the go.
Furthermore, HP places the ports in convenient spots along the rear and sides of the laptop. This makes it incredibly easy to set up and manage external peripherals while providing more room for ventilation under heavy loads.
Of course, the device’s biggest features lie in the hardware powering it from within. An Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU should give you an idea of how well this machine can perform. It’s also a great combination for demanding productivity tasks and creative work!
Power that AI can only hope to replicate
The HP OMEN Max 16 lived up to many of our expectations in terms of performance. From startup to shutdown, it delivered on what its hardware promised. You can watch videos for longer, edit photos and videos to your heart’s content, and enjoy casual gaming without slowing down. Furthermore, the wide display gives you plenty of space to accommodate all these activities.
When you step up to more competitive gaming, the machine doesn’t miss a beat. Most titles deliver high frame rates regardless of the quality or performance settings you choose. With more advanced visual settings enabled, the RTX 5090 does a fantastic job of keeping supported games within a solid 40–50 FPS range. Pair it with a high-refresh-rate OLED display, and you get crisp details and faster input response to help you get ahead in ranked games all day long.
If there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the extra optimization required through the OMEN Gaming Hub. Features such as network prioritization, automatic power-mode switching, and system optimization are useful, but you’ll need to spend time configuring them during initial setup. The laptop also comes with OMEN AI, which promises to maximize FPS with a single click. However, it was only okay at best.
Runs longer, cools off smoother
Surely, a gaming laptop this bulky and powerful can’t last that long on battery, right? Well, the HP OMEN Max 16 averages around three hours of battery life during intensive gaming, which gives you a decent amount of playing time. For general use, battery life extends to around five and a half hours with Balanced power settings. It holds up reasonably well if you forget to bring your charger.
When you do have the massive 330W charger with you, charging doesn’t take too long either. During our tests, a full charge took two hours, with charging progressing slightly faster when we left the laptop idle. Charging the battery to 50% took around 20 minutes, giving you enough juice to squeeze in another game!
Another factor in prolonged use is how the device expels hot air through its sides and rear. We touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating: the laptop provides plenty of ventilation through its vapor chamber and multiple external vents. Instead of directing heat toward the keyboard, it pushes hot air through the vents, where it can hit your hands or peripherals. At least the keyboard stays cooler, right?
Is this your GadgetMatch?
At PHP 229,990, the HP OMEN Max 16 is a sleek-looking machine with incredible power under the hood. Despite its initial bulk, it delivers impressive performance for both casual and competitive gamers. Inside and out, it packs plenty of hardware and features to let you tailor the experience to your needs.
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop with decent battery life, this is a solid choice, but don’t expect it to last half a day. Of course, you wouldn’t use this machine entirely on its own, even if the unboxing experience might suggest otherwise.
Peripherals such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha Air and Solocast 2 Pro can further enhance the experience.
Overall, this is a Swipe Right for its features, performance, and premium design. However, if you don’t have an infinite money glitch to buy it right now, you’re better off saving up for this beast of a machine!
Laptops
ASUS ProArt P14, P16 laptops with NVIDIA RTX Spark now available
Powerful AI, wherever you create
ASUS has introduced the ProArt P14 and P16, two creator laptops powered by NVIDIA RTX Spark. They combine high-capacity unified memory, RTX graphics, and AI tools to help creators and developers run demanding workloads locally.
The new laptops pair NVIDIA’s Blackwell RTX GPU and Grace CPU architecture with up to 128GB of unified memory. ASUS says the platform delivers up to one petaflop of AI performance, enabling users to run large AI models and generative workflows without relying entirely on cloud services.
Portable workstations for creators
The ProArt P16 measures 12.9mm thick and weighs 1.77kg, making it the thinnest 16-inch ProArt laptop to date. The ProArt P14 measures 13.9mm thick and weighs 1.48kg, making it the lightest ProArt laptop currently available.
Both models feature ASUS Lumina Pro OLED displays with a 120Hz variable refresh rate, Delta E<1 color accuracy, and peak brightness of up to 1,600 nits. The P16 supports up to 4K resolution with NVIDIA G-SYNC, while the P14 offers up to 3K resolution.
The P16 packs a 99Wh battery, while the P14 has a 90Wh battery. Both laptops also feature high-speed connectivity and haptic touchpads designed for photo editing, video production, and 3D modeling.
Run AI workflows locally
The ProArt P14 and P16 support local AI workloads through NVIDIA’s CUDA ecosystem and RTX acceleration. Their unified memory configurations allow users to run larger AI models and more complex generative workflows directly on their laptops.
ASUS also offers several creative and productivity tools. MuseTree supports local image generation using FLUX and WAN models, while StoryCube uses AI to organize media and manage creative assets. Zenni Claw provides an AI assistant for everyday productivity, content management, and ASUS device controls.
Users can also work with third-party tools such as ComfyUI and Hermes Agent. The laptops support hybrid workflows, allowing creators to switch between local processing and cloud-based services based on their performance, privacy, and project requirements.
Pricing and availability
The ASUS ProArt P14 and P16 are now available at select ASUS Exclusive Stores, including locations in Glorietta, SM Makati, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, and SM North EDSA.
Here are the available configurations and their suggested retail prices:
- ASUS ProArt P14 (32GB RAM, 1TB SSD): PhP 224,995
- ASUS ProArt P16 (48GB RAM, 1TB SSD): PhP 269,995
- ASUS ProArt P16 (128GB RAM, 1TB SSD): PhP 429,995
The 128GB ProArt P16 configuration is available by special order.
Both laptops include three months of Adobe Creative Cloud and Google AI Pro with 5TB of cloud storage. Buyers also receive a lifetime license for Office 2024 Home, one year of Microsoft 365 Basic with 100GB of cloud storage, and up to 700GB of ASUS cloud storage.
ASUS includes a three-year local and international warranty with local on-site support, a 14-day extended replacement policy, up to six free device-cleaning claims, and one year of accidental damage protection.
Lenovo has expanded its Yoga portfolio with new AI-powered laptops, tablets, and cross-device experiences designed for creators and developers.
The latest lineup includes the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9n (15-inch, Gen 11), Yoga 9n 2-in-1 (16-inch, Gen 11), Yoga Tab Plus Gen 2, and Yoga Tab Gen 2. Lenovo also introduced Smart Canvas Concept, a cross-device experience, and new features for its Qira ambient intelligence platform.
New Yoga laptops focus on local AI workloads
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9n is designed for demanding creative and development tasks, including AI development, video editing, software development, and 3D rendering. Powered by NVIDIA RTX Spark, it offers up to 128GB of unified memory and supports local AI workloads alongside RTX gaming.
The laptop features a 15.3-inch 2.5K PureSight Pro OLED display with a variable refresh rate of up to 165Hz. It also includes Lenovo X Power thermal technology, a haptic Force Pad with pen support, and connectivity options for professional peripherals and external displays.
Meanwhile, the Lenovo Yoga 9n 2-in-1 combines NVIDIA RTX Spark with a convertible design. Its 16-inch 2.8K PureSight Pro OLED display supports a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
The convertible’s dual-surface pen experience lets users write or draw on either the display or the haptic Force Pad. Paired with the Yoga Pen Gen 2, it supports tasks such as illustration, annotation, and detailed editing. Its 360-degree hinge also allows users to switch between laptop, tablet, tent, stand, and canvas modes.
Yoga tablets add AI-powered creative tools
Lenovo also unveiled two tablets designed for note-taking, illustration, productivity, and collaboration.
The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus Gen 2 features a 13-inch 4K PureSight Pro display and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform. It supports up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, with an optional magnetic clamshell keyboard for productivity tasks.
The smaller Lenovo Yoga Tab Gen 2 uses a MediaTek Dimensity 9500s processor and an 11.1-inch 4K display. Weighing approximately 480 grams, it prioritizes portability while supporting pen-based creation and keyboard-based work through its detachable keyboard pack.
Both tablets support Lenovo’s native AI features, including Lenovo AI Vision, Smart AI Input, AI Creation Tools, AI Note, and Live Transcript. Their pen features include 8,192 pressure levels, tilt detection, and palm rejection. The Tab Pen Pro 2 also supports gesture-based controls for drawing, selecting, recording, and erasing.
The tablets launch with Android 17, with Lenovo promising seven operating system upgrades through Android 24 and up to seven years of security updates through 2033.
Lenovo introduces cross-device creative tools
Beyond its new hardware, Lenovo introduced Smart Canvas Concept, which aims to help users capture ideas and continue working across compatible devices. It combines voice, pen, camera, and touch input, allowing users to move between devices as projects develop.
Lenovo demonstrated the concept using the Yoga AIO i Aura Edition (32-inch, Gen 11) and Yoga Tab Gen 2 at Lenovo Innovation World.
Lenovo Qira also brings a context-aware AI experience to supported Yoga PCs and tablets. It is designed to help users capture inspiration, retain relevant context, and resume work across devices.
Together, the new products expand Lenovo’s Yoga lineup across high-performance computing, portable creative tools, and connected workflows.
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