Chinese tech giant Huawei has unveiled its new Matebook X Pro laptop, as well as two new tablets in the MediaPad M5 Series at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018.
"Today's consumers want more; they expect their technology to be both powerful and adaptable, and Huawei is committed to creating devices that not only meet these expectations, but create experiences that make everyday computing extraordinary," said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei consumer business group, at the launch event in Barcelona.
The Shenzhen-based company first entered the notebook market in 2017, when it unveiled the Matebook X laptop. The Matebook X Pro is the next evolution and is a 13.9-inch notebook with an all-new 3K touch-enabled 'FullView Display' and 91% screen-to-body ratio.
The high screen-to-body ratio means there is no space for a camera on the screen so Huawei has placed the camera in a pop-up button between the F6 and F7 keys on the keyboard.
The notebook isultra-slim, at just 14.6mm, and weighs 1.33kg. It comes in two colours: Space Grey and Mystic Silver.
The Matebook X Pro will be available in SA by mid-year but the company has not confirmed a date for the availability of the tablets yet. Unlike in past years, it did not launch a new flagship smartphone at MWC but is rather planning to unveil its new flagship P20 smartphone at a standalone event in Paris, France, next month. Huawei says the P20 will be available in SA in early April.
Like last year's Matebook Pro, the new Matebook X Pro has a fingerprint scanner embedded into the power button for a faster start-up and login process. The new tech lets you login in just 7.8 seconds from power off, and 6.6 seconds from hibernation. It also has a spill-proof keyboard.
"We've made it our mission to push the boundaries of what technology and innovation are capable of," Yu said.
"At Huawei, we're guided by a vision of an all-connected world, and to achieve that goal, we invest significantly in research and development to understand the ways in which people interact and connect with technology."
The Matebook X Pro is powered by an 8th Generation Intel Core i7/i5 processor, a NVIDIA GeForce MX150 GPU with 2GB of RAM. It also has a 57.4Wh battery that can provide up to 12 hours of video playback, 14 hours of regular work or 15 hours of Web browsing. The notebook has a quad-speaker and microphone system which allow for "immersive audio" and the feel of surround sound.
International pricing for the Matebook X Pro ranges from EUR1 499 (R21 365) to EUR1 899 (R27 100), depending on the specs.
The laptop comes with a small charger which looks more like a phone charger than a laptop power cord and supports USB-C fast charging widely used in smartphones. The group has also developed a high-speed transport protocol for moving photos and files from phone to laptop without USB compatibility problems. The WiFi transfer speed is up to 20Mbps, 100 times faster than that of Bluetooth.
Speaker bonus
The new tablet, the MediaPad M5, comes in two sizes, either 8.4-inch or 10.8-inch.
Huawei said the MediaPad M5 Series is the world first tablet featuring a 2.5D glass screen. They are available in two colours: Champagne Gold and Space Grey.
The tablets come with two speakers on the 8.4-inch version and four speakers on the 10.8-inch version, which provide immersive 3D audio and fully supports hi-res audio for better sound quality.
The MediaPad M5 is powered by a Kirin 960 Series processor and a long-lasting battery: 5100mAh for 8.4-inch and 7500mAh for 10.8-inch.
The 10.8-inch tablet comes with a Huawei M-Pen, which the company said has over 4 000 levels of pressure sensitivity to make note-taking easier and more realistic.
International pricing for the two MediaPad M5 tablets ranges from EUR349 (R4 970) to EUR499 (R7 100).
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