Huawei MateBook D16:review of the incredible ultrabook with the latest tech

Not long ago Huawei made its debut on the personal computer market: the first branded laptop was announced in 2016. In just a few years, the Chinese company has developed a large line of MateBooks, which were particularly popular in Russia during the "quarantine" times. The D14 and D15 models were among the top five best-selling devices in 2020 and were praised for their compactness, high build quality, modern equipment, and excellent battery life.

The main hero of the review is a newcomer to the MateBook line, which everyone has been waiting for a long time. The unusual, but pleasant screen ratio - 16:10 and the increased display diagonal - 16 inches - immediately catches the eye. The most modern equipment opens any possibilities: this device will perfectly cope with the most demanding software, and the battery will provide long-term autonomous work with office programs.

MateBook D16 RLEF-X has received the most productive hardware and is equipped with the latest, 12th generation processors. In addition to high performance and autonomy, Huawei has minimized the weight of the device and developed a number of indispensable software solutions, which will be reviewed below.

In a nutshell: Technical specifications

The heart of the Huawei MateBook D16 is the high-performance yet energy-efficient Core i7-12700H processor. The 14-core, 20-core chip accelerates to 4.7GHz in Turbo Boost Max mode, supporting third-generation acceleration. Iris Xe integrated graphics supports the most current image output standards: eDP 1.4b, DP 1.4a and HDMI 2.1. Note that in addition to the Core i7-12700H, Huawei also offers lower performance chips - i5-12450H (8 cores, 12 threads, up to 4.4 GHz) and i5-12500H (12 cores, 16 threads, up to 4.5 GHz).

Power efficient LPDDR4x memory chips are used. Depending on the package 8 or 16 GB can be installed . This type of RAM is characterized by its reduced power consumption and requires only 0.6 volts. All MateBook D16 Series notebooks include an ultra-fast 512GB solid state drive, connected via PCIe

.

The MateBook D16 RLEF-X which was at the editor's disposal was equipped with:

• Processor - Core i7-12700H (10nm, 6+8 cores/20 threads, 2.7/4.7GHz, 45/115W);
• Graphics - Integrated Iris XE Graphics;
• RAM - 16GB LPDDR4-3600;
• Storage - 1 × SSD 512GB;
• Display - 16″, IPS (BOE NV160WUM-NH0), 16:10,
  1,920 × 1,200 pixels, 142 ppi, 300 nits, 100% sRGB;
• Operating system - Windows 11 Home 64 bit;
• Battery - 60Wh with 65W adapter;
• Interfaces - Wi-Fi 6 + HUAWEI Metaline antenna
• Bluetooth 4.2 LE;
• Weight - 1.7 kg.

Thin, light, compact, reliable: What MateBook D16 looks like in real life

Huawei MateBook D16 has a sleek aluminum case in space gray. Metal is very practical, hardly exposed to dirt and easy to maintain, in contrast to the plastic cases. The thickness and size of the notebook is immediately apparent. And if the thickness of 18.4 mm doesn't surprise you, pay attention to the notebook's size: 356.7 mm by 248.7 mm. Let's explain: the laptop model D15 has a 15-inch screen and dimensions of 358 by 230 mm. That is, Huawei managed to significantly increase the screen diagonal, while maintaining the same size laptop, and just as importantly - keeping its weight.

The frameless screen of the 16-inch notebook looks great, and it is perfectly emphasized by the small manufacturer's logo at the bottom. We want to pay special attention to the keyboard: the MateBook D16 RLEF-X was the first notebook in the line, which received a keyboard with a separate numeric block.

Secure access to the notebook is provided by a fingerprint scanner, which is built into the power button. On the left side of the notebook are two USB-C connectors, one of which supports USB 3.2 and DP 1.4. Behind it there's a second generation HDMI slot supporting 4K Ultra HD video streaming. Also, on the left side is a Mini-Jack connector for headphones and speakers..

On the opposite end are two standard USB ports, one of which complies with the 3.2 standard and provides high-speed data transfer.

Input devises

For its modest price, the MateBook D16 offers a high-quality touchpad and a comfortable keyboard with soft key travel. The keyboard has requares only 1.5mm of movement to print, which allows increased comfort and speed of typing.

For the first time in the history of the Matebook line, the D16 RLEF-X is equipped with a separate numeric block, which provides enhanced access to the editing of Excel spreadsheets and the processing of large amounts of data. Four additional function keys are located in the number block: calculator, AI Search, return to the home screen and programmed camera shutdown.

In this notebook, Huawei decided to abandon the classic camera location in the key. This provided complete privacy, because the user could be sure that the camera was not active. In D16, the manufacturer placed the camera in the center of the top frame of the display, offering its software deactivation.

The camera and audio system of the notebook deserves special mention, because of the combination of camera, microphone and speakers is implemented at the highest level. The camera has a wide viewing angle of 88 degrees and supports a number of software add-ons. Among them, FollowCam, which allows you to always stay in the frame, "Eye Contact", which will create the effect that you are looking directly into the eyes of the interlocutor and imposing a virtual background. The microphones provide active noise cancellation, and the speakers provide high-quality and omnidirectional sound reproduction. The MateBook D16 proved to be a great device for remote online meetings and conferences.

Another useful option is Huawei Share, developed specifically for the Huawei ecosystem. Using two current devices of this brand, you can quickly and conveniently interact between them. By connecting the phone to the laptop, you can dial messages, answer calls, and even edit files stored on it. No network connection is required.

Internal structure and upgrade options

A significant part of the volume of the case is occupied by the cooling system and the battery of the laptop. The same as in earlier models, users can not increase the technical characteristics - RAM, as well as the CPU, are soldered to the motherboard. But it is possible to replace the main drive relatively quickly in case of lack of free space, and given its capacity of 512 GB, this will not happen soon.

Display - a special merit of Huawei

The MateBook D16 RLEF-X has a high-quality 1920 by 1200 pixel matrix with a refresh rate of 48 or 60 Hz. The pixel density is 141 pixels per inch and the aspect ratio is an unusual 16 to 10. This display format makes work with documents and browsing even more comfortable .

Special attention should be paid to the blue light and flicker protection technology. Two software options help prevent eye strain and relieve eye fatigue. The features implemented allow you to spend time safely at the screen.

At the same time, the price competitor D16 from Huawei - model IdeaPad 5 Pro from the Chinese brand Lenovo with a similar diagonal display with an identical aspect ratio, but a higher resolution - 2560 by 1600 pixels - significantly loses in weight - the laptop weighs almost 2 kg, which is already tangible indicator against 1.7 kg.

Performance Tests

High hardware performance MateBook D16 RLEF-X confirmed in specialized benchmark tests.

3DMark Time Spy showed a total score of 1894, rating the graphics at 1672 points and the CPU at 7675. PCMark 10 scored the build at 5,024 points and showed that the browser on the laptop launched in less than a second, opening a Word document took only 1.3 seconds, and launching GIMP took 2.1 seconds.

In a single-threaded comparison between MateBook D16 RLEF-X and Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro with Ryzen 7 5800H processor in Cinebench R23 benchmark, the first laptop takes the lead with 1505 points versus 1370. In the multi-threaded comparison, Huawei is also confidently leading with 10,411 points versus 10,371. Geekbench 5.4 shows similar results: Lenovo is on average 25% behind Huawei's ultrabook.

The sequential read speed was 3521.07 Mbytes/sec, and the write speed was 2367.56 Mbytes/sec. At the same time it should be noted that loading of the operating system, games or applications is quite fast.

Video card performance tests clearly demonstrate the technological progress of integrated chips: despite the presence of a full-fledged NVIDIA GeForce MX450 video card from Lenovo, the device scored only 5573 points in 3DMark. The protagonist of today's review showed more performance results - 5710 points.

Iris Xe Graphics video core is integrated into the processor.

Battery life

The MateBook D16 features a high-capacity 60-watt battery that charges from 10 to 100% in just 1 hour and 32 minutes when not heavily loaded.

The battery lasts for 6 hours and 38 minutes of video playback (with the backlight off and 60% brightness) or about 5.2 hours of use in demanding software or games at the same settings. These battery life figures should be more than enough for a full working day.

Conclusions

The Huawei MateBook D16 RLEF-X has the most modern hardware available. The latest generation processor and good built-in graphics will provide fast operation even in the most demanding software. There are a variety of options available, but regardless of the processor and the amount of RAM, every user gets a fast SSD with 512 GB, which is a nice bonus for the low cost of the laptop at almost 80 thousand rubles.

Despite its budget, its appearance allows us to assign it to the notebook premium class. The neatness, framelessness and aesthetics give the device a rich appearance. A large number of ecosystem options simplifies the interaction between the technology and allows you to quickly and easily connect your phone and laptop. And a pleasant bonus for us was the work of the Huawei Metaline Antenna, which allowed us to get a pretty good Internet signal even in places where other laptops noticeably "slow down".

MateBook D16 RLEF-X is a universal notebook, which is suitable for any purpose. It has the right performance for everything, whether the end user is watching a movie, talking, writing a program, or working with large Excel spreadsheets. The D16 is one of the best laptops that fully meets the value for money.