Catastrophe theory’ isn’t about disasters, it’s the study of sudden shifts caused by small changes. Since the 1990s, laptops have got steadily smaller and lighter. But at some point an odd thing happened: although the most popular 15.6in models were easier to carry than ever, the ‘standard’ choice switched down to 13.3in. Read our Matebook d 15 review.
That screen size may be fine if you spend most of your time editing one document at once, reading one website or playing one game. It’s less impressive for watching a film, and potentially downright annoying if you need to see two pages side by side, or use creative programs with lots of palettes. Today’s high-resolution LCD screens can fit more detail into a smaller space, but our eyes haven’t got any sharper.
A lightweight, slick performer, as long as you can live with the screen and battery
So it’s a nice change to see a 15in laptop that’s manageable in both weight and price. The MateBook D’s dark silver solid aluminium case resembles an Apple MacBook Pro from a decade ago. but at a kilo and a half it’s one-third lighter, and its Full HD screen has twice as many pixels. It’s also more powerful, technology having moved on, despite costing only 600 quid.
AMD’s quad core Ryzen 5 3500U processor outperforms current Intel rivals in its price bracket, and although this is a machine for everyday Windows 10 tasks rather than anything loo ambitious, it feels pretty speedy. The built-in Vega 8 graphics will handle older and more basic 3D games. While its 256GB of SSD storage isn’t huge, but probably enough if this is your second computer, and there’s even room inside to add a hard drive, although it’s not really a DIY job.
The keyboard is average, with full-sized keys that move quietly but not very far; the medium sized precision trackpad is similarly uninspired, but fine. A fingerprint reader gives you quick Windows login. Elegantly narrow bezels on three sides of rhe screen leave no room for the webcam, which instead is tucked away among the function keys, pointing up your nose. As for the screen itself, our colour meter found only 57 per cent of sRGB covered, with a Delia E of 5.2. In plain English: not many colours and not the right ones. It’s not very bright, either.
This is the MateBook D 15’s major compromise. The dullness is even noticeable when watching films. Battery life, at just under six hours in our video-playback test, is also disappointing. But the trade-off is a sleek and quick machine, and at this price that’s no disaster.
SPECIFICATIONS
2.1GHz AMD Ryzen 5 3500U quad-core processor • 8GB memory • 256GB SSD • 15.6in 1920×1080-pixel touchscreen • Webcam • 802.11ac Wi-Fi • Bluetooth 5 • USB-C port • USB 3.0 Genl port • 2x USB 2.0 ports • HDMI monitor output • Windows 10 Home • 16.9x358x230mm (HxWxD) • 1.53kg • One-year warranty
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VERDICT
Where to buy?
Huawei MateBook D 15 2020 - 15.6 Inch Laptop with FullView 1080P...
- The HUAWEI MateBook D 15 2020 is packed with a 15.6-inch FullView screen and has a thickness of 16.9 mm; with powerful system architecture and software stack capacities, it provides the large screen and lightest weight possible for a laptop of its size
- The HUAWEI MateBook D 15 2020 is packed with a 15.6-inch FullView screen and has a thickness of 16.9 mm; with powerful system architecture and software stack capacities, it provides the large screen and lightest weight possible for a laptop of its size
- Multi-Screen collaboration facilitates seamless cross-device interaction with MateBook D 15 2020, allowing you to project your phone screen to the laptop; this not only allows you to use phone apps and edit phone files on your laptop, but also to drag files between the two devices more easily
- You can easily power on and log in to your MateBook D 15 2020 without having to enter a password by simply pressing the power button, which doubles as a fingerprint sensor
- The highly increased AMD Ryzen 5 3500U efficiency make this laptop ideal for use in a variety of complex office and gaming scenarios; the S-shaped blade design facilitates heat dispersion and airflow, highly increasing the laptop's ability to dissipate heat
- The MateBook D 15 2020 comes with a compact Type-C charger roughly the same size as a mobile phone charger; you can use it to charge both your MateBook and HUAWEI phone; the charger supports overheat protection and automatically cuts off the power if necessary to ensure safety
- Packed with a separate security chip, the MateBook D 15 2020 keeps all your information secure, and also protects your privacy and blocks remote monitoring by using a retractable camera which only pops up when you press it
ALTERNATIVE
Asus VivoBook X512DA
Offers a similar specification and is cheaper, albeit in a heavier plastic case