Huawei launches Huawei MateBook X Pro refresh
Thinner and faster than last year's model, but when might we see it in Australia?
As part of its MWC19 press conference, Richard Yu CEO Huawei Consumer Business Group, announced an upgrade to its Huawei MateBook X Pro line.
The new model will ship in either Space Grey or Mystic Silver finishes, with a thin design that's just 4.9mm thick at its thinnest point. That does shift out to 14.6mm at its thickest, but that's still not a bulky profile to speak of. It uses 8th generation Intel Core processors.
The 3:2 aspect ratio display has a 3,000 x 2,000 260ppi panel, with a claimed 91% screen to body ratio. Like its predecessor, there's no in-display camera module, with the Windows Hello-capable camera popping up from a key in-between the function keys.
On the graphics side, it uses an integrated GeForce MX250 GPU, but if that isn't enough for your purposes, it's also capable of using an external eGPU via the integrated Thunderbolt 3 ports, which Huawei says operate at full speed. It will also allow for easy transfer from Huawei phones via a feature that Huawei is calling "One Hop", using NFC verification to rapidly transfer files.
Pricing was announced at EUR€1,599 for a Core i5 model with 8GB RAM and 512GB, which would equate to around $2,540. A Core i7 model with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage will be priced at around EUR€1,999 or $3,180.
Huawei took its time to formally launch the Matebook X Pro's predecessor in Australia, so if you're keen on the new unit, it might be wise to look to an importer if you want one quickly.
Huawei didn't stop with just the refresh of the Huawei MateBook X Pro. It is also launching a touchscreen version of the MateBook 13 and a new MateBook 14, both of which feature the same recessed camera module on the keyboard as the premium MateBook X Pro. To date, we've really only seen the MateBook X Pro launched here in Australia, and it's not clear what Huawei's plans for the new notebook lines are.
For more news from MWC 2019, check out our MWC 2019 news hub.
