Huawei takes on Surface, iPad Pro with 2-in-1 MateBook running Windows 10

[Shawn Knight]

Huawei at Mobile World Congress pulled back the sheet on its first-ever 2-in-1 running Windows 10. The Huawei MateBook is an incredibly thin 2-in-1 that aims to take on devices like the Surface and the iPad Pro in the productivity category.

The MateBook features a 12-inch IPS LCD display operating at a resolution of 2,560 x 1,400 that's powered by an Intel Core M processor of your choosing. It measures just 6.9mm thick – rivaling the thinness of today's flagship smartphones – and tips the scales at only 640 grams.

The keyboard folio is backlit with 1.5mm of key travel. Rather than Bluetooth, the keyboard interfaces with the tablet via a proprietary connector on the side of the tablet. Speaking of, that's where you'll also find the device's fingerprint reader, tucked neatly between the volume rocker buttons. Ars Technica found the trackpad to be surprisingly large and responsive while the two angles of tilt (54 and 67 degrees) were described as sensible choices.

There's also the optional MatePen, a stylus that offers 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity with an elastomer tip should you have the need for it.

Its all-metal unibody design certainly looks the part of a premium device with smooth, rounded edges and chamfered buttons. Huawei says its 33.7Wh battery is good for around 10 hours of standard use.

The Huawei MateBook starts at $699 which includes an Intel Core M3 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of local storage. On the upper end, you can expect to pay $1,599 for a Core M7 processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Note that accessories like the keyboard folio and stylus are extra ($129 and $59, respectively). Look for it to go on sale in the US "in the coming months."

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https://www.techspot.com/news/63878-huawei-takes-surface-ipad-pro-2-1-matebook.html

 

[JaymondoGB]

Whilst spying for the Chinese army while you use it.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Very curious to see the performance... Surface Pro gives you an I5 for about the same price... and has options to go up to 1tb and i7 if you really need it...

Unless it's a LOT lighter, with WAY better battery life, I'd stick with the Surface (I really don't think the iPad Pro is an option unless you're sticking to low-end productivity).

 

[GregonMaui]

Very curious to see the performance... Surface Pro gives you an I5 for about the same price... and has options to go up to 1tb and i7 if you really need it...

Unless it's a LOT lighter, with WAY better battery life, I'd stick with the Surface (I really don't think the iPad Pro is an option unless you're sticking to low-end productivity).

Your comment on iPad Pro is a bit misleading. It compares nicely to the I5 surface Pro, which is all it should be compared to. Productivity to productivity is about the same (unless you only believe MS software must be used to be "productive", but this is a preference issue. Personally, I'll take the iPad).

The higher performance Surface pros are also higher price surface pros and compare more to notebooks. If you want a $1600 tablet, go for it. They sound like well-designed computers, sadly to me, they run Windows.

 

[Squid Surprise]

Apple is just entering the world of "tablet productivity" and their software packages for the Pro really don't measure up... yet...

Apple saw the Surface take a chunk of the market and decided they wanted in as well (I highly doubt it's coincidence that their large "productive version" is called the "Pro", just like Microsoft's). Kind of ironic, as most products it was Apple who was the innovator, and MS the copier...

The huge advantage the Surface and Surface Pro have is that they use the same OS (Windows) as most laptops/desktops... so productivity is exactly the same with just a smaller screen/keyboard/mouse...
Even if you use a Mac, OS 10 is different than iOS, and requires you to adapt...

Check out any review for the iPad Pro (Macworld has a good one) and you'll see that while they love the device, it doesn't really replace your laptop - and for the price you pay for an iPad Pro... it should...

The Surface Pro, on the other hand, replaces your laptop - and the more you spend, the faster it gets

As a price comparison... here is what you get...

iPad Pro 128GB (Wifi Only) + Pencil = $1378 CAD
Surface 4 Pro, i5, 128GB + Pen (it's free) = $1279 CAN

Think I'm going Surface...