The MateBook D 14 provides excellent value for money, out performing the majority of mid-range competitors in terms of both performance and design.Despite sharing many design similarities with Huawei’s high-end MateBook X Pro, the MateBook D 14 is priced competitively, making it an excellent choice for students and small businesses. When you combine that with powerful mid-range internals and battery life that lasts all day, you have an amazing mid-range laptop on your hands.
After all, the Matebook d14 2021 appears to be a high-end laptop that would not look out of place next to a MacBook Pro, at least at first appearance. Lightweight and compact, weighing only 1.38kg and measuring 15.9mm thick, it is constructed of a sturdy aluminum alloy and finished in a Space Grey hue that shimmers with a purple-ish tint depending on the light source. In addition to mystic silver, which is seen in the image, this variety is not available in the United Kingdom.
Full View Display
While the bezels that surround the 14in 1080p Full View display have been reduced to 4.8mm, this is an improvement over the previous year’s model. However, there is still a large bezel at the bottom of the display, which means it is not quite on par with Huawei’s high-end models. A maximum brightness of 244 it’s – slightly less than the stated 250 nits is achieved by the 16:9 display, and the small bezels offer a clean appearance that doesn’t look out of place.
Small Bezels Surrounding
A result of the small bezels surrounding the display, the 1Mp (yep, that’s one megapixel) webcam had to be relocated, and it now resides within the keyboard itself, as with other Huawei laptops in this category. It’s certainly a plus in terms of privacy, as the webcam is concealed within the laptop’s chassis when not in use. However, the fact that it protrudes from the keyboard means that it’s not the most flattering angle, and if you’re typing, it’s likely that your fingers will take up the majority of the image captured by the camera.
A little bigger keyboard is also available this time around, which should make it more comfortable to type on, and the backlit keys should make it easier to type in the dark, but it’s not a perfect substitute for the previous generation model. Because the front-facing speakers of earlier D Series laptops had to be removed in order to create room for the larger keyboard, the audio quality isn’t particularly good due to the fact that the new speakers are buried within the laptop’s chassis.
High-Quality Speakers
In reality, however, finding high-quality speakers for a laptop is very impossible – it’s like searching for a unicorn in the tech world – so we’ll be honest here. In spite of its tiny design, it does contain a standard 3.5mm headphone port, which means that if the lack of an audio output is a deal-breaker for you, you can always use headphones or desktop speakers to improve the audio experience.
Let’s take a closer look at the Huawei MateBook D 14’s specifications. In this configuration, you’ll find an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U CPU with a Radeon Vega 8 GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage divided between two separate Windows and Data drives – there are more configurations available with differing specifications, but only in specific areas. It also includes a copy of Windows 10 Home as standard.
Final Verdict
A 178-degree viewing angle, similar to that of the previous D 14, has been integrated into the 14-inch edition of Huawei’s D Series laptops, which allows you to effectively flatten the laptop while using it. I have yet to come up with a single reason why anyone would do this, especially given the lack of touchscreen connectivity,
But it is a novel feature that distinguishes the D 14 from the rest of the mid-range laptops on the market in 2020.An amazing 10-hour battery life and rapid 65W charging (about 43 percent charge in half an hour) make the Huawei MateBook D 14 the star of the company’s mid-range offering. The display is bright and clear, and the slimmer bezels add to the D Series’ premium aesthetic.
