If you’re on a budget then this Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) review won’t be for you, but if you’re after a premium PC with tonnes of style and plenty of substance, then you’re in the right place. This is up there with some of the best lightweight laptops.
Huawei knows its stuff when it comes to pairing design with power, and you can see that in pretty much every single one of its high-end devices. But what’s more, is that they all work incredibly well together, so if you build a bit of a collection then you’ll be able to reap the rewards. The Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) is a prime example of just how brilliant the Chinese tech giant’s kit can be.
I tested out last year’s model, the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2021) which I described as a ‘stylish, slick computer that ticks almost every box you could need for a day-to-day laptop’. So naturally, I had high expectations for the latest version.
Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) review: price and what’s new
The Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) is available to buy now starting from £1,799 on the Huawei shopping site. You can’t currently buy this in the US or Australia. Take a look at the widgets on this page to see where you can pick one up in your region.
The latest generation of the Huawei Matebook X Pro for 2022 makes a few changes on the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2021) the most obvious of which is screen size, boosted from 13.9-inches to 14.2-inches which means the laptop itself is also slightly bigger and slightly heavier. The resolution has been improved and there’s now a 90Hz refresh rate, up from 60Hz before.
Under the hood, there’s a new 12th Gen Intel Core processor alongside 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, as well as a 60wh battery (it was 56wh in the last model). Connectivity has been improved too with the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. Another change is the lack of a USB Type-A port, instead filling the frame with four USB-C ports, and the camera has moved from the keyboard up to the top bezel.
All of these changes sound great but its starting price has actually gone up as well, the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2021) was available to buy for £1,600 at launch which is significantly less than the £1,800 you’d expect to pay now.
Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) review: design and screen
If there’s one thing that you can say about all Huawei devices, big or small, is that they look really sleek. The Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) is no different.
From the outside, the matte so-called Ink Blue body is only interrupted by a mirrored Huawei logo across the lid, it’s simple but stylish. When you open it up, you’ll find a 14.2-inch screen surrounded by super slim bezels all the way around with a tiny webcam housed at the top. The bottom half has a set of low-profile keys and a large blue trackpad that stretches right to the edge of the computer as well as two speaker strips discreetly framing the keyboard and a small circular power button that doubles up as a fingerprint sensor in the top right corner.
Measuring 310 x 221 x 15.5mm and weighing 1.38kg, the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) is lightweight and portable. I found it was easy to carry around in my bag without making me feel weighed down and it didn't seem to suffer any scratches or scrapes when doing so.
Around the frame, you get four USB-C ports, one of which is a Thunderbolt port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Keeping things stripped back is what allows for a slim build but some people will be looking for more, be that a USB Type-A port, a MicroSD card slot or an HDMI.
Typing on the keyboard felt satisfying with an audible click at every press. Because the keys are quite tightly packed together I did sometimes mistype or add in an unnecessary extra character, but I soon got used to it. The mousepad worked well too, although because there’s not really an edge to it, I did sometimes accidentally click it when I was using it on my lap.
Huawei has added some handy extra controls to the touchpad that you don't get elsewhere, for instance, if you tap it with two fingers it’ll bring up the shortcut menu, sliding along the left side will adjust the screen brightness and sliding up along the right side will increase the volume. Learning and getting to grips with them all will take a bit of time but once you have they make using this PC even more efficient and effortless.
The 14.2-inch screen itself is a beauty, offering super sharp 3.1K resolution at 3120 x 2080p with a 3:2 aspect ratio and 500 nits peak brightness. The size and shape of the screen are very well suited to productivity, displaying plenty of length as well as width which will be good for everything from photo editing to typing out documents.
When it came to screen brightness, I was equally as pleased, I could see it clearly even when I was using it in a particularly sunny room. Given the glossy nature of the display, it was a little reflective but not so much so that it dramatically affected the screen visibility.
I used this display for all sorts of tasks, be that working during the day, streaming TV shows at night or a bit of online shopping, across it all I found plenty of detail with plenty of contrast and vibrant accurate colours. You can control the screen by touch as well as through the mouse pad, the 10-point sensitivity was perfectly accurate and responsive.
To unlock the PC, you get the choice of using the fingerprint sensor which is hidden in the power button and facial recognition through the webcam. Both worked very reliably each time so no issues to point out there.
Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) review: performance and battery
Solid performance is clearly a top focus of the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) given its 12th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage.
The laptop could handle everything I threw at it without lagging or heating up. It coped with lots of open programs and software, and while it’s not built for gaming it still managed to pick up a score of 1583 in 3D Mark’s TimeSpy test so you’ll get away with using it for that every now and then. In Geekbench 5’s OpenCL test it got 15687 which isn’t a bad result either. What that tells you is that this is a powerhouse that can be used for just about any task.
Certified with the third edition of Intel Evo, the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) meets the standard for ultrabooks, which means it sports the latest processor, up-to-date connectivity, Intel Connectivity Performance Suite to optimise Wi-Fi and background noise cancellation amongst other things.
So far so good but there is one quite major downfall - the battery life. The 60wh battery would only last me a morning of typing and browsing but not much longer than that so I did need to carry the charger with me if I took it out for the whole day. Luckily, the charger is tiny, it looks more like a smartphone charger, so won’t be a problem popping it in your bag.
To compare it to other laptops, I ran a video test on it for 2 hours at full brightness. In that time, the battery percentage dropped by a huge 60% which suggests it would have only lasted me just over 3 hours, leaving a lot to be desired, especially in comparison to other PCs. Thankfully, charging it back up again only took about an hour and a half.
I was very pleased to see that the 720P HD camera has moved back to the bezel above the screen because the angle is much more flattering. While it won’t match up to the quality of a separate webcam, and you’re unlikely to want to use it for snapping selfies, it was nevertheless clear enough to use for video calls.
Another talking point is the speaker system, there are 6 of them built-in and they did a great job across everything from podcasts to Netflix dramas although you may still want to hook the laptop up to a speaker when you’re listening to music.
The brain of the operation is Windows 11 and with it comes loads of productivity features like snap layouts and desktop widgets, but because this is a Huawei laptop there are more unique features worth knowing about especially if you own any other Huawei tech.
Huawei’s Super Device lets you connect all of your compatible kit together wirelessly, so for example, you could connect your earbuds, monitor or tablet to this laptop in an instant. Not only will that make it easy to expand the screen onto another device, but transferring files between devices will be super speedy too.
Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) review: verdict
The Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) can do almost everything well - the 14.2-inch screen is bright, sharp and colourful, the performance is fast and reliable, it’s loaded with up-to-date connectivity and it definitely looks the part too.
When I reviewed the 2021 model, I was left feeling a little disappointed by the battery life, something that still hasn’t been improved on here and that’s a huge shame because it’s the only thing that really lets it down.
In saying that, because the charger is so small, I wouldn’t let that put you off unless you spend more time working on the go than you do at home or in the office. This is still a very capable lightweight PC with tonnes to boast about.
Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) review: also consider
Despite having a touchscreen, the Huawei Matebook X Pro (2022) can’t transform into a tablet. If you’re looking for one of the best 2-in-1 laptops then you’re better off taking a look at the HP Elite Dragonfly G2. It’s so good that we rated it a whopping 5-stars in the review thanks to its powerful performance, stunning 13.3-inch screen and stylus which is included in the box.
As far as lightweight laptops go, the best for most people is still likely to be the Dell XPS 13 (9310) because it delivers in just about every area, be that screen, performance or battery life. You also get a wider variety of ports even though there are fewer USB-Cs available.
