The Huawei MateBook D16 2024 strides into the arena with confident steps, promising a spacious display, potent performance, and a price tag that whispers sweet nothings to your wallet. But does it waltz past its competitors? Let’s dissect this contender, layer by layer, to see if it deserves a permanent spot on your desk.
The Huawei MateBook D16 2024 maintains its expansive 16-inch display while becoming lighter and retaining robust performance. Equipped with the 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13900H Processor, featuring Dual Shark Fin Fan technology, and boasting up to 70 Wh of battery life, the MateBook D 16 2024 caters to the evolving needs of young professionals and students, offering a compact yet powerful computing companion without compromising on performance. The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 comes in a unique and futuristic Gray, and in a Mystic Silver rendition.
First let’s have a look how the D16 evolved over the years below:
Design and Build Quality
The D16’s design evokes a minimalist elegance, its metallic chassis exuding a solid and well-crafted aura. Thin bezels and a lightweight profile (though not the lightest in its class) make it a portable companion, ready to waltz through your day without weighing you down. The well-designed keyboard with comfortable key travel is ideal for extended typing sessions, while the responsive precision touchpad complements the overall usability. And for added convenience and security, Huawei has integrated a fingerprint sensor into the power button.
HUAWEI MateBook D 16’s keyboard uses the Soft Landing design which offers 1.5mm key travel and is coupled with numeric keypad with physical shortcut keys, making it more comfortable to the touch and richer in function.
Display
The 16-inch IPS LCD display stuns with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, with a screen-to-body ratio of up to 90%, delivering crisp details and vibrant visuals. Maximum brightness hits 300 nits, sufficient for most indoor environments, while 100% sRGB color gamut coverage and a 1200:1 contrast ratio ensure color accuracy and stunning visuals, whether you’re editing photos or enjoying a movie. The thin bezels and 180° hinge further enhance its flexibility, allowing you to lay the laptop flat for collaboration or prop it up on a stand for a tidy multi-device setup.
The 178° viewing angles and 16:10 aspect ratio further enhance the experience, offering ample space for efficient multitasking and eliminating the need for a touchscreen while maintaining viewing comfort.
Performance and Productivity
Under the hood, the D16 packs the punch of a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor, backed by 8GB or 16GB of RAM, with Iris® Xe Graphics, a TDP of up to 40W, dual channel RAM and a high-speed solid-state drive. Capacity varies from 512GB to 1TB.
For everyday tasks like office work, web browsing, and even light creative editing, it’s a smooth operator. Emails fly past, spreadsheets submit to your calculations, and documents bend to your every word. And when things get really demanding, Performance Mode and Super Turbo offer an extra boost of power.
Although we encountered some drops in frames when loaded some heavy games, and tasks, it didn’t feel like it could be a dealbreaker. Remember this is a midrange and packs some powerful specs for the price tag.
Benchmark scores (CPU)
Benchmark scores (GPU)
One of the new features on the D16 is the Dual Shark Fin Fan technology. Huawei has developed its very own HUAWEI Dual Shark fin heat dissipation system to improve hardware performance, allowing the laptop to cope even while processing heavy applications. The laptop also evolves the fan control algorithm, improving overalluser experience with strengthened performance, lowered temperature, and reduced noise.
Battery Life and Connectivity
Huawei promises an all-day tango with the D16’s battery, and it mostly delivers. Light users can expect to work until the sun sets, while heavier tasks might require a mid-afternoon power break. The included 65W charger replenishes the battery like a quick spin around the dance floor, reaching 50% in just 30 minutes.
Connectivity options are decent, with one USB Type-C port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port. However, the lack of an Ethernet port might be a dealbreaker for some, like a missing instrument in the orchestra of your network needs. I’d would have also loved to see an additional USB Type-C port.
Additionally, Huawei’s first Metaline antenna technology comes to the D16. The new technology increases signal conversion efficiency by 51%1, allowing stable and smooth network connection in complex environments. It also reduces false signals and allows up to 270 metres of connectivity, even with walls and disruptive objects in the way.
Software
The D16 waltzes pre-installed with Windows 11 Home, accompanied by some Huawei software. These apps are mostly unintrusive, offering convenient features like Huawei Share for a seamless file transfer between Huawei devices.
The Final Curtain Call
The Huawei MateBook D16 2024 is a solid mid-range performer, offering a good balance of features and performance for its price. Its spacious display, decent performance, and comfortable keyboard make it a compelling choice for students, professionals, and casual users.
