Huawei Matebook D14 (2023) Review
The 2023 Huawei MateBook D series laptops were first introduced in China back in April, and now they’re finally in the Philippines.
Available in two sizes – 14 and 16 inches, today we’ll be taking a look at the 14-inch model or the D14.
The Matebook D Series has gained a reputation for being lightweight, sleek, and portable.
For the 2023 refresh, Huawei has made some improvements and upgrades to the laptop. But is it something you should consider if you’re in the market for a similar-sized laptop?
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Design and Construction
Huawei didn’t change a lot with the 2023 Matebook D14 from its predecessor in terms of design. The laptop continues to feature an almost all-metal chassis with a nice-looking brushed metal finish.
Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, the finish is also quite fingerprint resistant. Like before, the only Huawei branding is on the lid.
Don’t expect it to stand out like a gaming laptop. Instead, it features a more industrial and minimalist aesthetic.
In terms of I/O, starting on the right side, there’s only one USB-A 2.0 port available. The majority of the ports of the laptop are found on the left side, which includes a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, an HDMI, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
There’s also a USB-C port, but it also doubles as the charging port of the laptop when using the provided 65W USB-C charging brick. If you do need additional USB-C ports, we recommend looking into USB-A to C dongles with multiple ports.
The Matebook D14 does not have an SD card slot too, making it quite inconvenient if you want to transfer photos or videos from your DSLR or mirrorless cameras.
Given the space available on the right side, a microSD slot or another USB slot could have been added.
To flip the lid open, you need to use two hands since the hinges are quite stiff. However, the design of the hinges allows the laptop to open a full 180 degrees.
At the top, you get a built-in 720P webcam for video calls.
The keyboard layout feels great, and if you’ve used a Matebook before you’ll feel right at home. Although we’re not too fond of the keys themselves. The tactile feel isn’t great, making it feel rather cheap. Like before, the power button still doubles as a fingerprint reader.
Overall, the laptop is relatively sleek and feels very sturdy. But despite its size, it does weigh a bit at 1.39kg, given its metal construction. Still, it’s not too bad if you just want something portable.
Display and Multimedia
Once you open the lid, you’ll find one of the biggest upgrades Huawei made to the 2023 Matebook D14. There’s a 14-inch IPS display with a new taller 16:10 aspect ratio display. The screen is also brighter, rated at 300 nits peak brightness, and the bezels appear to be slimmer.
With the larger screen, you now have a 1920×1200 resolution. However, the 60Hz refresh rate is retained. This alone should be an indicator that this laptop isn’t for gaming. The same can be said about photo and video editing. Noticeably, the colors aren’t the most accurate out of the box.
Then again, you wouldn’t really be using this laptop for serious content creation or heavy gaming after all.
Still, it’s good enough for writing documents and for working in general. It’s more than adequate for watching movies and series too. At the same time, you also have dual speakers when watching movies and listening to music. However, they’re not the best since they do lack a bit of bass for my liking.
Performance and Benchmarks
Our 2023 Matebook D14 review unit uses a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240P processor, and it also packs Intel Iris XE graphics. It also comes with 16GB LPDDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD storage, and Windows 11 Home.
The 512GB storage is more than adequate for a laptop of this caliber. Our unit also comes with the 512GB partitioned into two separate drives already.
As for connectivity, you now have WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. There’s also an NFC reader for Huawei Share. Huawei says the new WiFi antenna also improves signal strength for more consistent and stable speeds.
Interestingly, Huawei didn’t use the newer 13th-gen Intel processors for the laptop. However, the current 12th-gen i5 on the D14 is still very capable.
We were able to run Honkai Star Rail on the 2023 Matebook D14 on high settings without experiencing any issues despite playing the game for over an hour. Although as expected the fans became quite noisy, and the laptop quickly became hot.
Since this isn’t a gaming laptop, we didn’t try to run demanding titles like our usual benchmark – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Although we mentioned the 2023 Matebook D14 isn’t exactly a laptop for serious content creation, it can still run Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. However, the export speeds aren’t as fast, especially if you are exporting high-resolution photos.
To have a better idea of how the laptop performs, check out our performance benchmarks below.
Battery and Connectivity
Perhaps one of the best features of the 2023 Huawei Matebook D14 is the battery life. It’s powered by a 56W/hr battery, which is more than enough to power the laptop for almost half a day.
From our experience, we were able to use it for around 6 and a half hours before the laptop needed to be plugged in.
For reference, our use included playing Honkai, editing photos, and writing. The display was also on maximum brightness throughout the time. This could have been better if I wasn’t playing games though.
When you do need to charge, the 65W USB-C power brick can charge the laptop rather fast. The adapter is quite light, but I do find the USB-C cable a bit short.
Interestingly, the charging cable connecting to the brick is no longer detachable. It’s quite short too, making it a bit hard to plug if you’re far from an outlet.
In terms of connectivity, the Huawei Matebook D14 comes with fast Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. There’s also Huawei Share and Huawei Connect, which you can use if you have other Huawei devices available. This would make it easier to transfer photos, files, and more.
Conclusion
Overall, the 2023 Huawei Matebook D14 is a great laptop for users that want something lightweight with a relatively long battery life. You also get a larger screen compared to before and a more powerful 12th-gen Intel chipset. If you’re a Huawei user, then you can also take advantage of the brand’s ecosystem functions.
It’s a great alternative for users who are thinking about a Macbook Air for copywriting work or even office-computing tasks, but want something more budget-friendly.
However, the drawback is that you only have a few USB ports. And if you do need to charge, the USB-C port is automatically rendered unusable without an extra dongle.
As for the price, the 2023 Huawei Matebook D14 with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage retails for PHP 44,999, making it relatively affordable and cheaper than a similar spec’d Macbook Air.
If you are interested, this laptop is now available on the official Huawei website.
But what do you think of the 2023 Huawei Matebook D14? Would you consider it your next work or school laptop? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
What we liked:
Slim and easy to carry around
Very long battery life
Affordable work/school laptop
What we didn’t like:
Not the best display
Heats up when gaming
Lack of USB ports
Huawei Matebook D14 (2023):
14-inch FHD (1920×1200) 16:10 IPS display, 161 ppi
300 nits max brightness
12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240P
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
16GB DDR4 RAM
512GB SSD
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
x1 USB-A 3.2
x1 USB-A 2.0
x1 USB-C
x1 HDMI
3.5mm headphone jack
Touchpad
Fingerprint Power Button
720p camera
Dual speakers
Windows 10 Home
56Whr battery w/ 65W USB-C adapter
314.5 x 227.79 x 15.9mm
1.39kg
Mark Caro says:
You did not say if it has Thunderbolt 4 support on the USBC port and if its speed is 40gbps. Such a newbie!