The Space Gray color and keyboard layout all owe a debt of gratitude to Apple’s design team, but the Huawei MateBook D 15 (2020) avoids feeling like a cheap knock-off. Overall, performance is decent, and you can play a few videos or some music here without any issues, but bass is largely missing. k with two or four Thunderbolt 3 ports on a modern MacBook, the Huawei MateBook D 15 (2020) comes with three full-size USB ports, alongside a USB-C port for newer peripherals and a HDMI port.

The screen is a bit disappointing though, and with a contrast ratio of just 800:1 and a relatively low brightness of 250 nits, the display feels a bit anaemic and washed out. To form a Super Device, open the control center on your laptop, access the Super Device screen, and drag and drop to connect the devices.Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. The speakers, whose grilles are on the underside of the chassis, just as they were in last year's model, deliver good volume, but there's some distortion at the top of the range, and bass tones could be stronger. Huawei’s concern about weight and portability has extended to the 65W power supply, too, with a 160g slimline affair with a retractable third prong.

The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. It's not touch responsive and has a maximum brightness of only 250 nits, which means that outdoor use may be compromised on sunny days.

Additionally, there's a USB-C port that can also be used for charging but not for connecting an external monitor. I’m not sure if this is a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” or laziness in Huawei’s design department, so let’s be generous and assume the former. Huawei states that the MateBook D 15 has undergone various tests, including the ability to withstand 40°C temperature and 90% relative humidity, along with tests for the durability of the USB-C port and fingerprint key, and life tests on the keyboard, screen hinge and touchpad. From the outset, it’s clear that Huawei has wanted to create a mid-range laptop that has a design you’d expect to see in more expensive laptops. The 1,920 x 1,080 IPS screen tops out a maximum brightness of just 135cd/m² (which is very poor), with an sRGB coverage and volume of 55.

In this age of ultrabooks, ultraportables, 2-in-1 convertibles, hybrid gaming notebooks and tablets masquerading as laptops, is there much to be said for a traditional bog-standard laptop? The MateBook D 15 is only equipped with one fan, but it usually remains very quiet in everyday use, and the laptop is often completely silent since there aren't any annoying electronic noises, such as coil whine, either. After training to become a Telecommunications Systems Technician and gaining a few years of experience, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. The bottom of the D15 can be removed easily once you’ve undone the ten Torx T5 screws holding it in place, with the option to replace the SSD (the RAM slots and Wi-Fi card are not accessible).

Huawei has updated its MateBook D 15 for 2021, but its shortcomings from last year have not been addressed. The iGPU also benefits from the dual-channel memory configuration, and the performance in the synthetic 3DMarks is at the expected level.