Huawei MateBook hands-on: A Super-skinny Windows 10 laptop/tablet hybrid

“Where there is a trend towards higher usage of the cloud and connectivity between devices, we believe with the range of products we have we will be able to create an ecosystem that will work around the portfolio of devices we have”, Colin Giles, head of global sales at Huawei’s consumer business group, told journalists at a briefing ahead of Mobile World Congress.

The entry-level MateBook will cost $699 (£485) when it goes on sale later this year, making it $100 cheaper than the basic Surface Pro 4. It’s lightweight too, at 6.9mm and 640g (although it’s worth mentioning that’s without the keyboard attached) and will be available to buy in one of two combinations; white and gold, or moonshine grey and black. However, they were beat by Huawei in terms of growth. An 8-layer heat conductive structure should help it run cooler than the competition. After all, there is no need to get all heated up about a burning hot tablet while you are already frantically trying to meet a deadline, right?

One nifty little feature on the side of the tablet is a built-in fingerprint reader.

On one side of the tablet is a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the device, and on the other side are dual speakers. They keyboard cover – which is, of course, an extra $129 – has decent key travel, but because it didn’t lie exactly flush to the table felt a bit bouncy. Huawei’s MateBook is essentially a tablet which transforms into a full-blown Windows 10 laptop when connected to a keyboard cover accessory, a concept made popular by Microsoft’s Surface line-up. It is nearly as large as a recent laptop trackpad.

The 12in IPS display on the MateBook sports a resolution of 2160×1440, lower than the iPad Pro’s 2732×2048 display or Surface Pro 4’s 2736×1824 resolution.

Secondly, it looks good – very sleek and professional looking – and fits well with the MateBook when placed together. The colour gamut reaches an impressive 85 percent, capable of displaying true-to-life colours.

The Wacom-based pen was extremely responsive when I tried it, with excellent pressure sensitivity. The third activates a laser pointer that shines its red beam out of the top of the pen.

Oh, and the device charges via USB Type-C. Huawei claims you’ll get 10 hours from that battery on a single charge – although that remains to be seen.

Using the MatePen is also a delight. We expect at least 4GB RAM and 128 GB of internal storage (to be confirmed). In fact, “in some ways, it’s actually better”. For an iPad Pro of the same size you would have to pay £180 more. And while it isn’t shaping up as a replacement for a Surface Pro 4, it does come with a few noteworthy tricks up its sleeve.

There is also a smart charger that offers 12V/9V/5V auto-adaptive capability, with USB Type-C and Micro USB connectors while supporting Android-powered devices to boot.

All of these will be available as separate items at the time of retail.

Built to operate on Windows 10, the MateBook also delivers tools and features offered by Microsoft Corp, including its latest browser, Microsoft Edge, and the Cortana digital personal assistant. The digipen and excellent tablet design could also make it attractive for sketch artists.