My personal review of Huawei Matebook D14 (2021)

A common question I’ve been seeing about the Huawei Matebook D14 on virtual assistance groups in social media is whether it's good or not the right laptop to use for freelancing jobs. So I would like to help by giving my personal review about its everyday performance.

I know that I’ve mentioned this to you before but let me say this once again - choosing the right computer to buy always depends on your job requirements and your line of work. So if you are curious if this is the right one for you, might as well check this blog ‘How to know the right computer for your freelancing job?'.

I’ve been a freelancer for a couple of months now and I really love the Huawei Matebook D14 not only for its aesthetics but also for its overall performance. Let me share with you an overview of the Huawei Matebook D14 specs.

OVERALL REVIEW:

I found this laptop great for all-around tasks with its stellar performance for the first few days that I’m using it. I can multitask with no latency issues and it delivers all the results that I am expecting to see when doing my job. Overall, I am very impressed with its speed, performance, and battery capacity after a long day of use.

2 Versions: Ryzen 5 & Ryzen 7

The Huawei Matebook D14 has two variants available here in the Philippines: the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 version. Both sport Ryzen 3000 series processors and integrated graphics. Another key difference is the size of the PCI-E SSD, the Ryzen 5 has 256GB while the Ryzen 7 has 512GB. The price starts at P39,990 (roughly $814 converted) for the AMD Ryzen 5 configuration and goes up to P42,990 ($875) with a Ryzen 7 CPU and 512GB of fast SSD storage. I got my Matebook D14 Ryzen 7 for only P37,000 from a legit Huawei store with a cash payment discount (Curious about how I saved almost 6,000 pesos?).

DESIGN AND LOOKS

With its superfluous looks and design, it maintains a sleek and polished look, making it look like a professional’s computer of choice. I can even compare this to an expensive Macbook laptop out there. The only branding you’ll see is Huawei’s name on the centre of the lid and below the display. It packs with a 14inch, 1920x1080 panel with excellent colour accuracy that helps me with my photo/video editing task and also for entertainment. It has an outstanding display, especially when watching a Netflix series or Youtube videos in full display. The device feels sturdy and hard with its aluminium-alloy body. With its 1.4 kg weight, it is not heavy to carry with me even with just one hand while going around my house or while travelling. I can also slip it into my backpack easily which makes it very portable and handy to use.

ALL-DAY BATTERY LIFE

The Huawei MateBook D 14 has a 56Wh battery that is rated for up to 9.5 hours when playing 1080p videos. It is enough for me to continuously perform different tasks for straight 7 hours a day when the battery is fully charged. Filling up the battery can also be done swiftly with the 65-watt power supply that comes with the unit. I am so much impressed with its USB-type C charger that I can also use for my other devices and accessories as well.

HUAWEI ECOSYSTEM

Another unique feature of the Matebook series of notebooks is the multi-screen collaboration feature. This allows you to instantly connect your compatible Huawei phone to the laptop by simply tapping it to the NFC chip placed in the palm rest. Although I am generally using an Asus phone, I tried connecting my Huawei Y9 phone to it however, the multi-screen did not work – I guess because it is an older version of the Huawei phone. Still, I can instantaneously transfer files from my phone to the laptop via the NFC connection so I still find it very convenient to use instead of cables.

DISADVANTAGES

1. CAMERA - Webcam is really important for freelancers as we mostly meet our clients and colleges through a video call. During the pandemic shutdown, we embraced video calls and Zoom meetings for both work, school, and leisure so a good webcam in your device is now essential. Huawei decided to move the webcam to the keyboard in between F6 and F7 keys, hidden away under a button with the camera icon. It does free up the screen space, but from a privacy point of view, the quality of the camera is fine, but the angle of the webcam regardless of whether you are sitting at a regular desk or working on the sofa, is unflattering. It shows a good amount of chin and an upsetting amount of your nostril lol.

2. PORTS - Connecting multiple output devices to this laptop is slightly inconvenient for me. Since the Huawei Matebook D14 only comes with 2 USB ports, I have to use a USB extension to use a secondary web camera, wireless mouse, keyboard, and headset all at the same time.

3. UPGRADEABLITY OPTION – Thankfully this laptop comes with an 8GB of memory which is more than enough for my everyday tasks but if you’ll need more, unfortunately, you’re stuck with the 8GB forever as the memory cards are soldered and cannot be upgraded. So if you are looking for more down the line, then this laptop isn’t for you.

Despite having disadvantages, I am still very satisfied that I chose to buy this laptop as It helps me with my overall needs - a great deal indeed!