The recently announced 2022 HUAWEI MateBook D 16 is a high-performance, lightweight laptop with a 16-inch eye comfort HUAWEI FullView Display, sleek metallic body, 12th Gen Intel Core H-Series Processor, and comes with Huawei’s own Super Device features.
Weighing 1.7kg and with a size of 18.4 mm thickness, this is a compact laptop with a FullHD IPS display and can be configured with the latest 12th-Gen Intel Core i7, 16GB of DDR4-3733RAM, 512GB of NVMe SSD and Intel Xe Graphics.
Specifications
| CPU | 12th Gen. Intel Core i5-12450H Processor 12th Gen. Intel Core i5-12500H Processor 12th Gen. Intel Core i7 12700H Processor (our review model) |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 3733MHz SDRAM 16GB DDR4 3733MHz SDRAM (our review model) |
| GPU | Intel® UHD Graphics Intel Iris Xe graphics (our review model) |
| Storage | 512 GB NVMe PCIe SSD |
| Display | 16″ FHD (1920×1200), IPS-Level 100% sRGB colour Gamut 90% Screen-to-body Ratio 300 nits Maximum Brightness 1200:1 Contrast Ratio |
| Ports | 1x USB-C (supports data, charging and DisplayPort) 1x USB-C (supports data, charging) 1x USB3.2 Gen1 1x USB2.0 1x HDMI 1x 3.5 mm headset and microphone jack |
| Connectivity | 802.11 ax Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth v5.1 |
| Camera | 1080p FHD camera |
| Audio | Microphone x 4 Speaker x 2 |
| Battery | 60Wh battery 65W adapter |
| Dimensions | 356.7 x 248.7 x 18.4 mm (WxDxH) Weight: 1.7 kg |
Read the full specifications on Huawei’s official website.
Packaging
The packaging comes in a standard brown cardboard box which contains the following:
- HUAWEI Matebook D 16
- 65 W USB-C Power Adapter
- USB-C Charger Cable
- Quick Start Guide
- Warranty Card
Design, Build Quality & Ports
The model we’ve received for review is the Mystic Silver version which looks simple and elegant. The other color option available is Space Grey.
The design and build quality are good, both the body and the lid are made out of aluminium. The exterior has a metallic finish that looks sleek, attractive and feels solid. On the center of the lid is the HUAWEI logo.
The Matebook D 16 weighs just 1.7 kg all thanks to its lightweight design. Fortunately, it also does not attract any type of fingerprints. However, as the base is not too heavy, the lid cannot be opened with one hand. The lid is also not very solid and there is some wobble here.
The left side includes 1x USB-C (support data, charging and DisplayPort), 1x USB-C (support data, charging). 1x HDMI and 3.5 mm headset and microphone jack.
The right side has 1x USB3.2 Gen1 and 1x USB2.0 ports.
At the back of the device are the ventilation grilles to support heat dissipation. Located here are also two cutouts for the speakers.
Display
The display is a 16in Full HD (1920×1200) IPS-level panel with wide viewing angles and 100% sRGB color coverage. The display has a 16:10 aspect ratio and 90% screen-to-body ratio with a standard refresh rate of 60Hz.
The bezels are narrow and houses the HD Webcam on the top. The webcam comes with AI features that can track you and adjust the angle of view as you move. It also supports Virtual Backgrounds to blur out surroundings and better protect privacy. However, there’s no IR to enable Windows Hello face authentication.
The screen surface is matte, anti-glare coated and does not reflect light. The 300 nits brightness is good enough for indoor use but does not work well outdoors and in spaces with sunlight.
The display is also TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certified to filter out blue for better eye protection.
Keyboard & Trackpad
The Matebook D 16’s has a full-size chiclet-type keyboard with short key travel of 1.5 mm. The keyboard is also equipped with single color LED backlights (white) with two levels of adjustable brightness. There is good spacing between the keys making the typing experience pleasant. There is also a dedicated camera privacy key above the numpad
The touchpad is standard sized and offers a good experience and the tracking is accurate. There is an integrated fingerprint scanner here within the power button.
Software
Most of the performance and display settings can be controlled via the HUAWEI PC Manager. You can monitor and optimize your system performance, change user profiles, adjust charging preferences and more.
The Matebook D 16 also supports Super Device features which enable facilitates seamless cross-device collaboration, allowing a vast array of HUAWEI devices to function as one cohesive unit. To form a Super Device, open the control center on your laptop, access the Super Device screen, and drag to connect the devices.
Some of these Super Device features include cross-device transfers, cross-device searching, wireless projection, pop-up pairing and instant connections. If you invest in the HUAWEI ecosystem, there’s a lot of benefits to unlock here.
Performance
Matebook D 16 is equipped with a 12th gen Intel Core i7-12700H chip, 16GB of DDR4-3733 RAM and Intel Xe Graphics. For storage, there is 512GB of NVMe SSD onboard. This configuration is perfect for productivity users and students who want more performance than the typical ultrabook.
CPU, GPU & RAM
The 12th Gen Alder Lake chips features two sets of performance and efficiency cores, providing unprecedented boost in multitasking.
The Core i7-12700H comes with 6 performance cores and 8 efficient cores for a total of 14 cores, 20 threads and 24 MB of cache. The P-cores are clocked at 2.3 GHz base and 4.7 GHz boost, while the E-cores get a 1.7GHz base and 3.5 GHz boost clock with a default TDP of 45W.
Graphics is powered by the new Intel Xe graphics which is powerful enough for daily tasks, work and photo editing. However, gaming performance is really poor and most games fail to achieve playable frame rates in full resolution/quality.
In terms of RAM, The Modern 15 is equipped with 16 GB of RAM at a frequency of 3733MHz.
Benchmarks
In Cinebench R20 tests, the i7-12700H scored an impressive 662 in single core benchmark and 4,344 in multi-core benchmark. In PCMark 10 Benchmark, the Matebook D 16 scored 5,450.
Since this isn’t a laptop built for gaming, we haven’t benchmarked any games with the Matebook D 16. With the said the hardware can run games at low-res with low quality settings.
| BENCHMARK | SCORE |
| Cinebench R20 single core | 662 |
| Cinebench R20 multi core | 4,344 |
| PCMark 10 Benchmark | 5,450 |
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,991 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 5,383 |
| 3DMark Sky Diver | 19,468 |
Storage
Our review unit came with a 512GB NVMe SSD. However, depending on the region, they may be different. The SSD offers average performance with read speeds of up to 3,103MB/s and write of up to 2,160 MB/s.
Temperature & Noise
Temperatures when idle are generally cool. When running intensive apps, the laptop gets hot in areas such as under the screen, sides of the keyboard and the bottom vents. Fortunately, the palm rests and the keyboard stays cool even under heavy usage. The laptop was never too loud, even under extreme loads.
Upgradability
In terms of upgradability, the laptop comes with one M.2 PCIe x4 slot which can be used to upgrade the SSD storage. As the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard, there is no option to upgrade.
Audio
The speakers are located on the bottom of the laptop, one on each side, with an output of 2 watts. The speakers are loud enough to fill small to medium-sized rooms, but they lack bass. The quality is good enough for calls or conferences, while media playback will be better with headphones.
At the front base are 4 mics to achieve 360° sound pickup within a maximum of 5 meters. The built in AI noise cancellation feature can intelligently filter out noise to make conference audio clearer.
Battery
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 comes with a 60Wh battery and can last about six to eight hours on average depending on screen brightness and usage. In terms of charging, using included 65W Pocket Charger took the laptop 1 hour 50 minutes to charge back from 0% to 100%.
HUAWEI MateBook D 16 Review Conclusion
The Matebook D 16 is ideal for professionals and young individuals looking for a portable yet powerful laptop. It offers a Full HD display with 100% SRGB color coverage, excellent 12th Gen performance, full-sized keyboard, decent number of ports and a lightweight design.
Some of the drawbacks are the average battery life, lack of upgradability, Thunderbolt and microSD ports. Also, something to note is that the Smart Device features are limited to HUAWEI devices only.
The new HUAWEI MateBook D 16 in silver color is available for pre-orders and across select retailers in the UAE starting at a price of 3299AED alongside a range of accessories, including the HUAWEI Classic Backpack and Slim Keyboard.
