Huawei MateBook 14 R5 review, photos, reviews - Technoblog

2022-05-13 21:14:22 By : Ms. Sunny Wang

Optimal performance and battery life on the goHuawei MateBook 14 R5 buy from Huawei Online StoreHuawei MateBook 14 model is here with hardware components suitable for the conditions of 2022.A noteworthy product for those who find a 14-inch screen balanced between portability and productivity, looking for battery performance to last all day, and a PC that performs well not only for everyday tasks, but also for tasks such as photo or video editing, this laptop is worth about a year. months of experience.The elegance and material quality of the previous years' MateBook 14 models meet the high performance provided by the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor.There are also some advancements to match the annual update cycle.Our impressions and comments about this laptop, which we have experienced for about a month, are in the Huawei MateBook 14 R5 review article.Here is a laptop that successfully reflects the classic Huawei MateBook design.Its metal body with a refined sandblasting finish gives a pleasant feeling with its soft surface.The part around the trackpad that your palms touch while typing on the laptop has the same smooth finish, making you feel more comfortable while typing.Although it does not look different from its predecessors in terms of appearance, we can say that this 2022 model laptop is ahead of its predecessors in terms of quality and feel.In addition to its smooth metal body, its diamond-cut edges and corners successfully underline the message that the MateBook 14 R5 is a valuable laptop.We can say that it is below average in terms of weight and dimensions for a laptop with a 14-inch screen, which is a good thing.Weighing 1.49 kilograms, the MateBook 14 allows the computer to be comfortably carried in the hand with the lid open or closed.It does not cause any discomfort when using it on a laptop.Carrying it in a bag is also not a problem.Another factor that helps to carry it comfortably in the bag is the body thickness of 15.9 millimeters.Let's not forget that we have successfully placed the MateBook 14 in this stack, even when the laptop bag we normally use has a computer in its sleeve and two tablets in the sleeves.One of the prominent design elements of Huawei's laptops is the thin display bezel.A bezel with a thickness of 4.9 millimeters surrounds the three sides of the screen.The bottom edge is slightly thicker than the others and there is the Huawei logo here.This design is called FullView by Huawei and it feels like the screen is flowing from edge to edge.Also, this thin bezel design makes the laptop look a little cooler.Having an aspect ratio of 3:2 is also a determining factor in terms of format.In the meantime, let's emphasize that it has a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio thanks to its ultra-narrow screen bezel design.The MateBook 14 has a solid hinge construction.This hinge allows the screen to open up to 135 degrees.This wide angle helps, especially when using it on a laptop.There is no such thing as a full back fold with 180 degrees or 360 degrees.It is a little difficult to lift the cover with a single finger movement as the hinge has a tight design.It would be good to hold the base with your other hand and lift the cover.In the base section, we see Huawei's full-size classic keyboard.The island-style keys are large enough and the spacing between the keys is well-adjusted.The keypress depth is also good, the fingertips do not feel much pressure while typing.Let's not go without mentioning that the hardness adjustment of the keys is also done well.Typing has a stable, solid feel and a solid keystroke.We are writing this review article you are reading with the keyboard of the MateBook 14 and we can say that we can type at the speed we are used to.On the top row of the keyboard, there are function keys placed for controls such as screen brightness adjustment, volume control, microphone on and off, Wi-Fi and so on.In the middle of this row of keys, there is a button with the camera icon on it.Actually, this is not the key, but the built-in camera built into the keyboard.It has become one of the icons of Huawei MateBook laptops.You can turn the camera on by pressing this button, and turn it off easily by pressing it again.The biggest benefit of this design is that it enables effortless camera privacy.You can disable the camera at any time without the need for any physical or software control.However, the point where the camera is placed brings with it some issues regarding the angle of view.The other person sees you from an unusual perspective.Especially in meetings, interviews or broadcasts where the camera view is important, you can put things under the base to give the camera a better angle, or place the MateBook 14 higher so that the base is level with your face.Apart from its location and viewing angle, the MateBook 14's built-in camera supports 720p video.It offers decent performance indoors and in low light, the brightness is satisfactory.Autofocus is one of the nice features.In the upper right corner of the keyboard is the fingerprint power button, which is another icon of Huawei laptops.This key, which is used to turn the computer on and off, also allows you to quickly bypass the screen lock.You can quickly add your fingerprint either on initial setup or later in Settings.It quickly bypasses the lock screen via Windows Hello and gets the computer ready for use.The trackpad is reasonably sized for a 14-inch laptop.Its soft glass surface offers fast responsiveness.You can move the cursor easily and click with a light touch.It's also handy for multi-touch controls.There will be no need for an external mouse.In terms of connectivity options, the Huawei MateBook 14 R5 meets the needs of many users today.In fact, it offers conditions where intermediate or professional users can easily do their work and connect their devices without the need for any adapter.The laptop has a fully functional USB-C port on the left edge.Right next to this port is a 3.5mm audio jack and an HDMI port.On the other side, there are two USB-A ports, both of which support USB 3.2 Gen 1.You can easily connect your external disk, printer, smart phone and similar devices to USB-A ports without the need for an additional adapter.The USB-C port, on the other hand, will offer easy connectivity with USB-C cables on both ends, which we have seen on more and more phones lately.However, if this port is used for data connection, charging will not be possible at the same time.Because the MateBook 14 is also charged via the USB-C port.In the previous section, we gave some information about the screen of the MateBook 14.The 14-inch screen, which gives this laptop its name, has a 3:2 aspect ratio and comes with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels.Huawei's productivity-focused MateBooks often come with a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is a good thing.It's important to see more rows at a glance, especially for productivity-focused folks like us.The 3:2 aspect ratio provides this better than 16:9 or 16:10 screens.The greater number of lines also allows for more tools to fit comfortably on the screen in productivity-oriented applications such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro.However, when watching videos in full screen, you will see thicker black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.We think you will have no trouble getting used to it.The 14-inch 2K Huawei FullView display has a wide viewing angle of 178 degrees.Even if we look at the screen from far side, we see what's going on.However, in bright environments or outside, when you look from the side, the effect of the reflection increases.Despite this, the image is easily selected, there is no visual reduction.With a typical brightness value of 300 nits, the display beats laptop averages.This brightness is more than enough for use in the home or office environment.We can say that it allows you to see your work easily in the outside environment.The display supports 100 percent of the sRGB color gamut and has a contrast ratio of 1500:1.We can say that the screen is satisfying in terms of color and contrast in daily use or watching videos.It also meets the needs for professional-level jobs such as photo or video editing.The MateBook 14's FullView display will do just fine, especially for students who are into creativity-focused work or for entry and mid-level workers.Like other Huawei MateBook computers, the MateBook 14 R5's display has TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free and Low Blue Light certifications.These certificates show that the flicker of the screen and the blue light level are dynamically adjusted, reducing the eye health of the users.There are no blue light settings within the MateBook 14's display settings, other than Windows 11's own built-in setting where it adds a color filter to the display.The computer makes the adjustment itself and we see that the colors of the screen are normally a little warmer.We can say that it does not emit a light that will disturb the eyes in long-term use, and that we can work comfortably.In terms of sound, the Huawei MateBook 14 R5 is at a good level.The base has a pair of speakers placed towards the sides.A design has been chosen that will make the sound stronger when the laptop is placed on a surface.There are sound modes and virtual 5.1/7.1 multi-channel surround sound support for four different scenarios such as gaming, listening to music, watching movies and speaking.The sound output is at the optimum level, the frequency range is also wide.Maybe not as powerful as on the Huawei MateBook 16, but bass and treble are distinguishable.For tasks such as listening to music or watching movies, the built-in sound system will be more than enough.The MateBook 14 also includes a microphone system that will be useful for online meetings and video calls.Thanks to the quad microphone system, a sound recording with a high environmental effect is taken.It has a high treble, quality sound recording and can even be used for some professional work.The artificial intelligence-assisted noise canceling system is successful in suppressing the hum or unwanted sounds in the environment, and while doing this, it does not spoil the quality of your voice.We took a sample sound recording with Windows 11's built-in Sound Recorder.The sound quality is good, although we find the volume of the audio recording slightly below average.Even if you get up from the computer and go far away, your voice can remain intelligible.The R5 in the name of the Huawei MateBook 14 R5 means it houses an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor.This laptop has an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor.This processor contains six CPU cores and 12 execution units.It has a default TDP of 15W and a base clock frequency of 2.1 GHz.On the GPU side, it houses the built-in AMD Radeon Graphics unit.Having 16GB of RAM makes it a useful workstation for productivity-oriented jobs and those who prefer to use multiple applications at the same time.A 512GB SSD will be enough, especially for students and intermediate users.It may be logical to use an external disk with SSD, especially for those who deal with photo or video editing, and those who often deal with such files.In the meantime, before you start using the MateBook 14 R5, it would be appropriate to rearrange the disk partitions and re-adjust the positions of the files, programs and similar elements that you will install on the computer.If you do nothing, after a while you may encounter a warning message that the C directory, which has about 120 GB of space, is completely full.Thanks to the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor, the MateBook 14 helps to work seamlessly with over 40 Chrome tabs at the same time.Of course, one should not forget the contribution of 16 GB of RAM at this point.Editing is done quickly in applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.Similarly, we can say that the MateBook 14 does its job well in preparing social media videos in Adobe Premiere Rush and similar applications.Especially for university students and office workers, the MateBook 14 R5 will more than offer the performance they are looking for.In terms of heating and fan noise, the MateBook 14 performs satisfactorily.First of all, a thin and long grid spreads across the lower edge.It is accompanied by two bumpers placed above and below.Moreover, the bumper placed towards the lower edge makes a recess in the middle section and contributes to the dissipation of heat.Huawei's latest dual fan design has "high heat dissipation efficiency," according to the company, and also lowers the laptop's temperature by 1C compared to the previous generation.We did not hear a very loud fan noise under heavy workload and in benchmark tests.In normal use, we see that the temperature does not rise above the optimum range.Especially when writing something in Word or Excel or preparing a long article like us, you can use the MateBook 14 even on your knees without discomfort.We also ran a few benchmark tests with the Huawei MateBook 14.We ran these tests in Performance mode.You can open this mode by pressing Fn+P keys on the keyboard.In other cases the computer stays in Balanced mode.We share the results in the gallery below.The results show that it offers a good value for money.When we come to the battery side, the Huawei MateBook 14 has a 56Wh battery.Huawei states that this battery can play locally stored 1080p videos for up to 11 hours.At the same time, 12 hours is valued for a scenario that he defines as a standard workload, such as surfing the Internet in general, checking e-mail, and using office applications.In our tests at full screen brightness, we found that the MateBook 14 R5 offers 6 hours 36 minutes of office application use and 5 hours 58 minutes of video playback on a fully charged battery.This shows that the battery performance value given by Huawei can be met.Our test results show that the MateBook 14 R5 can easily take a day off on a single charge, with intermittent use, from morning to night.Like most Huawei MateBook laptops out of the box, the MateBook 14 R5 comes with a 65W power adapter with Huawei SuperCharge support.This power adapter and the accompanying USB-C cable do not take up much space in the bag.In addition, the long cable eliminates the need to be connected to the outlet.You can also use this cable and charging adapter for Huawei P50 Pro and similar fast charging supported phones.In fact, this duo will suffice for other phones, tablets and devices with USB-C terminals.There will be no need to carry additional cables or adapters on your travels.Thanks to its fast charging technology, the MateBook 14 R5 can reach a capacity that will provide 2.5 hours of use in just 15 minutes.When you need it, you can reach sufficient usage times during the day with short-term charges.Meanwhile, while the 14 R5 is charged via the USB-C port, it can also charge other devices through the same port when the lid is closed.Especially when you carry it in your bag, you can use this laptop as a powerbank to charge your phone or tablet.Huawei MateBook 14 R5 comes with Windows 11 installed.The new generation operating system, which Microsoft released last fall, comes with a renewed taskbar and Settings application and many similar innovations.You can take a look at our Windows 11 review article and video to have an idea about this new operating system.Windows 11 runs very stable and properly on this laptop.It performs satisfactorily in tasks such as navigating the user interface, opening applications and games.Microsoft Store makes it easy to install apps or games on the 14 R5 with its revamped user interface.When we look at the installed Huawei applications, we do not see any tool other than PC Manager, that is, PC Manager.In addition to controlling various hardware components of the MateBook 14 R5, this app also enables to switch to performance mode and boost performance with a single control.You can also do this by pressing Fn+P keys together on the keyboard.Apart from that, the PC Manager plays an important role in collaborating with other Huawei devices.You can log in to this application with your Huawei ID.There is a control in the user interface that allows you to quickly connect to monitors such as a Huawei smartphone, tablet or MateView.By easily connecting Huawei P50 Pro and similar Huawei phones with Multi-Screen Collaboration support, you can mirror the phone's screen to MateBook 14 and manage the phone from the computer.You don't have to touch your phone while working at your desk, with the possibilities of playing the phone's sound from the computer and answering the phone calls from the computer.Moreover, like Spark, you can use the handy e-mail client, which is not yet a Windows application, on the Huawei phone.Multi-Screen Collaboration provides easy file or photo sharing between the phone and the computer using the drag-and-drop method.Sharing the clipboard is another factor that increases productivity and makes things easier.Moreover, you can bring the multitasking capability of the phone to the MateBook 14 by opening some applications in more than one window at the same time.Similar Multi-Screen Collaboration support is also available with Huawei tablets such as the MatePad 11 or MatePad Pro 12.6.You can use these tablets alongside the MateBook 14 R5 as a second monitor or control the tablet with the MateBook 14's keyboard and trackpad.For those who like to work with two monitors like us, the screen mirroring or extending feature comes in very handy.Besides, with the Huawei M-Pencil, you can also use the MatePad tablet as a digitizer in some drawing applications that you open on the MateBook 14.It should be a nice way to evaluate the devices you have, without the need for special tools.Huawei Share is also one of the useful features.Allows easy transfer of photos, videos or files from Huawei smartphone or tablet to laptop.Multi-Device Collaboration, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to see the disk of the phone you connect to the laptop as a hard disk in Windows Explorer.We have personally tested that these features are very useful when appropriate.Huawei has come a long way in establishing an ecosystem, and we can see its reflection in our daily workflow.In the lower right corner, you will see two icons on the taskbar.One of them belongs to PC Manager.When you click on it, a Huawei Assistant Today page appears, similar to the -1 screen we see on Huawei smartphones.How much you use is unknown, but you can use this panel to quickly access news.Another control opens to the Huawei Control Panel.Here, there are controls such as taking screenshots, capturing screen videos, Huawei Share, AI Search, Multi-Screen Collaboration and Multi-Device Collaboration.To use the Huawei ecosystem features and conveniences mentioned above, you can start from the Huawei Control Panel.Meanwhile, the Control panel also comes in handy for quick connection to nearby Super Devices like FreeBuds wireless headphones or MateView monitor.The 2022 model Huawei MateBook 14 R5 manages to surpass the line of its predecessors that we have experienced before.Progress is seen in terms of material quality and value.It gives the feeling of being a stylish computer well.The 3:2 aspect ratio screen is sharp enough.The brightness is sufficient, although not much above the average.It will be satisfactory for students and general staff who will prefer this computer.The AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor offers smooth and satisfying performance.For office work, photo or video editing tasks that are not too high level, this computer is more than enough.Rich common areas with other Huawei devices make the MateBook 14 more attractive.If you have chosen a Huawei product on the smartphone or tablet side, productivity and the total benefit you get from those devices will increase even more with the MateBook 14.In terms of battery life, the MateBook 14 meets today's expectations.The charging adapter and cable also provide flexibility for other areas of life.Huawei MateBook 14 R5 buy from Huawei Online StoreSubscribe to the Technoblog YouTube channel for quality and informative technology videos.