MateBook X Pro v/s MacBook Pro: Which one to buy?
Chinese tech giant Huawei, known for its feature-packed smartphones, has now forayed into the PC segment with new MateBook laptops that arrived in India earlier this year. The new line-up includes a 14-inch MateBook X Pro model which takes on Apple's bestselling MacBook Pro 13 with a high-resolution display, top-tier internals, and all-day battery life. But, which one should you buy? Let's find out.
The latest Apple MacBook Pro 13 carries the same design language which debuted on the 2016 model. So, there's still the same aluminum body, a slimmer profile, and smaller bezels. In comparison, the MateBook X Pro looks heavily inspired by the MacBook Pro with an all-metal chassis and ultra-slim bezels. However, with a weight of 1.33kg, it is marginally lighter than Apple's rival (1.37kg).
The Huawei MateBook X Pro sports a 13.9-inch LTPS full touchscreen display that offers a resolution of 3,000x2,000 at 259ppi. The screen can get pretty bright and the contrast levels are great. The MacBook Pro 13 gets a 2,560x1,600 resolution (227ppi) main screen with a new Touch Bar display which replaces the function keys. Notably, the MacBook offers wide color gamut with superior accuracy.
Both the MacBook Pro 13 and MateBook X Pro are powered by Intel's 8th-generation Core CPUs (upto i7) combined with upto 16GB of RAM. However, the Huawei laptop offers discrete GPU, thanks to the more capable NVIDIA GeForce MX150 than MacBook's onboard graphics. Both models also pack ultra-fast PCIe NVME SSD storage with the MacBook offering upto 2TB of storage (upto 1TB on MateBook).
The MacBook offers a new butterfly keyboard design with integrated Touch ID, a large trackpad, upto four USB Type-C ports (with Thunderbolt), HD FaceTime camera, and a headphone jack. As for battery life, you should get upto 10 hours of screen time. In comparison, the MateBook offers a concealed HD pop-up camera, a dependable keyboard, fingerprint reader, multiple ports, and all-day battery life.
The MateBook X Pro starts at Rs. 1.30 lakh and goes upto Rs. 1.60 lakh for the top-end model while the 13-inch 2019 MacBook Pro starts at Rs. 1.2 lakh.
One simple way of choosing between the two is the software. If you want Apple's ecosystem, go for MacBook. But if you are not restricted by the operating system, Huawei's flagship laptop delivers more power (thanks to a dedicated GPU), offers more connectivity options, and has a more versatile touchscreen display. Our verdict: Go for Mate (and not Mac) Book.
