Huawei presented its tech innovations for the summer of 2022 in Berlin. Mate series laptops are also getting an update, as is the popular Freebuds Pro. The Chinese strategy is clear.
Huawei’s smartphone division is still suffering from the Andorid ban, which fell on the company in the course of US sanctions for allegations of espionage. Reason enough for the Chinese to work other fields. The manufacturer has clearly chosen the home office, which Huawei calls “Smart Office”, but only if Huawei products are used. Because working from home is not made smart by homeworkers, of course, but by software features that are intended to make working from home easier.
The “super device”
Apple disciples are already familiar with these software features in a similar form from their favorite manufacturer, for example when they see a Safari tab on their iPhone when switching devices on the Mac. Huawei calls the “Super Device”. The manufacturer had already presented this at the beginning of the year, now the new products will follow. The Super Device is nothing more than seamlessly switching between headphones, smartphone, tablet and laptop while working. It’s always smart, but not super innovative. Because unfortunately this smooth change between the devices – as with Apple – only works with in-house products among themselves.
So it’s hardly surprising that Huawei has given well-known product families an update, but it’s very successful and with interesting camera and sound features for the home office. At this year’s presentation in Berlin, the Chinese introduced three new laptops, the MateBook 16s, MateBook D16 and D14, all of which work with Windows 11. In addition, the popular Freebuds Pro received a further development with the Freebuds Pro 2. Huawei entered the monitor market last year, and in 2022 the manufacturer will follow suit and present an entry-level office monitor with the MateView SE.
AI camera and AI sound
On all laptops, Huawei improved the camera and sound system for video conferencing. For example, the microphones on the laptops filter out disruptive ambient noise so that other participants in the online conference are not disturbed by train noise or the like. And the engineers also worked on the camera: it always follows the speaker using face recognition. Practical when explaining something on the clipboard in an online conference. It also “corrects” the participant’s gaze into the camera. Simply means that the camera uses artificial intelligence to make it appear as if the participants in online conferences are looking each other in the eye.
Huawei Freebuds Pro2
Together with the French sound experts from Devialet, Huawei developed the Freebuds Pro 2. The makers proudly presented their result in Berlin. According to Huawei, this offers significantly improved active noise cancellation and, of course, better sound than its predecessor. According to Huawei, it has also improved the sound quality of the microphones during calls. Many earbuds actually have problems here. The premium headphones are available now for 199 euros.
MateBook 16s: Technical Details
The MateBook 16s is one of the top models in Huawei’s laptop division. The Chinese manufacturer has given its MateBook 16s a 16-inch touch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1680 pixels. Huawei wants to appeal to content creators and underlines this claim with a factory-calibrated display that covers 100 percent of the sRGB color space. This is important for video and photo editing. Inside, Intel processors of the twelfth generation work.
Buyers can choose between an Intel Core i9 12900H or an i7-12700H. The variant with i9 will cost 1899 euros at market launch, the i7 version 1699 euros. Both are assisted by 16 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 1 terabyte (TB) of system memory. Nice: The MateBook 16s offers a Thunderbolt 4 socket, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port and a headphone input. It is charged via USB-C. Incidentally, two 4K monitors can be connected via the Thunderbolt and HDMI interfaces.
MateBook D16: Finally with a numpad
The MateBook D16 is aimed more at office workers and therefore wants to score with comfort. Huawei offers this convenience with a fingerprint sensor that users use to unlock their laptop. With a weight of 1.7 kilograms, the D16 is also easy to transport for a 16-inch device. However, the display only has a Full HD resolution. However, since the laptop is not intended for video editing, this is tolerable. What makes the MateBook D16 special is its keyboard. The revised Huawei compared to its predecessor.
In addition to an improved keystroke, Huawei also installed a numeric keypad on the right side. Once again, Intel processors work inside. For 1299 euros, buyers get an Intel Core i7 12700H with 16 GB of working memory and 512 GB of system memory. With the same memory variant and an Intel Core i5 12450H, the MateBook D16 costs 999 euros.
MateBook D14
Huawei didn’t reveal much about the MateBook D14. The smallest laptop in the bunch will be launched in August 2022 and of course also has the camera and sound improvements. With an Intel i7 1260P, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB system memory, the laptop costs 1099 euros. The smaller version with an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage costs 849 euros.
MateView SE: The stand makes the difference
The MateView SE is a simple office monitor that Huawei will sell with two base variants. In the cheap version for 169 euros, the setting options are slimmed down. For 20 euros more, on the other hand, buyers can get a stand on which the monitor can be rotated so that users can use it vertically. This is practical for programmers, those who write a lot and people who like to read long texts. Speaking of reading, the monitor offers an eye-friendly e-book mode. The technical details are as expected for a monitor in this price range: 23.8 inches, full HD resolution, one HDMI and one DisplayPort connection each, 100 percent sRGB color space coverage, no USB hub.
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