Huawei wastes potential with the MateBook 13 2020

The 2020 MateBook 13 left a good impression during our comprehensive review. You get a slim laptop with a good metal chassis, decent input devices, and a good 3:2 screen for about 900 Euros. The Intel processor in combination with the integrated graphics adapter is also powerful enough for common tasks.

Depending on the region, there can be different configurations. German customers get two different models: The test unit with the Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD storage for 899 Euros, as well as an AMD model (Ryzen 5 3500U), which is also equipped with 8 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD storage for 799 Euros. Both feature 2x USB-C and a glossy 2K-IPS screen. Other regions also get SKUs with touchscreens and models with a dedicated GeForce MX250 GPU.

All in all, however, this is only a very small update, because the performance is basically identical to the previous model despite the new Comet Lake processor. If you already own the old model, there is no reason to upgrade. There are two reasons for the similar performance. The cooling solution has not been changed and the performance of Intel's CPUs has not really improved, either. Since there are models with the MX250 GPU, Huawei probably did not consider Ice Lake CPUs, which are equipped with more powerful iGPUs and can even compete with entry-level dGPUs like the MX250. Therefore, the model with the AMD processor and the Vega GPU could be the more interesting laptop, even though the battery runtimes are shorter according to Huawei. We will try to review the AMD model of the MateBook 13 soon.

Please see our in-depth review of the MateBook 13 2020 including comprehensive measurement and benchmark results:

• Huawei MateBook 13 2020 review