Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro Best Premium Laptop 2021

Time and time again, MacBooks take the claim as one of the best laptops in the market, across age, technology, and consumer value. Because of its celebrated glory over the years, competitors take on the Cupertino-based brand with technologies that go at par when it comes to features, performance, and efficiency. One of those competitors is one of China’s leading telecom and tech manufacturers, Huawei, specifically the Huawei MateBook X Pro.

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Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro Best Premium Laptop 2021 5HUAWEIHuawei MateBook X Pro Signature EditionCheck Price on Amazon
Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro Best Premium Laptop 2021 6AppleApple 13 inch Macbook ProCheck Price on Amazon

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Apple’s high-end MacBook Pro is currently challenged by the Huawei MateBook X Pro. Even by the name, you’ll have an idea that there could be some aspects of the MacBook that’s taken and adapted by the MateBook. It’s Windows vs iOS, and we’re here to give you a blow-by-blow comparison of these top-of-the-line laptops. With the MacBook Pro having 2 versions, the 13 and 15-inch variants, we’ll be using the 13-inch version since it’s the closest to the MateBook’s screen size.

Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro Comparison

Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro

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MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro Design

At first glance, you’ll notice that the MateBook X Pro has the same body size as the MacBook Pro when it comes to overall length, with both at 11.97 inches from one end of the frame to the other. However, the difference begins to show when it comes to overall width with Huawei sporting 8.54 inches versus Apple at 8.36 inches only. Both are just as thick with the MateBook X Pro measuring 0.57 inches, slightly thinner than the MacBook Pro by 0.02 inches, which is a very small margin that it’s almost unnoticeable. When it comes to weight, the Chinese competitor had their laptop lighter at 1.33 kg against the American title holder at 1.37 kg, another close comparison that’s recognizable only in figures.

While the numbers are almost as adjacent, obviously with Huawei closing the gap as tight as possible, the main design difference show with how the composition of the bits and pieces fit together. In fact, by opening the screen cover and seeing the monitors next to each other, you’ll be surprised at how the MateBook X Pro utilized its 13.9 inches by significantly reducing the size of the bezels around the screen. Compare it with the MacBook Pro and you’ll see that the bezels are twice as big as that of the MateBook X Pro.

When it comes to the keyboard, sometimes less is more to some who have been using laptops for the longest time. Apple has created a unique system called the Butterfly switch. With it comes the promise of thinner keyboard buttons that provide a unique feel when typed on or pressed. However, many users are not comfortable with the change as the sounds made with typing are much louder, and the feel that’s already considered a norm, was taken away. Huawei did not consider deviating from the old keyboard experience, which is already a plus. But more than the feel is the overall size of the keys, which are bigger with the MateBook X Pro against the MacBook Pro.

When it comes to port availability, the Huawei MateBook X Pro offers more of the old and new worlds with 1 USB-C, 1 Thunderbolt 3, 1 USB-A 3.0, a fingerprint reader, and a headphone jack. Compare that with MacBook Pro’s 4 ports of Thunderbolt 3, a headphone jack, Touch ID fingerprint reader, and a Touch Bar, and some users who still yearn for older ports are left behind, even having trouble purchasing additional accessories just to fit in.

Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro

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MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro Speed

When it comes to the battle of speed, just considering one factor alone would not be close for comparison. Looking at the storage type, processor speed and memory, and RAM size, and how these three works together, determines the fastest in the hood. We’ll have the comparison slated with what’s already available during the purchase, plus the fastest and biggest variant, for the sake of fairness. The MateBook X Pro has a 512 GB NVMe PCIe SSD that runs together with an 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8550U processor, that’s backed up by a 16 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz RAM chipset. For the 13-inch MacBook Pro variant, the storage is a 512 GB SSD that’s operated by a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, running with an 8 GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory. By raw purchase alone, you’ll feel that everything about the MacBook Pro is slower against the MateBook X Pro, and you actually need to spend some extra cash for an i7 processor and a 16 GB RAM.

Level the game with a top tier 13-inch MacBook Pro and you’ll find yourself divided to decide as to who gets the top spot for speed. Based on different tests that involve multitasking with the usual office setup, such as using a spreadsheet program with heap loads of data, along with opening multiple tabs in a browser, while watching YouTube forcing videos to 4K, you’ll have the MateBook X Pro the victor. However, if you would be using your laptop by exhausting your disk capabilities by utilizing data conversion and processing, speedy file transfers, and multiple file management, the MacBook Pro takes the lead in this portion.

For gaming, it’s obvious enough that the MateBook X Pro is the winner as it runs its graphics via a dedicated GPU, together with an onboard GPU, while the MacBook Pro has a shared graphics processor that slowly runs heavy games.

MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro Graphics

Even by just looking, you’ll know that the Huawei MateBook X Pro has more graphics to provide with 13.9 inches of screen, compared to the Apple MacBook Pro with only 13.3 inches. But graphics is not just about size, but it’s also with the finer details, such as pixel display. The MateBook display shows pixels at a maximum size of 3000 x 2000, while the MacBook can only provide 2560 x 1600, which is tad small. While we’re at it, bring in the 15-inch big brother and Apple is still at a loss with 2880 x 1800 pixels – quite close but not enough to make up for whatever is lacking.

Considering that the sRGB spectrum rating for the MateBook X Pro is close to the MacBook Pro with 124 and 125 percent, respectively, the difference on color delivery is still visible due to the huge difference with the dots-per-inch parameter with Huawei emitting more colors, lights, and hues than that of Apple. When it comes to screen brightness, however, the MacBook Pro fights back with 500 nits against the MateBook X Pro with a lesser 450.

While brightness is one of the fighting cards Apple has to offer, it does not completely turn the graphics battle in their favor. Worse, the gap between the two premium laptops are just as wide when the comparison to graphic processing units are concerned. NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 with 2 GB GDDR5 is running within the MateBook X Pro, and was produced back in May 2017. However, Intel’s Iris Plus Graphics 655 was released at a later date back in September 2017. What’s sad is that despite of the MX150 being an older model than that of the 655, the difference on the performance between the two is just surprisingly big, you’ll wonder how Apple was able to fare with Huawei.

For the graphical pipelines alone, MateBook’s GeForce GPU has 384 while Apple’s Iris Plus has only 48! If that’s not bad, consider the disparity on core clock speed, which is 1227 MHz from Huawei against 300 MHz from Apple. Provide some juice to graphic boosting and the NVIDIA graphics card gains 19.6 percent more speed running into 1468 MHz. Surprisingly, the GPU from Intel can boost up to 400 percent higher, going to a pace of 1200 MHz. Impressive with built-up on addressing performance demands when it comes to graphics display, but the Iris Plus 655 is still lacking by a margin.

Memory is essential to GPU performance as the graphic processors need a system that could allot space for meeting demands when showing movies, working on photos, or editing videos, or doing all of them at the same time together with other background processes executed by the laptop. The MX 150 from NVIDIA is a 64-bit 4 GB GDDR 5 monster that can run up to 6008 MHz and can process data and graphic transfer between the GPU and the onboarded chipset at a maximum bandwidth of 48.06 GB per second. Unfortunately, the Iris Plus 655 from Intel won’t even be comparable as the whole GPU relies mainly on shared memory with the whole iOS system, not having anything dedicated to stand on its own.

But there’s more to gauge a GPU’s capability than just numbers, which is why benchmarking is a requirement to confirm performance and durability amidst meeting demands from highly detailed video games or memory hungry graphic applications. Though the Iris Plus 655 is newer than the GeForce MX150 when it comes to manufacturing date, the latter performs better across the board as it proved to be 10.7 percent faster than the newer processor competitor. It also has more pipelines, and of course, can run OpenGL 4.5 with ease. However, there’s a particular ace with the 655, being less power hungry as it only needs to spend 15 watts against MX 150’s 25 watts. While it may seem impressive, do note that the lesser power consumption is significantly affected by being integrated with the board.

MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro Audio

When it comes to rendering audio, the MateBook X Pro has Dolby Atmos in place, which is executed by quad speakers, coupled with four digital microphones for rich-sounding video calls or high-fidelity voice calls. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, has stereo speakers that accommodate high dynamic range that works together with three microphones.

While the MacBook Pro has lesser speakers to kick deep bass or produce rich and clean trebles, it can deliver better as the range spans to both ends of the spectrum, from deep to high, and still maintaining integrity without speakers bursting or the sound being too sharp to the ear that it creates distortion. The MateBook X Pro provides decent audio that’s channeled through four different speakers that offer dimension based on direction and intensity of the sound being made. The Dolby Atmos system is there to customize listening experience and can be fiddled through an interface where it enables the user to enhance whatever is lacking to fit personal audio preference.

However, to most audiophiles, it is more impressive to have something that’s already fit to hearing at default, without the need to mix things or customize for adjustment. That’s how capable Apple’s speakers are, and this is one of the few elements the MacBook Pro has beaten the MateBook X Pro.

MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro Interactivity

One of the most notable changes in the MacBook Pro is its keyboard where they have resolved previous problems such as vulnerability to dust and excessive noise. With the third-generation Butterfly-style keyboards, you’re getting not just enhancements that avoid the occurrence of dust and small debris disrupting the keyboard, but you’ll also have a new feel of texture to your fingertips. You’ll experience that rubbery feel as a rubberized membrane is coated on top of the keys, extending all the way behind the keys to minimize tiny intrusions.

The MateBook X Pro decided to go the conventional way. The keyboards still have the same scissor mechanism like many others before it. You’ll also have the feel of the usual, with keys moving up and down as you type. While this sounds boring at best, many are actually glad that Huawei did not introduce anything new with the keyboard as Apple is actually having problems with the new system they’re presenting.

In fact, the keyboard system from Apple is facing two lawsuits, tons of complaints from customers who are having trouble with the “sticky” space bar, and a free repair program to compensate for all the woes.

As for the touchpad, while the MacBook Pro has created a larger pad, being at 5.3 by 3.3 inches, and the MateBook X Pro is only measuring 4.7 by 3.0 inches, there’s nothing much to brag as the features are pretty much conventional. One perk that makes things favorable for Huawei is that with a smaller touchpad, there’s also more space for the keyboard keys to extend.

With the best laptops comes features that are offered beyond standard. The MacBook Pro has the Touch Strip on the upper middle section of the keyboard. This lets you do various tasks by clicking on the different icons that appear on the strip, depending on the application you are using. This makes it possible to click on emoticons in Facebook without going through the inconvenience of clicking and scrolling for the emoticon of choice. Just have your finger do the moving in the strip and you’ll find what you want. This is actually a feature that makes the laptop a hybrid when it comes to interaction as the strip blurs the line with seeing the MacBook Pro as traditional.

The Huawei MateBook X Pro has thought of the said advantage and decided to make the whole monitor touch screen in order to provide its users a different experience; a flexible offer that caters to both keyboard and touch savvy.

Thanks to the touch screen technologies found in the MateBook X Pro and the MacBook Pro, a security feature that’s taken advantage is fingerprint scanning, just as how things work with smartphones.

MateBook X Pro vs MacBook Pro Battery Life

Everything’s better with a powerful battery and that’s where both Apple and Huawei agree. Both manufacturers used lithium polymer, but one brand has more power than the other. The MateBook X Pro has 57.4-watt hours while the MacBook Pro has 58-watt hours. Though the numbers tell that the MateBook X Pro lasts a little shorter than the MacBook Pro, it’s the opposite when tested on running different applications. The more ironic part about this comparison is the fact that Huawei has more parts running in it, particularly the GPUs where both dedicated and onboard graphic processors are working at the same time.

Winner Takes Some

Based on the many elements used within this article, it’s obvious that the Huawei MateBook X Pro wins by a long mile against the MacBook Pro when it comes to battery, to the processor, graphics, and even the extra features. However, others would still be picking the MacBook Pro due to familiarity with iOS and the overall feel on the purchase.

You’re still a winner regardless of what unit you’ll choose. Also, the information disclosed with the comparison is a mere guide that’s provided to educate and enlighten.

Since these are high end laptops, expect that the pricing won’t be as decent, with both expected to amount between $2,000 and $3,000. But whatever your choice would be, everything would be worth the penny as you delve yourself with the best of what both Apple and Huawei have to offer.

ProductBrandNamePrice
Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro Best Premium Laptop 2021 5HUAWEIHuawei MateBook X Pro Signature EditionCheck Price on Amazon
Huawei MateBook X Pro vs Apple MacBook Pro Best Premium Laptop 2021 6AppleApple 13 inch Macbook ProCheck Price on Amazon

* If you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. For more details, please visit our Privacy policy page.

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