Since branching out of Huawei, even amid Covid times, the company has been marching ahead with renewed spirit and positioning itself beyond its forte of smartphones and wearable technology.
So, when we got to review the HONOR MagicBook X 14, we could not wait to unbox it and have a first look as soon as possible.
As if Honor heard us in a telepathic sense, the HONOR MagicBook X 14 boots up in less than 15 seconds. How cool is that? Oh, and did we mention that the power button is also a fingerprint sensor so that gives such a secure feeling of having your technology in your control. Here are some initial impressions after using the HONOR MagicBook X 14 for three days:
The HONOR MagicBook X Series, also available in a 15-inch version, is a thin and light Ultrabook with 10th Gen Intel “Tiger Lake” Core CPUs.
It has two model options. We got to review the i5 model with 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD memory, the other boasting of a Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB M.2 SSD in a 15-inch FHD display, with the same specifications across all other categories.
HONOR Magic-link
At the heart of it, the HONOR MagicBook X 14 is all about cross-platform connectivity with other Honor Smart phones. Linking up with the flagship HONOR phone H50, for example, is a breeze. And that is made possible with the HONOR Magic-link for inbuilt, or shall we say, its own little NFC version. It clears up so many boundaries, and more importantly, the hassle for sharing files and data or even projecting your mobile’s screen on the HONOR MagicBook X 14 and vice versa.
Premium Aluminum Metal Body
According to a survey among UAE users, 57 percent of the respondents prefer a laptop for office work, and 37% for entertainment purposes while slow performance is a common pain point. With a very lightweight body weighing 1.38kg, cased in premium and shining aluminum alloy design, it sure is sleek and easy to carry around for official work. It is bound to grab attention even before you start your presentations. There is a matte finish to the display, which we prefer to the glossy ones. That allows for lesser glare distractions in a greater experience for office and home viewers on both ends of the laptop – a win-win situation!
Eye Comfort
Even after a whole day of usage of the laptop and staring at the gamut of display, we found the HONOR MagicBook X 14 relaxing to our eyes. Its eye comfort mode eases digital eye strain by reducing blue-light emission from the display. The monitor with its thin bezels, measuring slimly at 4.8 mm on the top, and an 84% screen-to-body ratio adds to the leisure experience.
A special mention to the keyboard which has large buttons in a backlit display to make typing a smooth experience. If you didn’t know, the camera is not in its usual place on the top of the display screen but positioned in the middle of the keyboard that pops up with the click of a button. It will take time getting used to, especially in the online meetings, some more privacy by popping the camera down when you don’t need it. We think it is the latter that is more worth taking note.
A 2-in-1 Fingerprint Power Button
In addition to smartly integrated technology, the HONOR MagicBook X 14 has a fingerprint scanner that doubles up as the power button, making for very rapid and secure logins using Windows Hello. It is a user-intuitive design feature that has latched down since last year. When you have date and information sharing across devices, the fingerprint access gives that much more control and secure feeling in your hands. Talking of connectivity, the laptop includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 for wireless operations. Its I/O ports are commendable for an ultra-portable laptop of its size, as it has one USB type-A port, one HDMI port and a power inlet with a type-C interface, along with the audio 3.5mm jack.
Type-C 65W Fast Charging
Honor is bundling a 65W USB-C Super Charger that weighs just about 200 grams with the detachable USB-C cable included, making this MagicBook super convenient for traveling with one single charger for all your devices. The days of lugging around the bulky DC power cable are over. Interestingly enough, you can charge the laptop via either of the two USB-C ports while still benefiting from the maximum 65W power speed.
Battery
The great battery life of the X 14 adds to its pros, and charges decently fast with 104 minutes for a full charge that lasts almost a whole day. When we unboxed and charged for half an hour, the battery juice went up by 44 percent. On full charge with some image editing, video surfing, a bit of gaming and usual office software, the battery lasted a little beyond seven hours which is quite decent for a day’s work on emergency. Crowned with the rare low blue-light certification and keeping in mind maximum comfort of the user’s eyes, the lightweight HONOR MagicBook X 14 is a handy piece of technology to have. And given its affordable price range, this surely checks off most boxes on the list for an average home, school or office user.
SHORT SPECS
Processor : Intel® Core™ i5-10210U
Display : 15-inch RAM: 8GB DDR4 Dual-Channel
Memory : PCIe NVME SSD 512GB
Battery : 56Wh
Power : 65W Type-C Fast Charger
Other : Fingerprint power button, Bluetooth 5, HONOR Magic-link, Supersized cooling fan, Light weight, slim body
