HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 Review – Refined powerhouse with Intel Core Ultra CPUs tested

Launched alongside the new MatePad 11.5S PaperMatte Edition, the refreshed HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 comes with a number of key quality of life upgrades – a sharper touch display, better battery life, more storage and, best of all, the latest Intel Core Ultra series processors. Fresh from its Malaysia launch, we managed to get a sample for field testing and put it through its paces – here’s our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review where we share if this premium laptop is worth your money.

HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review – Build and Design

It’s hard to improve on a classic but HUAWEI aims to achieve just that with their MateBook 14 2024. Building on a battle-tested design, the HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 has upgrades in several key areas, chief among them a better quality and slightly larger 14.2-inch 2.8K (2,880 x 1,920 pixels) OLED touch display.

The improved OLED display in our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review unit is brighter than its predecessor from 2023 at 450 nits while also being rated for 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, making it ideal for content creators while retaining the unusually large 3:2 aspect ratio of its predecessor. Last year’s model only had a smaller 14-inch touch IPS LCD panel that maxed out with 2,160 x 1,440 pixels resolution and 300 nits brightness. 

Another positive feature to note with the MateBook 14 2024’s display is that it has a 120Hz refresh rate, keeping it competitive among other top-end laptops. Upgraded specifications of the display aside, it retains a similar design and relatively slim side bezels though the top and bottom remain a bit on the thick side. 

Emplaced in the top bezel is a 1080p webcam augmented by their AI Camera feature that ensures clearer, crisper video calls. The keyboard design is identical to prior models with white backlighting, a top row of function keys, a generously sized touchpad and a power button in the upper right corner that doubles as a fingerprint reader. Oddly enough, while the laptop is indeed AI-ready and has Microsoft Copilot installed, it lacks a Copilot key but this isn’t a deal breaker.

For I/O, HUAWEI has retained a similar setup as its predecessor with the left side hosting a single USB-C port, a single USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port as well as a similarly equipped matching USB-A port on the right, a single HDMI port and a 3.5mm combo jack. Charging the laptop is primarily via the USB-C port and HUAWEI provides a 65W charger with a UK-style pin for models sold in Malaysia. This setup comfortably lets you output to a 4K external display while also keeping the laptop charged.

On the underside of our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review unit  are a pair of fine grilles for the downward firing stereo speakers, a larger central grille for cooling from the emplaced pair of Dual Shark Fin cooling fans and a set of rubber feet that elevate the chassis slightly for ventilation. 

Access within is discouraged via a set of exotic pentalobe screws but there’s not much to upgrade in the laptop as the RAM has been soldered in and there’s only one PCIe SSD slot for upgrades. Keeping the laptop cool are the aforementioned Dual Shark Fin fans which have 102 blades each and a 0.15mm thin blade design that can increase air volume by 40% without making additional noise as compared to the 2023 model.

This time around, the hinge feels a bit sturdier and can be opened one-handed, after a fashion though it takes some practice as the initial opening sequence is a bit on the stiff side before it unfolds smoothly.

Overall build quality is solid with a metal chassis that feels sturdy with the most important upgrades being the aforementioned better quality OLED touch display and the provision of the new Intel Core Ultra processors. 

There’s little to quibble about with the chassis with its flagship-grade build quality and proven design. While nitpickers will likely be concerned with the somewhat conservative chassis that has had relatively few changes compared to its predecessors that we’ve tested over the years, it has thus far been comfortable to use and gets the job done as it’s slim enough to tote about all day at 14.5mm thin while being relatively man portable at 1.31kg. To wit, it’s actually even lighter than the 2023 model that  tipped the scales at 1.49kg.

For Malaysia, HUAWEI has assigned the grey colourway for the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor with the green one exclusively for the Intel Core Ultra 7. Both colourways look refined with the new green colourway being the first time they’re deploying it in Malaysia.

HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review – Specifications and Performance

In terms of hardware, our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review unit comes equipped with the new Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor based on Intel’s Meteor Lake architecture. The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H chipset is a 14-core, 18-thread processor that also has a built-in neural processing unit (NPU) to handle AI workloads, The processor is rated for up to 40W TDP with the option of a high performance mode accessed via the HUAWEI PC Manager that has become a mainstay of their laptops to manage driver updates, diagnostics and basic troubleshooting duties. 

Paired with the AI-ready processor is 16GB DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD partitioned into a 200GB main drive to house the Windows 11 Home OS operating system and a secondary drive with 731 GB of storage, as well as Intel Arc graphics which in turn have Intel Xe Super Sampling (XeSS) tech that offers AI-based upscaling for smoother gameplay in selected games. In terms of connectivity, you get WiFi 6 as well as Bluetooth 5.1. 

One thing to note is that units with the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor in Malaysia come exclusively in a grey colourway with the green finish reserved for units equipped with the Intel Core Ultra 7.Our review sample was issued ahead of launch and has a green colourway but is otherwise functionally the Intel Core Ultra 5 variant. Regardless of colour or chipset, both variants have the same amount of RAM and storage. Here’s how our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review sample stacks up on paper.

Price	RM4,999 [Intel Core Ultra 5 in grey colourway], RM5,499 [Intel Core Ultra 7 in green colourway]
Display	14.2-inch 2.8K OLED touch display, 2,880 x 1,920 pixels, 450 nits peak brightness, 3:2 aspect ratio, 91% screen-to-body ratio, 100% sRGB, 100% DCI-P3, 95% Adobe RGB, 120Hz refresh rate
Processor	Intel Core Ultra 5 125H [review sample], Intel Core Ultra 7 155H [variant]
OS	Windows 11 Home
Graphics	Intel Arc
Memory	16GB DDR5 RAM/ 1TB SSD
Battery	70Wh w/ 65W USB-C charger
Size/Weight	312.6 x 227.9 x 14.5mm /1.31kg

When kicked up to its full potential by enabling Performance mode and keeping it connected to the mains, our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review sample managed the following benchmarks:

3D Mark Steel Nomad	667
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	2,871
3D Mark Time Spy Extreme	1,633
3D Mark Time Spy	3,562
3D Mark Fire Strike Ultra	1,983
3D Mark Fire Strike Extreme	3,797
3D Mark Fire Strike	7,663
3D Mark Night Raid	28,062
3D Mark Speed Way	N/A
3D Mark Port Royal	N/A
3D Mark Solar Bay	11,556
Geekbench 6 Single core	2,128
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	11,222
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	30,418
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	27,683
Cinebench 2024 Multicore	507
Cinebench 2024 Single Core	43 x 11.79 MP ratio
PCMark 10 Work Extended	6,147
PC Mark 8 Battery Life	6 hours 35 mins

When set to Performance mode at 40W TDP and plugged in, our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review sample acquitted itself in a respectable fashion. Across the board, our MateBook 14 2024 review unit with the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H CPU has solid single and multicore performance, outpacing the outgoing prior generation chipsets like last year’s model with a 13th Gen Intel Core 7-1360P by about 23.7% on paper. The laptop wasn’t able to run the 3D Mark Speed Way and Port Royal benchmarks; oddly enough the higher end Intel Core i7 155H was able to tackle these two benchmarks.

Minor oddities aside, our MateBook 14 2024 review sample acquitted itself well in standard usage tests with its combination of fast DDR5 RAM and the new Meteor Lake processor letting it tackle the usual array of tasks like web browsing, paperwork and the like in a competent manner.

The provision of a colour accurate 100% DCI-P3 OLED touch display also enables it to be a viable prospect for content creators with the provided hardware able to comfortably handle photo editing and even 4K video editing on CapCut without issue with the Ultra Ultra 7 variant offering even better performance.

Of note with the MateBook 14 2024 is that it manages both noise and heat well even in Performance mode with the dual Shark Fin cooling fans only getting up to a dull whirr when under full load that can only be noticed in a quiet room. Heat is primarily isolated to the upper rear portions and away from the keyboard and is kept manageable enough that it can still be comfortably used on a lap. Under Balanced settings, the laptop is almost whisper silent.

On the gaming front, the laptop was able to comfortably run older mainstream competitive games like Valorant and Counterstrike 2 on low settings and with XeSS was able to run Cyberpunk 2077, also on low settings, though the built-in benchmark for the game wasn’t able to run at the time of writing and it does stutter with occasionally slow loading times. It’s likely you’ll need extra tweaking to get it to run smoothly but the fact that it manages to even run  is already an impressive feat especially for Intel Arc integrated graphics.

As displays go, the 14.2-inch 2.8K OLED touch display is well appointed, serving up great colour rendition and crisp detail onscreen though the glossy panel does make it a bit hard to make out under direct sunlight. The provision of 1,920Hz PWM dimming and TUV Eye Comfort certification also ensured that it remained comfortable to use and view even for extended lengths of time especially when binge watching Netflix and the like well into the wee hours of the morning. The bundled stereo speakers were able to offer surprisingly good volume and a fair amount of detail suitable for casual movie viewing.. 

In terms of endurance, our HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review sample with its 70Wh large battery offered good endurance for general paperwork duties and was able to last most of a normal workday with a good six plus hours of work with the WiFi on, about 60% screen brightness and with web browsing, writing duties and a spot of YouTube here and there though you’ll likely need a top-up come mid-day if you use more demanding applications and tasks like rendering video and max out screen brightness. 

In PC Mark 8’s synthetic work benchmark, it managed about 6 hours and 35 minutes which is decent by any measure especially compared to the prior generation of laptops.

Should you buy the HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024?

The HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 gets a raft of useful upgrades this time around with a larger, sharper and colour calibrated OLED touch display, the latest Intel Core Ultra series processors and longer battery life, making it a premium workhorse design. 

All in, the HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 with the Intel Core Ultra 5 is a well rounded, productivity oriented laptop that still has enough pixel crunching punch to handle moderate content creation. Existing owners of HUAWEI devices will find this a compelling choice as it ties in closely with their ecosystem of devices like the Pura 70 series phones and new MatePad PaperMatte series tablets for better productivity. 

For those into more serious content creation or who undertake heavier AI-driven workloads, the higher end variant with the Intel Core Ultra 7 is a better proposition. For those who desire the best that HUAWEI has to offer, the top of the line MateBook X Pro 2024 is the ultimate personification of their engineering prowess brought to life.

HUAWEI MateBook 14 2024 review sample courtesy of HUAWEI Malaysia. For more details and to purchase please visit https://consumer.huawei.com/my/laptops/matebook-14-2024/specs/