Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 First Look – Big Screen Budget Laptop for Malaysia

The Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 is a budget laptop priced at RM2,999 that features tweaked specifications to keep it affordable for general computing while retaining a full sized keyboard, a large 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio display and to acts as a nexus for their interconnected ecosystem of products like their new Magic6 Pro and Honor Pad 9. 

We got our hands on a unit ahead of launch over the weekend to see what the fuss is about. Here’s our Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 first impressions and hands-on of their latest budget laptop.

Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 First Look – Build and Design

As first impressions go, the Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 plays it safe with a conservative aluminium chassis with rounded corners and a gunmetal grey finish that won’t look out of place in an office setting. 

The metal top lid itself is nondescript save for the Honor wordmark emblazoned right in the middle. Belying appearances, the top lid is sturdily built and has surprisingly decent build quality with minimal give or play even with aggressive prodding of the centre while also having almost no flex or play around the edges. The underside is otherwise unremarkable save for a set of ventilation grilles along with a pair of additional grilles for the downward firing stereo speakers. 

In terms of I/O, our Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 first look sample hosts a fair selection that covers the bases. The right side hosts a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB port while the left hosts another USB port, a HDMI port and a USB Type-C port that offers charging via the provided 65W USB-C charger. 

Flipping the Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 open is a two-handed affair as the hinges are somewhat stiff but they do stay in place after you position them and prove to be wobble free. The opening angle for the hinges max out at about a 150-degree angle which does offer some flexibility in the unlikely chance you need to angle your screen that far down.

Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 First Look – Display and Keyboard

Once open, you get to admire the main draw to the laptop – a 16-inch FullView IPS LCD display that has a 1,920 x 1,200 pixels resolution and 4.5mm thin bezels on the sides to offer a tall 16:10 aspect ratio that allows for more screen real estate. 

Honor has also certified the panel with a TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification and TÜV Rheinland Flicker Free Certification which ensures that it minimises screen flickering and filters out blue light when in use for more comfortable usage. Perched up top is a HD webcam for video calls though it lacks any privacy slider mechanism.

Arguably the second biggest draw, the Honor MagicBook X 16 2024’s keyboard is a full sized affair that features a numeric keypad which is especially handy for those who work heavily with spreadsheets. Belying its substantial size, the touchpad seems a tad small compared to the vast expanses of the palm rests.

Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 First Look – Processor, RAM and storage

Under the hood, the laptop runs a proven 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12350H processor with 8GB LPDDR4 RAM, a 512GB SSD and Intel UHD Graphics. There is no expansion slot for the SSD and the RAM is soldered in so upgrade options are somewhat limited.

For demanding tasks, the laptop features a high performance mode by pressing Fn and P together that kicks up the laptop up to 40W and has dual heat pipes and an underside cooling fan to keep heat under control.

The Honor MagicBook X 16 2024 also has a novel Honor Connect mode that allows users to link a compatible Honor smartphone or tablet running  MagicOS 7.0 and up for fast file sharing and the ability to take calls on the laptop itself from a phone like the recently released Honor Magic6 Pro. Keeping it powered is a 42Wh battery that is quoted to last up to 9 hours of 1080p video playback. 

At launch, Honor Malaysia announced that the price of the laptop was a modest RM2,999 which combined with its specifications puts it as a midrange design. Stay tuned for our full review! For more details check out https://www.honor.com/my/