Huawei has unveiled its latest MateBook Pro laptop, now powered by the company’s self-developed HarmonyOS for PCs. This marks a significant step for the Shenzhen-based tech giant as it expands its HarmonyOS ecosystem from Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smartphones to personal computers.
The new MateBook Pro maintains the sleek design of its predecessor, mirroring the flagship MateBook X Pro with a lightweight metal body weighing less than a kilogram, a stunning OLED display, and an expansive touchpad. Priced at 7,999 yuan ($1,100), the laptop’s aesthetic appeal is set to captivate users seeking both style and substance.
Upon booting, users are greeted with the HarmonyOS welcome screen, signaling Huawei’s commitment to providing an integrated operating system experience. In our hands-on experience, the user interface felt swift and responsive. The laptop effortlessly handled over 20 complex web applications simultaneously, even with more than ten browser plugins installed, exhibiting no noticeable lag during typical multitasking scenarios.
However, in more demanding situations—such as streaming videos on Bilibili.com with numerous live comments (danmakus) overlaying the content—the system experienced occasional slowdowns. This highlights the importance of platform-specific optimizations, as the official Bilibili app for HarmonyOS ran the same content smoothly.
Performance benchmarks using Speedometer 3.1 placed the MateBook Pro at a score of 7.87. While this may be lower compared to flagship smartphones or high-end desktops, it’s sufficient for everyday tasks like web browsing, document processing, and streaming 4K videos.
Huawei’s introduction of HarmonyOS to the PC market offers users an alternative to traditional operating systems. As HarmonyOS continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how it integrates within the broader computing landscape.
Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage as we explore the MateBook Pro’s capabilities with developer options enabled.
