Faisal Ghaffar 
Even though the smartphone division of Huawei is struggling in Europe, the same does not apply to its laptops. The company did a great job with the Matebook 16s it introduced last year and it has now come up with its follow-up version. What does it offer? Let’s take a look.
Design and build
While there are several ways in which the Matebook16s manages to stand out, this does not apply in the case of design. Huawei continues to stick with the blend of glass and grey aluminum for the minimalistic touch, which makes the laptop appear modern and slick. This aesthetic also makes it quite versatile, as it looks just right everywhere. But, there are no color options and this can be disappointing.
The Matebook 16s weighs about 1.99kg, so it is not very lightweight, but it remains portable. It is also bulky, given that it is 17.8mm thick. There are benefits of this thickness. First, the laptop has lots of ports and secondly, it is a lot more durable than the ‘ultrathin’ laptops being introduced these days. The hinge is also quite tough.
There is a 3.5mm audio jack, one HDMI, two USB-A and one USB-C port that supports Thunderbolt 4. The selection is quite impressive.
Screen and speakers
The Matebook 16s comes with a 16inch display and the screen is one of the best you will find on a laptop this size. Huawei has opted for IPS LED rather than OLED, but you will not see much of a difference. The colors are just as vibrant and rich, as they are in an OLED. The resolution is also on the high side at 2560 x 1680 and this allows all content to appear crisp and clear.
The 4:3 aspect ratio is a bit tall, so it takes a bit of time to adjust, but you get used to it. Considering the size of the laptop, touch feature is not that important, but Huawei has done a great job in this area too. But, it is the 60Hz refresh rate that truly disappoints. Luckily, you will not notice much of a difference and be able to move between apps quickly.
In terms of speakers, there are two large ones that can be found on either side of the keyboard, which is great. The sound effects and music are both impressive and you will not have any complaints.
Specs and performance
The specs of the Matebook 16s are actually very high-end, as it is powered by the Intel Core i9-13900H, which is one of the most powerful processors out there. You will get excellent CPU performance, as it is combined with 16GB of RAM. You can do your daily tasks without any hassle and multitasking is also a breeze. Even when the workload is demanding, the laptop continues to function smoothly. But, more heavy tasks like 3D modeling and 4K video editing are difficult because there is no discrete GPU.
The Verdict
The HuaweighMatebook 16s is undoubtedly an excellent laptop, there are not many changes made since last year. The price is a bit steep, given that there is no dedicated GPU, but it is still a good 2023 laptop.
