Huawei has beaten Apple to delivering a 16-inch notebook with an edge-to-edge display.
The Chinese company’s new MagicBook Pro delivers the design MacBook fans have been dreaming of — months ahead of Apple. But it isn’t really a “Pro” machine.
In case you hadn’t heard, recent rumors have suggested Apple is working on a huge MacBook Pro overhaul that will deliver 16-inch LCD displays with super-slim bezels.
Huawei obviously heard those rumors (probably) and is preempting Apple’s move with the new MagicBook Pro. It’s a lot of what Apple fans have been dreaming off, but not quite perfect.
MagicBook Pro looks good
The MagicBook Pro is claimed to be the world’s first notebook with a 16.1-inch edge-to-edge screen. It is thinner and lighter than most 15-inch laptops — including the MacBook Pro.
The machine is made out of aluminum, with black glass that surrounds its display and black keys with white backlighting. It would look right at home in an Apple Store.
Photo: Huawei
If what you really want is raw performance, however, the 15-inch MacBook Pro is still the better option.
MagicBook Pro isn’t quite as ‘Pro’
The most powerful MagicBook Pro that Huawei will offer comes with an eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. It also boasts Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics.
That all sounds pretty sweet. This particular version of the MagicBook will certainly handle most tasks, including some light gaming. But it doesn’t deliver MacBook Pro power.
The big difference is in the chips.
Huawei uses a 15W Core i7-8565U processor designed for low-power devices. It offers four processing cores, eight threads, and a base clock speed of 1.80GHz.
Apple offers a 45W Core i7-9750H with the 15-inch MacBook Pro, and it has a lot more oomph. It boasts six processing cores, 12 threads, and a base clock speed of 2.60GHz.
Don’t ditch your Mac
Of course, we can only compare the MagicBook with existing Apple products. The difference in performance is likely to be a lot greater when the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro arrives later this year.
It’s probably best you don’t ditch your MacBook for a MagicBook just yet, then. But if you’re interested in checking one out, you’ll find Huawei’s new notebook on sale in China in late July.
