The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is a delightful gadget for students, office employees, and even casual users of all ages, always ready for every task.
Wanting a fast notebook capable of multitasking and accomplishing work at home, office, or school? Then, the HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is your perfect partner.
This compact and lightweight notebook features the tools for your digital needs, may it be video conferencing, studying, researching, and presenting, this device will help students and workers alike. But before we proceed, let’s have a quick rundown on the specs of the HUAWEI Matebook D 16.
| Specifications | Details |
| Display | 16 inches IPS LCD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200, 142 ppi, 300 nits max brightness |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10, 90% screen-to-body ratio |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 12th Gen or Intel Core i5 13th Gen or Intel Core i9 13th Gen |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
| Memory | 8 GB or 16 GB |
| Storage | 512 GB SSD or 1 TB SSD |
| Battery | 56 Wh or 70 Wh Li-Po, 65w charging |
| Audio | 2x microphones, 2x speakers |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is ultra light weighing only 1.68 kilograms and ultra thin with 17 millimeters of depth.
Unboxing
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is cushioned by two foam rubbers to secure it in place, while its charger is secured by a strap. The notebook is also wrapped in resealable plastic, which is quite thick. Upon lifting the lid, a cloth separates the screen and the keys.
The device is slim and elegant. You can hold it with one hand but make sure to have your grip on the protruding mini stand, so the device won’t slip.
You can hold it by your waist and it will feel even lighter. This means you can bring it without much effort from one desk to another; excellent when you need to make presentations or show reports.
The display panel is sharp and bright and comes with thin side bezels, compared to typical laptops. The HUAWEI brand is written below the display while the camera and LED indicator are located at the top.
Opening the lid isn’t easy with one hand. Although it seems like a downside, this may suggest that the hinge is durable. That said, you can push the screen panel further, all the way to 180 degrees angle!
At a glance, the keys and touchpad look typical but they aren’t. The device has a full keyboard that includes the numpad.
The power key is located outside of the other keys at the uppermost part of the palmrest assembly. But don’t underestimate it because the power button has a fingerprint sensor for extra security.
The device features five physical slots for various wired functions:
- USC-C for data, charging, and DisplayPort
- USB 3.2 for data and charging
- USB 2.0
- HDMI
- 3.5mm headphone jack (dual support for microphone and audio)
During our brief use, the device performs amazingly with smooth animations and snappy launching of various programs, thanks to the Intel Core i9 and Intel Iris Xe graphics.
Keyboard
On the HUAWEI Matebook D 16, the physical keys feel smoother and softer than most notebooks in the market. When you type, they aren’t noisy which is perfect inside quiet places like the library.
Unlike many others, the keys have a backlight despite not being a gaming laptop. The backlight glows for a moment if the device is turned on. Some of the keys will remain lit during shutdown to let you know once the device is fully turned off.
The Caps Lock and Fn key will also light up when pressed. The latter works like Num and Caps locks where you only need to press it once to use the Function keys; no need to hold and press for key combinations.
You can customize the strength of the backlight by pressing the F3 keys (Fn key is off). This is handy for dim-lit conditions.
The keyboard includes shortcut keys for the following:
- Backlight controls
- Screen projection
- HUAWEI PC Manager
- Calculator
- Search
- Return to home
Two shortcut keys deserve a special mention.
The camera key at the right-most lets you immediately turn off the camera. During a video call or conference, the LED indicator is still on but the camera will no longer show anything. This is super useful for instant camera on/off without disconnecting the call.
The microphone has a dedicated key too, just beside the Screen Projection key. It works like the camera key except it cuts off the audio of the microphone. Mute your audio immediately with this handy button.
Touchpad
The touchpad serves as a built-in mouse for scrolling and navigating most content. But many users are disturbed by this hardware since it can affect the experience. HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is changing that with its placement.
Rather than leaning to the right, the touchpad leans to the left to avoid accidental touches and interactions when typing. The touchpad buttons are responsive, albeit with audible clicking sound.
What may surprise some is that the touchpad doesn’t seem to attract fingerprints or smudges. The same goes for the palmrest. This is probably the excellent finishing on the device.
Gestures with the touchpad are fast and fluid for attuned users. However, first-time users may find them daunting as the device runs Windows 11. They can disable the gestures they don’t need in the settings menu.
Typing
Typing is more than a skill. It’s also an experience that varies from one person to another.
HUAWEI included that factor as well on the Matebook D 16. Typing on this device is breezy as pressing on the keys isn’t difficult on your fingers.
You can easily move from one key to another as if gliding through them. Even if you’re a newbie, you’ll find it comfortable to learn and improve your typing on this device.
The placement of the touchpad plays a role in the typing experience. Leaning to the left, typing continuously shouldn’t be interrupted, especially for those who are right-hand dominant.
The numpad and extra dedicated buttons allow you to instantly perform commands. Going back to the desktop? There’s a key for that. Want to project content or mirror the desktop to another monitor? Do it with a single press.
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 has a different feel than common laptops. So, migrating users will have to get used to the experience. But once they achieve that, they will no longer want a lesser device ever.
First Impressions
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is setting up a new standard for modern notebooks. On top of being light and slim, the Matebook features quick tools for students, office workers, secretaries, and organizers. They can easily toggle things on and off with single buttons and be ready for anything on a whim.
Users can carry and store the Matebook D 16 as it’s compact that fits inside a bag, small drawer, and shelf. They can complete reports and research and study in various places comfortably, thanks to its quiet keyboard, soft light eye protection, and large battery unit.
The Matebook D 16 features some degree of versatility with its 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI port, USB-C port, and USB 3.2 and 2.0 ports. All USB ports support data transfer. When users want more performance, they can use the HUAWEI PC Manager and select Performance mode. No need to worry about heat because this device comes with dual shark fin fans to stay cool.
With everything said, the HUAWEI Matebook D 16 is solid and a must for students and employees who want an easy-to-carry, easy-to-store notebook, which is also fast and doesn’t go hot during peak performances.
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 comes in four different variants:
| Product Name | Configuration | Color | SRP |
| HUAWEI Matebook D 16 2024 12th Gen Core | 16-inch i5-12450H UMA 8GB/512GB Windows 11 Home | Mystic Silver | ₱38,999 |
| HUAWEI Matebook D 16 2024 12th Gen Core | 16-inch i5-12450H UMA 16GB/512GB Windows 11 Home | Mystic Silver | ₱41,999 |
| HUAWEI Matebook D 16 2024 13th Gen Core | 16-inch i5-13420H UMA 16GB/1TB Windows 11 Home | Mystic Silver | ₱48,999 |
| HUAWEI Matebook D 16 2024 13th Gen Core | 16-inch i9-13900H UMA 16GB/1TB Windows 11 Home | Mystic Silver | ₱69,999 |
The HUAWEI Matebook D 16 will be available starting January 19. You can get this ultra-slim, powerful Matebook on the HUAWEI Store and official flagship stores on Lazada and Shopee.
