1. Introduction
It is a general trend to popularize domestically produced trusted computers in government, enterprise, education, medical, finance, transportation and other fields. Many products have emerged in recent years, and I have had the honor to experience several of them.
But so far, there are indeed very few domestic computer products that can compete with MacBook and high-end Windows PCs, and it will take some time to fully replace and popularize them.
On May 19, 2025, Huawei launched its first Hongmeng computer, the MateBook Pro. A company of Huawei’s size, equipped with a computer that truly belongs to the Chinese people from hardware to system to software, is bound to bring earth-shaking changes to the industry!
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
MateBook Pro uses the mold of the previous MateBook X Pro and upgrades some configurations, so there is no need to worry about the workmanship.
First, the screen!
MateBook Pro is the industry’s first notebook equipped with an OLED eye-protection cloud-clear soft light screen. The screen size is 14.2 inches, the peak brightness is 1000nit, and the resolution is 3120*2080.
The screen quality is better than the previous MateBook X Pro, and of course it is not inferior to high-end Windows business notebooks.
It is also equipped with 32GB LPDDR5 memory and 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, with a battery capacity of 80Wh. It can be used continuously for more than 10 hours in light office scenes, and its battery life is much higher than that of MateBook X Pro 2024.
Of course, the highlight of Huawei computers has never been the hardware!
In terms of ecology, the previous MateBook X Pro has been ahead of its competitors by more than one position thanks to its functions such as Huawei Share, Super Terminal, and Star Flash Connection.
Today, MateBook Pro brings the much-anticipated Hongmeng computer system for the first time, especially when used with Huawei mobile phones and Huawei tablets. Whether it is a stand-alone or full-scene experience, it is bound to be subversive! Next, let’s experience them one by one.
2. Appearance
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Hongmeng computer, also known as Huawei Matebook Pro, continues the appearance design of the previous Matebook X Pro, but is heavier, weighing only 970g, and can be carried away with two fingers.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
14.2-inch OELD display, peak brightness 1000nit, resolution 3120*2080, PPI 264, refresh rate 120Hz.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
The MateBook Pro keys have a comfortable 1.8mm key travel, which is rare in thin and light notebooks. Combined with the soft landing solution of decelerating first and then braking, it can reduce finger fatigue while providing a comfortable feel.
The Win key in the lower left corner of the keyboard has become a round Hongmeng key, which can be pressed to open the Hongmeng start menu.
A new Xiaoyi smart key has been added next to the Alt key on the right, which can wake up the Xiaoyi smart assistant with one click.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
The oversized touchpad is almost at its limit.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
The D side is very clean, with no cooling grilles or labels on the front.
Huawei designed the air inlet on the edge of the D-side, with a long air inlet opening on the left and right sides, and an air outlet on the top.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
The body has 2 full-featured Type-C interfaces that support PD charging, video output and file transfer.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
There is a full-featured Type-C interface on the right side of the body, and next to it is a privacy button. Turning it on can turn on super privacy and turn off the camera, microphone, and location information.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
The 140W Type-C charging head can not only charge computers, but also serve as a fast charger for Huawei phones.
3. HarmonyOS 5 Experience
1. Operation interface
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
The interface layout of HarmonyOS 5 is very similar to Windows, and even users who have never used a HarmonyOS PC before can easily get started.
2. Touch experience
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
First, the touchpad.
The touchpad of MateBook Pro supports a variety of gesture operations. You can call out the multitasking center by swiping up with three fingers and hovering. You can return to the desktop by swiping up directly with three fingers.
The whole process is smooth and silky, which is a touchpad experience not available on Windows.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Next is the OLED display that supports 10-point touch.
You can freely drag the web page by touching the border of the web page with your finger, and you can zoom in and out by sliding two fingers.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Unlike Windows touchbooks, when you touch the screen of a Harmony computer with your finger, you can open the application by simply clicking the desktop icon.
It can be said that it brings the operating experience on mobile phones and tablets to computers, which is much easier to use than Windows PCs.
When using a mouse, double-clicking the left mouse button will open the application, just like in Windows.
3. Video playback on Station B
When using an Android tablet to play online videos, you need to wait for a short time each time you switch to the next video, but with a Hongmeng computer, there is no need to wait at all.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
We quickly switched between five or six videos in succession, and there was no noticeable pause between each switch. There was no need to wait or buffer, and the video played directly.
4. Office experience
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
This is WPS on Windows.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
This is WPS on a Hongmeng computer, and the user experience is almost exactly the same as that on a Windows PC.
The data, charts, formulas, presentation views, objects and other functions of the WPS spreadsheet on Windows PC can all be realized here.
If it is only used for office work, the Harmony computer is completely sufficient, and the user experience even surpasses that of a Windows PC.
5. HyperTerminal
In terms of the interaction between mobile phones, tablets and notebooks, although Huawei’s “super” technology has been imitated by major PC manufacturers, in terms of experience, MateBook Pro is obviously far superior to all similar products.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Hongmeng mobile phones and Hongmeng computers only need to log in to the same Huawei account. When they are close to each other, they will discover each other, and the mobile phone screen will appear on the computer screen.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
There is no need to use a data cable to connect, and files on your phone and computer can be dragged and dropped between them.
6. Keyboard, mouse and clipboard sharing
Go to Settings -> Multi-device collaboration on your mobile phone and computer and turn on keyboard and mouse sharing, then you can use one set of keyboard and mouse to control two Hongmeng devices at the same time.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
After turning on keyboard and mouse sharing, the clipboards of the two devices are also connected.
We copy a piece of content on the mobile phone and paste it directly into the text box of the notebook.
7. Xiaoyi Smart Assistant
Xiaoyi smart assistant has a special status in HarmonyOS 5. Huawei has specially designed a Xiaoyi smart key, which can start Xiaoyi smart assistant with one click.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Press the circular Hongmeng key on the left to open the Hongmeng start menu.
The Xiaoyi smart button on the right can wake up the Xiaoyi smart assistant with one click.
Xiaoyi smart assistant has a wide range of capabilities. It is not only limited to quickly answering your questions and running user commands, but can also perform complex work tasks.
For example, after proposing “generate a year-end summary PPT based on the content of xx document”, Xiaoyi will call WPS to create an outline and generate slides based on the template selected by the user.
4. Windows 11 virtual machine system experience
The ecosystem of HarmonyOS computers is still in its infancy. Currently, there are more than 300 native HarmonyOS 5 applications that can meet most office, film and television entertainment needs.
If there are no applications available in HarmonyOS 5 yet, the Hongmeng computer system has a built-in Oseasy virtual machine, and you can configure the Widnows 11 virtual machine in just 3 simple steps.
According to Huawei, the Widnows 11 virtual machine is compatible with 90% of X86 applications. Let’s experience it below.
1. Install Win 11 virtual machine
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
Installing a Windows virtual machine is very simple. You can create one directly by opening the built-in Oseasy virtual machine.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
By default, the Windows 11 virtual machine is allocated 6 cores and 8GB of memory, while the Hongmeng computer has 8 cores and 32GB of memory, so you can choose according to your needs.
After completing the setup, the Windows system can be installed in about 15 minutes.
2. Application experience
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
This is Photoshop 2022. We performed some simple operations and it ran acceptably smoothly.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
This is the PotPlayer player downloaded from the Oseasy app store. It plays local 1080P50 frames and 20Mbps high-definition video without frame drops.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
This is also done by downloading the To Desk app from the Oseasy app store, and it runs without any problems.
In addition, we also installed more than a dozen non-Oseasy store applications, and all software except Adobe Premiere can run.
5. Battery life test
1. Video endurance test
During the test, the screen brightness was adjusted to 50%, the volume was also 50%, and the system was in energy-saving mode.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
At 6:10 pm, I started playing “A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality” on Station B, and the battery was 100% at that time.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
At 11:09, 5 hours later, the battery level was 53%.
It is estimated that Huawei Matebook Pro can continuously play online 1080P videos for 10 hours and 35 minutes when fully charged.
VI. Summary
From a certain perspective, Matebook Pro is the most important product in Huawei’s PC history.
Although the previous Matebook X Pro has a unique Internet experience, it is a computer based on the Windows operating system.
Now Huawei has brought technologies such as “super terminal”, “keyboard and mouse sharing”, “cross-device interconnection”, “hand-eye collaboration”, “Star Flash”, and “Star Shield Security” to its self-developed HarmonyOS 5, bringing the user experience of domestic computer products to a level comparable to top-level Windows PCs for the first time, removing the biggest obstacle to the popularization of domestic computers!
In terms of user experience, Matebook Pro is surprisingly smooth! Word documents and applications can be opened in seconds without waiting. This is also closely related to Huawei’s in-depth optimization of the file system over the years. After all, many years ago, Huawei’s mobile phone 4K random performance was several times that of its competitors in terms of system response speed.
For example, when watching online videos, you need to wait for a short time every time you switch to the next video. Now on Hongmeng computers, you don’t need to wait, just click to play.
Huawei’s most important product in PC history! Huawei MateBook Pro, the first Hongmeng computer, review
As a traditional PC manufacturer, Microsoft doesn’t seem to know how to optimize the touch operation experience of Windows system. Many people who have used Windows tablets are exhausted by its cumbersome operation, which is also the reason why Windows tablets have not been popularized.
Huawei is just the opposite. This manufacturer has been deeply involved in the mobile phone field for more than 20 years. After entering the PC field, it has been constantly innovating. From the initial “one-touch transfer” to “multi-screen collaboration”, “super terminal”, and now “Hongmeng interconnection”, Huawei has been optimizing its PC products for multi-terminal interconnection experience. Coupled with HarmonyOS 5, which is inherited from mobile phones and tablets, it is no exaggeration to say that Hongmeng computers have surpassed Windows PCs in terms of operating experience!
Of course, as a new computer operating system, HarmonyOS 5 still has a certain gap with the Windows system in terms of application diversity.
Huawei is making every effort to promote the development of HarmonyOS 5. Now, more than 300 integrated ecosystems have completed adaptation and more than 2,000 integrated ecosystem applications have accelerated adaptation.
For applications that are not yet compatible with HarmonyOS 5, the Hongmeng computer system has a built-in Oseasy virtual machine that is compatible with 90% of X86 applications, and the user experience is equivalent to that of an ARM version of Windows PC.
As Huawei gradually improves HarmonyOS, I believe that more trusted computers will enter the Hongmeng ecosystem in the future. Perhaps within a few years, we will all have Hongmeng computers on our desks.
Who knows what the future holds!