Why I traded my MacBook Air for a laptop you’ve never heard of

I’ve been utilizing the M2 MacBook Air since its launch, and it has been a dependable laptop computer. It’s not excellent although. I want the show was higher and that the laptop computer was lighter as I’ve had experiences the place my carry-on baggage ended up being heavier than anticipated. And each of those are issues even the M3 MacBook Air doesn’t deal with.

What I didn’t know, nevertheless, was that these needs may come true in a extra feature-packed laptop computer most individuals have by no means heard of. I’m speaking in regards to the Honor MagicBook Art 14, powered by the Snapdragon X.

Honor launched it earlier this yr at IFA 2024, nevertheless it solely went on sale a few weeks in the past in Europe. It’s priced greater than the MacBook Air (and isn’t obtainable in North America), however after utilizing it for 3 weeks, I haven’t seemed again since.

Surprisingly gentle and robust

The Honor MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon includes a notch-less OLED show that’s 14.6 inches in dimension and gives a 120Hz refresh fee in a laptop computer physique that weighs simply 2.25 kilos (1.02 kilograms).

That’s 0.5 kilos (220 grams) lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air and 1.1 kilos (490 grams) lower than the 15-inch MacBook Air. The distinction is noticeable as quickly as you choose it up. It’s surprisingly gentle for its dimension and may simply slide into the slimmest laptop computer pockets, because of its 0.45-inch (11.5 mm) thickness. That makes it practically as skinny because the MacBook Air, surprisingly.

The slim and light-weight profile doesn’t imply compromises on different points. You get a 14.6-inch OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh fee and a 3120 x 2080 pixel decision, making for a 3:2 side ratio. The taller form of the display screen continues to be pretty unusual, and solely used on choices just like the Surface Laptop 7th Edition. It’s sharp, vivid, and helps 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. Honor has additionally included a much-loved characteristic from its telephones — 4,320Hz PWM flicker-free dimming to cut back eye pressure. There isn’t one other laptop computer that gives that type of portability in a laptop computer this high-end.

The display screen can be loads brilliant, going as much as 700 nits in HDR, making for some very fulfilling Netflix and Prime Video watching. The one slight inconvenience I confronted was when working outside as a result of the show may be very reflective. This problem could be mitigated to an extent by turning the display screen as much as most brightness, which is greater than that of the Apple laptop computer. Nonetheless, a much less reflective show would have made it excellent.

That stated, it’s unbelievable for working indoors, in cafes, or in airport lounges. I really like having an even bigger, brighter, and bolder show in a lighter design.

The elephant within the room

Based on the corporate, the MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon gives a 97% screen-to-body ratio. One of many first belongings you’ll discover is the dearth of a webcam. It’s not on the highest, backside, or hidden inside a operate button — as an alternative, it’s a separate module altogether. That is one thing many laptops have tried to get round, however Honor’s resolution may be very distinctive.

The 1080p modular digital camera is a removable unit positioned contained in the left facet of the laptop computer, proper subsequent to the ports. By way of high quality, it’s serviceable. It pops out with a press and magnetically attaches to the highest of the laptop computer.

I had my doubts about its performance after I first noticed it at IFA, however the software program acknowledges the webcam immediately, and the method is clean — simply make sure you’ve given the required permissions. The expertise is best than anticipated. I stay skeptical about it being one of the best resolution, however primarily as a result of I’m clumsy and have a tendency to lose modular tech. Regardless of this, it’s a sensible design selection, and I’ve liked having a notch-less show that’s a pleasure for consuming content material.

The Snapdragon X Elite Expertise is nice

The Honor MagicBook Artwork 14 is powered by the Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100 processor. It options 12 bodily cores, 42 MB of whole cache, a 3.42GHz multi-core frequency, and a 4.0GHz peak clock velocity, paired with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It runs Home windows 11 and helps Microsoft’s Copilot.

My three weeks with it have been good. I haven’t encountered issues with app set up, though most Home windows software program is constructed for Intel chips operating on x86 code. Apple’s change to Arm confronted comparable challenges, which had been largely resolved by emulation. Qualcomm is addressing these points equally with its Snapdragon X chipset.

My use case includes apps like Chrome, Groups, Asana, Slack, Photoshop, and Lightroom. The latter two initially had points operating by Inventive Cloud, however after reinstallation, they labored fantastic. For those who depend on particular unbiased software program, it’s price checking if the corporate helps Arm laptops earlier than investing in a single. We’ve finished loads of testing to point out how good the Snapdragon X chips are, even compared to Intel’s latest.

Total, my expertise with the Honor MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon has been pleasant. I haven’t skilled lag or crashes, even whereas operating the above-mentioned apps concurrently with at the very least 10 Chrome tabs open. The system is fast to get up and unlock with the built-in fingerprint sensor, and it doesn’t eat a lot battery on standby, which is a significant win.

Honor additionally gives an Apple-like ecosystem known as Honor MagicRing, which permits seamless connectivity between Honor units. I linked the laptop computer to my Honor Magic V2 and MagicPad 2, and like Apple’s ecosystem, you should use the keyboard and trackpad throughout units. It really works nicely in real-life utilization.

For what it’s price, Honor additionally sells an Intel Core Extremely Sequence 2 model of the identical laptop computer.

The remainder of the {hardware} and battery life

As somebody who varieties for a dwelling, I discover the MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon keyboard dependable. The 1.5 mm key journey feels excellent, and the soft-to-the-touch keys are nice. The big trackpad helps gestures and is exact in utilization.

You may also scroll on the left and proper sides of the trackpad to regulate brightness and quantity, respectively. It’s a pleasant contact, nevertheless it takes some getting used to, and I’ve by accident triggered these actions a number of occasions whereas typing.

The Honor laptop computer includes a slew of ports, together with two USB-C (3.2) ports on the left, which will also be used to cost the system. On the correct facet, there’s a USB-A 3.2 port, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack.

The MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon packs a 60 watt-hour battery that’s rated to last as long as “9.5 hours of each day workplace work.” In my expertise, it constantly lasted round seven hours with Chrome, Asana, Slack, and Groups operating within the background. My utilization was totally on Balanced Energy Mode with 50% display screen brightness and a 120Hz refresh fee.

You possibly can prolong the battery life by decreasing the refresh fee to 60Hz and utilizing darkish mode, in fact. Nonetheless, I anticipated it to last more, as my M2 MacBook Air provides me about 10 hours of battery life on a single cost. Howver, I can’t have as many Chrome tabs open or apps operating within the background on my 8GB mannequin.

The MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon’s battery life will doubtless final you a complete day, however somewhat additional headroom would have been higher.

Honor MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon value and availability

The Honor MagicBook Artwork 14 Snapdragon is now on sale for 1,700 euros ($1,770) in a number of European international locations. Nonetheless, you may declare a 200 euro ($208) low cost coupon to carry the worth all the way down to 1,500 euros ($1,562). This additionally features a free Honor Pad 9 (8GB/256GB) alongside Microsoft 365 Private or Honor X6 earbuds, relying on the area.

As of now, the MagicBook Artwork 14 isn’t obtainable within the U.S., which is a disgrace. However for me, I couldn’t be extra completely happy to proceed utilizing this instead of my previous MacBook Air. The mixture of the high-end display screen and MacBook Air-like portability make it the proper laptop computer for me — and I don’t suppose I’m the one one.