One of the new products Huawei announced at the end of last year was the Huawei MateBook D 16, and this new lightweight model has now made its way to South African. There are a few things Huawei is doing differently this time round, with the D 16 taking over where the D 15 left off.

Firstly, Huawei ups the screen size to a decent 16-inches, not the more common 15-inch, also allowing for a bit more vertical breathing room thanks to the 16:10 screen ratio. 16-inches is a blessing if you do not use a larger secondary screen to work on, also offering a screen resolution of 1920x1200 (142 ppi) on this IPS display, alongside a 90% screen-to-body ratio which keeps your bezels nicely narrow. 

The D 16 also sees the addition of a numpad on the side, which perhaps offsets the balance of the notebook if you only use the regular keypad, but is a boon if you’re a spreadsheet guy or gal. Importantly, when it comes to weight, Huawei sticks the landing, coming in at a highly portable 1.68kg at only 17mm thick - not bad for a 16” notebook.

The MateBook D 16 model, available at a cost of R15k, comes with a 12th Gen (not the newer 13th Gen) Intel Core i5-12450H processor, with a decent 16 GB of RAM (a 8 GB model is also available through select channel partners), and a 512 GB SSD drive to store your files on. This version also gets the 56 Wh battery instead of the larger 70 Wh version found on the D 16’s Core i9 model, set to arrive later in South Africa.

One of the benefits highlighted by Huawei is its Metaline Wi-Fi antenna technology, delivering a connection of up to 270 metres, albeit in an obstacle free environment. As far as ports are concerned, you’re receiving 1x USB-C (supports data, charging and DisplayPort), 1x USB3.2 Gen1 (supporting data and charging), 1x USB2.0 and of course 1x HDMI, plus a headphone jack. 

At a recent event at Huawei’s HQ in Johannesburg, we had a quick touch-and-try with the D 16, which looks like a solid and safe choice.  Akhram Mohamed, Vice President Operations of Huawei Consumer Business Group noted a 43% awareness amongst SA consumers of Huawei’s PC range, with a 5% increase during 2023. If the Huawei MateBook D 16 is anything to go by, this number is only set to increase.