The Huawei MateView series is the company’s latest addition to its ever growing monitor portfolio, and it offers quite the specs for a brand new category under the company’s wings. Under the MateView series, there’s the Huawei MateView and Huawei MateView GT, with the former being a multi-purpose business/creative monitor, while the latter is more gaming focused. Set in WFH times, Huawei reached out to us for a review of the Huawei MateView, but first, let’s go through the specs.
Huawei MateView Specifications
| Basic information | Type: Standalone Monitor Size: 28.2 inches Aspect ratio: 3:2 |
| Screen | Panel type: IPS Resolution: 3840 x 2560 Colour gamut: 98% DCI-P3 (typical value)/ covers 100% sRGB Colours: 1.07 billion colours Colour accuracy: Delta E<2 (Delta E<2 indicates the average colour standard value in the DCI-P3 color gamut, and Delta E<1 indicates the average colour standard value in the sRGB color gamut. ) HDR: HDR400 Brightness: 500 nits (typical value) Contrast ratio: 1200:1 (typical value) Screen-to-body ratio: 94% |
| Features | Smart Bar – Tap to confirm – Double tap to go back – Shortcut: single-finger swipe to adjust volume – Shortcut: double-finger swipe to switch source Mouse and keyboard reverse control: Supported (Feature only supports compatible sources connected wirelessly or via USB-C. Only certain devices support this feature.) |
| Connectivity: | Wireless projection: Supported (Only supported on the wireless model) WLAN: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (Only supported on the wireless model) WLAN bands: 2.4GHz and 5GHz (Only supported on the wireless model) Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.1 (Only supported on the wireless model) Screen projection: Supported Ports: USB-C x 1(only for 135W power supply) USB-C x 1* (Supports video signal, data transfer, and 65W output for charging) USB-A 3.0 x 2 HDMI 2.0* x 1 Mini DisplayPort x 1 (DisplayPort 1.2) 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack x 1 *USB-C port support 65W output for charging. Output may vary by environmental factors such as temperature. In certain scenarios, the port may only support an output of 35W*Due to bandwidth limitation of the interface, HDMI 2.0 supports up to 3840 x [email protected]. Users are recommended to connect sources using the Mini DisplayPort or USB-C port. |
| Multimedia | Microphone: DMIC x 2 Supports far-distance sound pick up of up to 4 metres Speaker count: Speakers x 2 Output: 5W x 2 (rated value) |
What’s In The Box?
- Huawei MateView Monitor
- MiniDP to DisplayPort Cable
- USB-C Power Cable
- USB Type-C to C Cable
- Quick Start Guide
Design
The Huawei MateView monitor is not just a monitor, but a smart monitor made for those who are mobile connected first. Harboring on a minimalist design approach, it features a full aluminium body, with a smooth finish all around. The front of the monitor has a clean look, not a single logo or button to be found. A type of design that would make the monitor fit into any WFH or office setup.
Another thing you’ll notice is the 3:2 aspect ratio, and the stand that has a lot of perforated holes. That’s actually where the dual 5W built-in speakers are, and right below on the base is where the NFC reader is. This reader interacts with the display’s Wireless Projection/Desktop Mode, accessible via a Huawei smartphone/tablet.
If you look underneath the bottom bezel of the monitor, you’ll see a small black bar. That’s actually the Huawei Smart Bar, which are the navigation controls to control the monitor. Just swipe your fingers left and right to move, and tap to select. Pretty easy to use, actually.
Connectivity wise, the I/O ports are placed on the sides and rear of the stands. On the side, you will find the power button, a 3.5mm audio combo jack, a USB Type-C port (65W charging support), as well as two USB Type-A ports. On the rear, there’s the miniDP 2.0 port, along with a HDMI 2.0 port, as well as the USB Type-C port that serves to supply power to the monitor.
In terms of build quality, the Huawei MateView monitor is as elegant as it looks, and as sturdy as it can be. Not only does the monitor look good, it has a real reassuring heft to it, and you can immediately tell the monitor is made of high quality materials. The back of the display also has a brushed metal finish with the Huawei logo emblazoned on it.
Display
As mentioned before, the Huawei MateView has a 3:2 aspect ratio instead of the standard 16:9 aspect ratio found on other mainstream monitors. Since this is a monitor geared for productivity, having a 3:2 aspect ratio would mean a taller display, allowing more content to be viewed, and also less scrolling required. It also features a 4K+ resolution on a 28.2-inch panel, with wireless display functionality. It supports both DCI-P3 colour space, along with a VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification too.
You will notice that there is no FreeSync, refresh rate is but the standard 60Hz, and the response time has nothing to brag about. That’s because those features are all reserved for the gaming model – Huawei MateView GT.
Picture quality wise, the display exhibits really vivid colours and fairly deep blacks. The LCD backlight is pretty uniform, with a small bit of dimming in the corners. It’s great there is no discoloration or tinting on the screen, offering spectacular colours regardless of the content you’re viewing. The monitor does have a glossy finish on the front, which makes it prone to reflections, even when the brightness is set to the max. It defaults to 190 nits, but can highs of 500 nits. Another way to remedy this is to prevent external light from coming onto the display.
While the monitor does look great for daily work tasks and media consumption, the display does seem to be on the warm side. Creative professionals might need to recalibrate the displays themselves for good measure.
User Experience
The monitor already comes properly installed, so there’s no need for additional installation on your part. The box is also well packaged, just retrieve it out of the box, and you’re good to go. There is only one power cable needed to be plugged in, followed by the cable of your choice (DP, HDMI, USB Type-C, or wireless). Of course, if you’re connecting wirelessly via your smartphone/tablet, you’d need to make sure your Internet connection can keep up to ensure a smooth experience.
The monitor itself is already thin, carried by a thin stand as well. It allows for height adjustment from just 7cm off the desk up to a maximum of 18cm, along with tilt adjustment from -5 to 18 degrees. There are no rotation adjustment,
The connectivity ports are well placed into the stand, along with the speakers and the microphones. The base embeds the NFC reader to enable wireless projection, and these are just really friendly features to have. However, I would’ve liked for the NFC area to be a wireless charging area for your smartphones too. That would’ve made the entire experience much better, making the monitor more of an all-in-one monitor.
PCs can connect via HDMI, USB-C, and DisplayPort, but only USB-C and MiniDP will have full 60Hz refresh rate. Using the HDMI 2.0 port, 4K resolution is limited to just 50Hz instead. But let’s talk about that wireless projection NFC, as that’s what makes the Huawei MateView a smarter monitor than the rest. Wireless projection is supported via desktops, laptops, and a selection of newer Huawei smartphones or tablets.
When connected Windows devices, it will only show what’s on your screen. But when used with a Huawei device, it gives you the option to use Huawei’s EMUI Desktop Mode. Connection is smooth when connected to a Huawei device, but when we’re talking about Windows, there’s a certain lag to it, which we’ll recommend to just use a cable if you’re connecting to a Windows device.
The USB Type-A and Type-C ports are passed through to the connected PC, so you can transfer data between devices. The USB-C also provides up to 65W fast charging, so while the stand’s base doesn’t offer a wireless charging space, you can always connect a cable to your phone to charge it.
As for the Huawei Smart Bar, it’s a great new way to control your monitor’s settings instead of repeatedly pressing buttons below or behind the monitor. It works well and is responsive, but it does get quite warm when you’re connecting to a device wirelessly.
Here’s the list of gestures the Smart Bar can do:
- Swipe left/right – Adjust speaker volume
- Two-finger swipe – Switch between monitor’s inputs
- Single tap – Open Settings menu, Confirm
- Double tap – Return
Audio
Because of the Huawei MateView’s thin profile, the speakers don’t have much space. So while the highs are okay, and the mids are great, the audio system do lack a bit of bass for that thump. However, the audio quality is loud and good enough for daily casual usage and music listening. If you’re looking for a minimalist setup and not want anything else taking up space on your desk, the MateView’s speakers get the job done.
The monitor also has dual microphones built right in, to further facilitate video conference calls for WFH. We’ve tried using Discord and Google Meet calls with the built-in speakers and there are no echoes. My voice can clearly be heard by the caller, but there does seem to be a bit of wind noise that gets past the sensors.
Conclusion
Overall, I think the Huawei MateView monitor is a well-designed product in terms of both aesthetics and functionality. It’d just make more sense for those who are already within the Huawei ecosystem to purchase it. This makes sense because the user benefits more from the monitor by being connected to Huawei devices, and you’d already be familiar with the system and its mechanics.
That said, as a normal consumer monitor, the price tag of RM2,988 may be a bit steep for some, but it’s one of the monitors in the market that has a 4K resolution with a work-focused 3:2 aspect ratio. The ease of connectivity (wired and wireless) is just too good, and the colour-calibrated display could also potentially woo over the creative professionals. But, gamers might want to turn their eyes to the MateView GT instead.
