Why do I leave the MateBook X Pro and come back to Mac



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After 20 years of using – and preferably – Macs, I spent last month on Windows, using the Huawei MateBook X Pro to work and play. Why? Apple's MacBook Pro – with their shallow and unreliable keys – have annoyed me by considering starting


In the MateBook X Pro, I found a machine with keys that I could trust, a look I already liked. of course it was an Apple laptop – and a quick performance that allowed me to blaze my work. And even though I like the MateBook X Pro, Windows 10 m has pushed back.

Switching easily was easy enough

Since I lived on Mac, I've found the transfer process quite simple. Getting my online accounts natively integrated into Mail and Calendars was as simple as logging in through the Windows 10 Settings application.


I already work so much on Google and Dropbox that I simply smiled because Chrome made it easy. I have completed the setup by installing some essential stuff for the job, like OpenVPN and a license of Microsoft Outlook.

Writing was a child's game

The reason I was curious about the MateBook X Pro, and maybe leaving macOS, is that Apple's keyboards have had the worst press lately. Although I've never been a fan of their shallow depth (which I could get used to, with extended use), their butterfly-style switches have been in the news to fail when the dust and crumbs are under the keys.

a good news is that a document from Apple Revealed reveals that the redesign of Apple's keyboard – initially promoted to reduce noise – apparently makes the keyboard more reliable by adding a layer of membrane which protects the switches from dust.

The Matebook X Pro, on the other hand, has a very good keyboard. He easily survived a month of typing while I nibbled on messy snacks, including cheese puffs. Of course, the keys are a bit shallow (1.1 millimeters, while I would prefer 1.5 millimeters), but I got used to this surprisingly fast, and each key gives solid comments. For comparison, the keyboard of the MacBook Pro offers only 0.5 mm race

In one day, I released a feature film of 3,518 words on the keyboard of the MateBook X Pro. I've already had a brief time with the MacBook Pro 2018 keyboard, and I think it would take me a little while to get used to its shallow touches.

Replacing the Basics

Switching to PC, a lot of the time, meant leaving Mac apps that I like, like Tweetbot for Twitter, Things for Productivity and Fantastic for managing my calendar. While I have their iOS counterparts on my iPhone, I want applications that sync on my devices.

So I replaced these apps with TweetDeck via Chrome, Google Keep for to-do lists, and Google Calendar. Although everyone does business – I have never been disconnected from my work or my projects – everyone feels as utilitarian and commonplace, unlike macOS applications, which are elegantly designed.


I even used iTunes on Windows, even though it's still slower than on MacOS. Although I'm ready to try new applications, I do not leave my iCloud music library, for which I've downloaded rare tracks that are not on Spotify.

The dilemma of a podcaster

I did not ignore my MacBook Pro completely during this race test. The night before I had to record a podcast, I realized that I had not studied the audio recording software, and I started frantically searching for an option

. most sites have presented Audacity as my best option. buttons and buttons that I did not think I could learn in time for the next morning. I was not going to try a new piece of software during a live recording with friends in distant places, and threaten to screw up the process.

MORE: The Best Laptops for Business and Productivity [19659008] While digging into Audacity, I looked forward to Quicktime, which has a super simple look and makes easier the creation of recordings. So I cheated on the MateBook X Pro with the MacBook Pro, where I used QuickTime for sound recording reliably, which gives you a drop-down menu for quality and input .

The next day, when I was recording another podcast with a colleague from my office who uses Audacity, he showed me how most of his settings could be ignored and how all I had to do was to correctly select my microphone.

My funny police problem

when I had to do some image editing for a Slack band, I run. At that time, I realized that I had not thought of my need for a PC version of Pixelmator, the hyper-affordable ($ 29) alternative to Photoshop. Of course, that meant installing a trial version of Adobe Photoshop ($ 9.99 per month), because I could not, for life, find a similar alternative (Affinity Photo is $ 49 ) with a set of interesting features.

Once Photoshop turned on, I discovered that I was missing the font of my choice, Helvetica Neue, which I then imported from my Mac. Although the installation of the font is as simple as opening the file, my system – especially Chrome – started using the font randomly, replacing a default system.

Google did not succeed to find a solution. which deal with the excellent Font Book app, are more suited to designers and creatives.

Rude webcam angles

I can not speak about the MateBook X Pro without highlighting its most unique feature: its webcam is hidden under what appears to be a touch of function. To use the webcam, simply click on the button to exit the camera.


While I applaud Huawei for this clever action for privacy, which also allows to create smaller screens around the MateBook X Pro small point to have a webcam when he is placed here. Just ask my laptop colleagues, who saw me the most weird angles at a web conference when I was working at home and could not help laughing.

When I used the laptop from my bed, this angle unflattering under my chin. And when I used the MateBook at my desk, above a pile of books that I use to hold the screen at the right height, the camera showed the camera. space above me, so I had to go in the air to greet. 19659003] Show Pros and Cons

I love, I love, I love the 14-inch, 3000 x 2000-pixel display of the MateBook X Pro. Not only is its 3: 2 ratio excellent for reading websites and sharing my screen between two apps, but its super-powerful 458-nit display renders beautiful images producing 124 percent of the sRGB spectrum. Cuphead, the only PC game I play, looked great on this screen during the few games I had during the month.


The benefits, however, stop there. Frustrating, docking with my Dell 4K monitor and the DisplayLink Home Station at work has resulted in scaling issues. Sometimes it was only a minor annoyance, with a border around all application windows, or applications and their stacked messages displaying slightly larger sizes than they did. should have.

The taskbar section (the hidden items you click to reveal) would not display correctly, making some icons inaccessible. The only solution I found was to restart my computer. I have never, never seen a Mac have such problems. And I find it funny, because the whole point of Windows – or at least I thought – was to have a lot of devices that worked well between them.

Windows being Windows

As productive as I am on the MateBook X Pro, it still runs on Windows 10. And I have nerpicks with this operating system .. While I'm on the MateBook X Pro, it still runs on Windows 10. And I've got nerpicks with this operating system .. I was able to eliminate the presence of Cortana, by disabling all its options and by removing this search bar and this icon, I felt to even have to do that. Apple puts Siri in the corner – in the menu bar, that is – and it is so easy to ignore there.

MORE: How to use Windows 10

Personally, though, I just found Windows 10 to be aesthetically lacking and dull. The block design of Universal Windows Platform programs gives the impression that they are made in Minecraft, and sticks you to tons of white space (hello, stride).

I feel good in the end

By the end of my month the MateBook X Pro, I can certainly say that I have warmed up Windows 10, which I've used only at work. Not only does this machine provide a keyboard that I prefer to any model that Apple sells, but when I got my old and faithful MacBook Pro 2012 of 15 inches, I remembered that its weight of 4.5 pounds made it heavier than the 2.9-pound MateBook. X Pro.


Yes, on the night of Tuesday, July 17, after my month with the MateBook X Pro finished, I left this laptop at work and went back to my 2012 MacBook Pro. It 's not dead yet, just a little slow, and it' s still my favorite laptop. Plus, while the MateBook X Pro's keyboard is better than the 2018 MacBook Pro, the keys on the 2012 MacBook Pro have traveled a lot and have been booming for six years. So, for now, I will cherish what I have, and hope that the 2018 MacBook Pro keys are as reliable as the suggested reports.

Of course, I missed the MateBook X Pro's fingerprint reader. in my MacBook 2012, but newer Macs have a Touch ID sensor (though it forces you to give up the physical buttons for the gimmicky Touch Bar).


For now, I'll wait to see how the 2018 MacBooks hold up. Of course, their top-of-the-line Core i9 models have limitation issues, but if their keyboards are reliable, I do not need to quit the Mac apps that I like for a laptop that does not. is not as easy to use. Just consider how Tweetbot, Mac's best Twitter client, animates GIF images when your cursor is browsing them. I have not seen anything like it, with the same care, that I have browsed the applications in the Windows App Store. Tech should not only be useful; it should be fun – especially when you spend $ 1,499 (the price of the MateBook X Pro I would buy) or more on a laptop.

Credit: Laptop Mag

<img clbad = "thumbLeft" src = "https://img.purch.com/rc/80×80/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGFwdG9wbWFnLmNvbS9pbWFnZXMvd3AvcHVyY2gtYXBpL2F1dGhvci0yMzguanBn" alt = "Henry T. Casey [19659044] Henry T. Casey,
After graduating from Bard College with a BA in Literature, Henry T. Casey worked in publishing and product development at Rizzoli and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, respectively. Joined Tom & # 39; s Guide and LAPTOP after writing for The Content Strategist, Tech Radar and Patek Philippe International Magazine, sharing his free time between going to concerts, listening to too many podcasts and mastering his cold coffee process. governs all around him.
Henry T. Casey,
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