Honor MagicBook 15 is an affordable laptop with high-end hardware from a Chinese tech company which is best known for its smartphones. This is a mid-range laptop just like the MateBook D 15 which its parent company, Huawei, has launched earlier. Unquestionably, both Huawei and Honor has made their name in the smartphone market, but do they understand the needs of laptop buyers?
Well, we can get the answer to this question by looking at the MagicBook 15. The company has launched its first MagicBook in two different sizes: 14-inch and 15-inch. Here, we are going to talk about Honor MagicBook 15, which the company has loaded with AMD hardware.
Let’s see what this 15-inch laptop has to offer in terms of performance and specs. We have also evaluated its design, display and keyboard functionality to assess the overall user experience.
Specs sheet
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5-3500U (Quad-Core) / 2.10GHz Max. Turbo Speed 3.70GHz
Display: 15.-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Resolution
RAM: 8GB Storage: 256GB SSD
Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 8 Integrated
Weight: Around 3.43lbs (1.56kg)
Battery: 56Wh
Operating System: Windows 10 Home
The specs sheet represent a moderate selection of hardware that aims at office and business users. At this price range, Honor MagicBook 15 totally fits the bill with these specs.
Design and construction
Honor has successfully built a metallic (aluminium) chassis that offers a premium look on the outside. This is a quality design which gives the MagicBook 15 a more expensive look. It came in “Space Gray” and “Mystic Silver” colours with a metallic finish, while the edges of the display are covered with blue metallic finish. The screen edges produce a pleasing effect upon catching the light, making it more alluring.
We found its body sturdy and durable that can handle everyday knocks. It is difficult to open its lid with a single hand as its hinges are relatively tight. The lid can be opened to 180 degrees and we find the lid even when it was fully stretched.
Coming to its weight, Honor MagicBook 15 is neither too light nor too heavy. Although an all-aluminium chassis makes it sturdy, it does add extra weight. However, the laptop only weighs around 3.43lbs (1.56kg) and you can carry it around without any difficulty.
Keyboard
The MagicBook 15 follows the footsteps of Huawei’s MateBook D 15 when it comes to the keyboard deck. It looks very much similar to Apple’s MacBook keyboard deck. At the upper right corner, there is a power button that also works as a biometric login and fingerprint scanner.
The keys are soft and well placed, while the key travel is appropriate that offer a nice tactile feedback. We found it exceptionally comfortable for typing, which makes it a delight for writers and programmers. The function keys line has an additional button between the F6 and F7 keys which is marked with a camera symbol.
By pressing the camera key, a webcam appears at your keyboard. This is a cool feature that we previously have seen on the MateBook D. However, you may find it hard to adjust your webcam during video calls. On the bright side, a hidden camera brings additional security against hackers.
Display
To be honest, we were really satisfied with the display performance of Honor MagicBook 15. This budget laptop has a 15.6-inch wide diagonal display with a 16:9 screen ratio. It is an HD display that comes with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080p. Its 4.8mm ultra-narrow bezels make the display a visual treat when you are watching a movie on it.
Additionally, Honor has fully laminated the display which diminish the reflections and further improves visual quality. We found the display pleasing and were able to view the screen even under the sunlight.
Connectivity
The port selection on the MagicBook 15 is limited but it has everything that you would want in an office laptop. The right side of the laptop houses a 3.5mm audio jack and a Type-A USB port. Whereas, the right side houses an HDMI output, a Type-C port and another standard USB port.
The ports are limited in numbers but you would get a mix of modern and older USB ports. The USB-C port is also used for charging which means you can top-up your laptop’s battery in no time.
Performance
Honor has armed the MagicBook 15 with AMD Ryzen 5-3500U CPU that runs on the Windows 10 operating system. It has four cores and can offer a clock speed range from 2.10GHz to 3.70GHz. This is a great processor that can handle your office and home computing needs.
Additionally, there is an 8GB memory paired with 256GB SSD storage to make things smooth. The RAM and SSD storage works together with the AMD CPU to ensure high-speed performance. This is a nice combination that let you multitask without experiencing lags. Thanks to AMD’s Radeon Vega 8 GPU, you can run demanding software, such as editing tools as well.
Although Honor MagicBook 15 has some great specs, it cannot run heavy games. However, you can enjoy casual games and run modern games, such as Fortnight and PUBG at low settings.
Battery life
Honor has equipped the MagicBook 15 with a 56Wh battery which is claims can run up to 8 hours. Of course, we didn’t get the exact battery life as the company claims, but we were able to extract 7.5 hours. This simply means that the battery performance isn’t too far from Honor’s claim.
However, the battery life reduces to around 3 to 6 hours in day-to-day use. This is an expected factor so you may want to sit with the charger on your side. Nevertheless, the fast charging makes up for this drawback somehow and charges up the battery impressively fast.
Verdict
In a nutshell, Honor MagicBook 15 is a cheap Core i7 laptop with impressive hardware. Its design is aesthetically pleasing, while the AMD components can cater to your everyday computing needs. This is an ideal and affordable choice for IT managers and professionals who care about the looks as they do about the specs.
