The larger the laptop display, the more convenient it is to work with it. On a 16-inch screen, you can easily mark up a couple of windows of ordinary applications or deploy a professional program. Realizing this, HONOR are pushing the big 16.1-inch models. New – HONOR MagicBook 16 with a performance AMD Ryzen 5 5600H already in my hands and ready for testing.
Appearance and ergonomics
HONOR laptops have a unified design based on a gray aluminum chassis. A distinctive feature are flat shapes and pointed lines. No chrome chamfers or decor – everything is as simple and strict as possible. I only have questions about the gray plastic hinge cover, its shade does not match the metal and stands out noticeably.
Why not make the casing black? After all, the interior aluminum decoration is diluted with dark inserts with speakers on the sides of the keyboard. This solution has already been seen in MagicBook Pro, another 16.1-inch HONOR model. The design is controversial, but this is a good alternative to all-metal topcases.
Like the HONOR MagicBook View 14, the front camera of the MagicBook 16 has been moved to the cover. To ensure privacy, the F8 is assigned a software shutdown of the camera. Next to F7 is the microphone mute.
It is quite expected that the new product is slightly larger than the MagicBook 15 in proportion to the increase in diagonal: 10 mm in width and 6 mm in height. Moreover, the MateBook 16 is slightly larger than the previous 16-inch model of the brand – the total weight is 1840 grams. Despite this, the lid cannot be opened with one hand, the base must be held firmly. The hinge opening angle is limited to 150 degrees.
Display and sound
Perhaps the 16.1-inch IPS with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels and a wide aspect ratio is one of the most attractive features of the laptop. Glossy glass with touch input remains the prerogative of the MagicBook View flagships. Our hero is content with a matrix recessed into the frame with a matte finish. This has its advantages: the surface of the screen does not glare at all and does not tire the eyesight. On the other hand, the haze adds graininess, which is noticeable at a low density of 137 PPI.
You don’t expect good screen characteristics from a powerful laptop, often the matter is limited to a pleasing to the eye picture. However, HONOR took care of that too, our hero has almost full sRGB coverage and fairly accurate calibration out of the box. The measurement was taken at maximum brightness with the default color temperature. Also, do not forget about the standard HONOR utility with color temperature adjustment.
My copy gave out 280 cd/m², falling short of the claimed 300 cd/m².
The frame is not at all thick and not thin – standard by modern standards.
The final 4.5 points are fully deserved.
The speakers are located on the sides of the keyboard and are directed towards the user. The advantage of this arrangement is an excellent stereo effect and detailed sound without distortion. The disadvantage is the lack of powerful low frequencies and the corresponding resonance in the body.
Keyboard and biometrics
A huge laptop is content with a standard keyboard without a number pad. On the one hand, this is an omission, but on the other hand, it makes it much more convenient to place your palms on a spacious topcase, so the main keys are not shifted to the left. The touchpad size is 120×73 mm, the quality of operation is at the highest level – no mouse is needed with the MagicBook 16.
The fingerprint scanner verifies the user at the moment of inclusion and does not require repeated application of a finger to enter the system.
Performance and software
Under the hood of the MagicBook 16 is an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H gaming platform with 6 Zen 3 cores and 12 threads. The maximum frequency reaches 4.2 GHz. Paired with it is the built-in AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 video core with 7 computing units at 1.8 GHz. Single-threaded performance is not an AMD Ryzen discipline, but the maximum multi-threaded performance is excellent. Our six-core protagonist is not far behind the eight-core 5800H and outperforms many desktop quad-core processors of yesteryear. The results are obtained with mains power in performance mode in PC Manager and Windows.
When running on battery power, PC Manager performance mode is not available. As a result, peak multi-threaded performance is slightly reduced, while single-threaded performance remains at the same level. This means that in everyday tasks that do not squeeze all the juice out of the system, the difference will not be noticeable. In other words, the MagicBook 16 performs equally well on both mains and battery power.
Due to the heat pack increased to 54 W, at the peak, HONOR squeezes a little more out of the Ryzen 5 5600H than others. Despite this, under full load, the system does not reach the limit of throttling and power restrictions, giving maximum performance over a long distance.
The answer to the lack of overheating under the lid. The cooling system consists of two heat pipes and two fans spaced apart. In office mode, the turntables do not turn on at all or rotate silently at minimum speed. At maximum speed, a slight rustle turns into a noticeable, but still comfortable noise.
The motherboard and small battery are lost in a spacious case, there is a lot of free space around them. Even the drive and network card are placed outside the motherboard. So that the design is not afraid of vibrations and has sufficient rigidity, there are plastic guides and foam seals on the lid. The result is achieved, the body feels monolithic.
16 GB DDR4 RAM is soldered on the board. Only a solid state drive can be upgraded. True, it is worth changing it only in case of a shortage of 512 GB, since the rest of the SSD is top-end and uses 4 PCIe NVMe lanes to give the highest possible speed. Out of the box, the disk is divided into two sections: 119 GB for the system and 341 GB for user data.
Interfaces and autonomy
On the left side are USB-C with support for charging and image output, as well as full-sized HDMI 2.0. On the reverse side are two full-sized and high-speed USB 3.2, as well as an analog audio jack.
The base charger for HONOR is a compact 65 W adapter with a detachable symmetrical USB-C cable. Up to 50% of the laptop is charged in 30 minutes, it takes about 1.5 hours to fully charge.
More power is not required, since the built-in battery has a modest capacity of 56 Wh, while another 14-inch laptop has a more impressive battery. Indeed, our hero is not designed for long-term work in the field, but you can count on 6 hours in office mode at medium brightness and with a backlit keyboard. When working at home with a power outlet, be sure to limit the maximum charge to 70 or 90 percent to save the battery.
Review after two weeks of use
A laptop with a truly large display is definitely worth a look for users who want a comfortable and productive computer that does not take up much space compared to a stand-alone monitor. Our hero is suitable for this use case, as he has a nice screen, high-quality touchpad and keyboard, as well as a powerful processor without throttling. A relatively small battery in this case is not perceived as a disadvantage, since the MagicBook 16 will still be powered from the mains most of the time anyway. An objective drawback can be considered a tight and not very reliable hinge: you want to open a large laptop with one hand, but here this is impossible.
What is the asking price? Much to our dismay, Windows laptops have skyrocketed in price over the past year. Now 80 thousand rubles for a laptop with a large screen, a powerful processor, 16 GB of memory in a high-quality case is an adequate offer. Moreover, the MagicBook 16 is not bad in small things: pre-installed Windows 11, charging via USB-C, you can also display a picture through them, both full-size USB are high-speed.
Pros:
- bright and matte screen at 16.1 inches;
- powerful processor from a gaming laptop;
- good margin of cooling efficiency;
- synchronization with HONOR smartphones, multi-screen function;
- finger scanning at the moment of inclusion;
- full set of interfaces;
- corporate design in an aluminum case;
- compact 65 W charger;
- WiFi 6 support.
Minuses:
- larger than its predecessor with a 16-inch screen;
- Lid cannot be opened with one hand.
May not like:
- relatively small battery;
- both USB-C are on the same side;
- no card reader.
Source: Trash Box
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
