Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Is this the best Windows alternative to an iMac?
00:06Well, yeah, actually, I reckon it is.
00:09I think that's the best way of describing
00:11this new Huawei Mate Station X.
00:13If you're looking for an all-in-one,
00:15which not everyone is, because quite frankly,
00:17a laptop plus a monitor is really still a better option,
00:21but if you want something that has a single cable,
00:24plug and play, with a beautiful screen,
00:25some decent performance, and a absolutely stunning design,
00:29this is definitely worth considering,
00:32which is interesting,
00:33because if I'm gonna be completely honest with you,
00:35I probably wouldn't buy a Huawei phone
00:38without Google Play Services.
00:39There are much better alternatives out there.
00:41It's a different story for Honor
00:42and their phones and laptops,
00:44but what I would say is that Huawei's laptops,
00:47I've got the MateBook here, and also their monitors,
00:50and well, in this case, their monitors and PCs,
00:53are still absolutely worth buying.
00:55So what makes this Mate Station X actually stand out,
00:59and why have they named it like some dodgy website
01:01that I probably shouldn't click on?
01:02Well, the problem is, with most AIOs, or all-in-ones,
01:06they were a bit rubbish, either far too expensive,
01:09or not powerful enough, or too businessy,
01:12which is why the iMac is so popular,
01:14especially after its M1 refresh last year,
01:16and for me, that is still the go-to all-in-one right now,
01:19but what if you want a good Windows alternative?
01:23So this is where I think the Mate Station X
01:25fills the gap nicely, and of course,
01:27as remote working continues to boom,
01:30maybe it is time to reconsider buying something like this.
01:33So apart from the iMac and this Huawei,
01:35there are a few other nice AIO options out there.
01:38Lenovo makes some good business-focused ones,
01:41HP have a couple, including a 34-inch ultra-wide,
01:44along with RTX 3060, which is very tasty,
01:46and also Asus have some more affordable,
01:48but still nicely designed options,
01:50and of course, Microsoft's expensive,
01:52but lovely Surface Studio hasn't been updated since 2018,
01:56and although a third-gen version has been rumored,
01:59there is nothing concrete as of yet.
02:02So this really is a direct alternative to the M1 Mac,
02:05and it's similarly priced,
02:06although with this, we do get an extra four inches.
02:08This is 28 inches versus 24, and every inch counts,
02:12apparently, but it is still, as you would expect,
02:15quite expensive, in fact, this higher-end model
02:17with 16 gigs of RAM and a Ryzen 7 5800H processor
02:21that's got eight cores and 16 threads for those counting,
02:24this will save back a cool 1,800 pounds,
02:27and so most likely $2,200 or so,
02:29but if you can wait,
02:31I might suggest going for the entry-level model,
02:34which comes with a Ryzen 5 5600H,
02:36six cores, 12 threads, eight gig of RAM,
02:39and 512 storage, rather than a terabyte,
02:41for about 1,500 pounds, so it saves about 300,
02:44but for most people,
02:45considering this is not supposed to be
02:47a super-powerful workstation alternative,
02:50that's probably powerful enough,
02:52and saves you a bit of money,
02:54but I think the real beauty of this
02:55is that unlike an iMac,
02:56which has its big, chunky chin on the bottom,
02:58so you definitely know it is an iMac
03:00and not, say, the new studio display,
03:02you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference
03:04between this Mate Station X
03:05and also their terrific MateView monitors,
03:08which I actually reviewed recently as well.
03:10Actually, from the front and the back,
03:11you can't see the computer at all.
03:13It's only when you're side-on
03:14can you see this little gap here,
03:16which is filled by what is essentially
03:18all the laptop gubbins,
03:20and because it's all at the back,
03:21it means the screen isn't bearing the weight,
03:22so you can tilt this really easily,
03:24even with a single finger, up to 20 degrees,
03:27which is very nice.
03:28The downside, though,
03:28is that like the iMac and many other AIOs,
03:31we only have that bit of tilt.
03:32There is no height adjustment, sadly,
03:34or rotation or pivoting or anything like that
03:37beyond just rotating the whole stand,
03:39and also there's no VESA mounting option,
03:41which is a bit disappointing.
03:43But despite that,
03:44this is still a beautiful piece of engineering.
03:46The fairly minimalistic design,
03:48the aluminum alloy build,
03:50and 92% screen-to-body ratio
03:52means everything feels just a bit as modern
03:54as my 1,500-pound Apple Studio display.
03:57And of course, that doesn't come with a PC.
04:00The MateStation also comes in two color options,
04:02plus we have this 720p webcam up top,
04:05although I wish there was maybe a physical
04:07or manual shutter or privacy filter for it,
04:09and also they've shoehorned the speakers,
04:11the power button,
04:12all the connections into the stand.
04:15Now, speaking of shoehorning,
04:17a big thank you to the lovely guys
04:19over at Surfshark VPN
04:20for very kindly sponsoring this video
04:22and also providing the best damn VPN you can get.
04:26For starters, there is an app for pretty much everything,
04:28plus you can use an unlimited number of devices
04:31on a single account.
04:32It's also incredibly quick and simple to use,
04:34plus their powerful CleanWeb tool
04:37actually helps prevent tracking, malware, ads,
04:40and general bad stuff online.
04:42Now, most of the time I use a VPN to access content
04:44that's usually not available here in the UK,
04:47but I also use it to protect my privacy,
04:49particularly if I'm traveling or if I'm on public Wi-Fi,
04:52and especially if I'm logging into my bank or emails.
04:55But the best part is if you use the code techchap
04:57at the checkout, you can get a whopping 84% off
05:01and three months extra for free.
05:03And there's a 30-day money-back guarantee
05:05if you're not super-duper satisfied.
05:08So click the link below and get started with Surfshark VPN.
05:12As I mentioned earlier, though,
05:14there is sadly no way to upgrade this at all,
05:16so you're stuck with the spec that you go for,
05:20which is why maybe it is worth paying
05:20that little bit extra,
05:21particularly to get the 16 gigs of RAM,
05:23to make this a bit more future-proof.
05:25But aside from the design,
05:26I reckon the first thing you will notice about this
05:29is the aspect ratio of this screen.
05:32It is 3x2, which actually isn't very common.
05:34The vast majority of monitors and displays are 16x9.
05:37Personally, if I'm honest, my favorite is 16x10,
05:40like we do get on the iMac,
05:42which means you just get a little bit more screen real estate
05:44on the vertical, top and bottom.
05:46But this 3x2 is actually much closer
05:48to, well, a square rather than a wide rectangle,
05:52which Huawei says is better for productivity,
05:55thanks to the extra vertical pixels.
05:56But to me, it does kind of make having tabs side-by-side
05:59feel a bit more cramped than I'd like.
06:01And also watching movies and videos, just look at that.
06:04You're getting some pretty chunky letterboxing there,
06:06which does take away a little bit
06:07from wanting to use this as a sort of media hub.
06:11However, as you can see, this is a touchscreen,
06:13which of course the iMac isn't.
06:15So if you fancy using your hands or a stylus with this,
06:18you can, especially if you want to tilt it like this
06:21and maybe lower it a little bit
06:23so your arm doesn't get uncomfortable,
06:24you could use this as a bit of a
06:26sort of graphical workstation display.
06:28But again, remember that this doesn't have a dedicated GPU.
06:31It's just the integrated graphics
06:32on that Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 5 CPU.
06:35So yes, you can do a bit of photo
06:38and light video editing with this,
06:39but nothing super substantial.
06:42The screen quality is fantastic though.
06:45We get a 4K plus resolution,
06:47which means everything looks nice and sharp.
06:48It also gets reasonably bright up to 550 nits
06:51and color accuracy is great.
06:53I measured 100% sRGB and 95% DCI-P3 gamut coverage.
06:58Although Huawei claims P3 should be 98%
07:01after its color calibration process.
07:03Viewing angles are good without much loss
07:05of brightness or color shift.
07:06The display HDR 400 support is pretty basic
07:09as far as HDR goes though,
07:11and nothing like as good as even
07:12a fairly basic TV these days.
07:15It is also only 60 Hertz,
07:16which is okay considering this isn't really meant
07:19as a gaming display,
07:20and it's the same as Apple Studio Display,
07:22but I'm a bit spoiled coming from
07:23my 144 Hertz ultrawide over there.
07:26And also you'll notice that actually
07:28there are no physical buttons.
07:30There's no OSD joystick or anything like that,
07:32uh, uglifying.
07:34Uglifying, is that a word?
07:35If it's not, I've made it up now.
07:36Uglifying the side of the screen.
07:38It is very Apple Studio Display-esque in its design.
07:42And so if you do want to change anything
07:43like the brightness or the volume,
07:44then you have to do it either within Windows
07:46or using the keyboard and, well, mouse.
07:49This has been shot with the webcam.
07:51Please ignore the behind the scenes horribleness.
07:53You're not supposed to see that,
07:54but quality is okay.
07:56It's actually very bright in here,
07:57but it's looking quite dark.
07:59But yeah, let me know what you think
08:00of the audio and the video in the comments below.
08:05Now, as you would expect,
08:06given the fairly beefy Ryzen 7 5800H,
08:09the MainStation X felt pretty quick and responsive,
08:11even with multiple apps open
08:13and doing a bit of photo editing.
08:14In fact, the 5800H is probably overkill
08:17for most tasks that you need an AIO to do,
08:20because if you do need something properly powerful
08:22for some high-end editing or workstation applications,
08:25then chances are that you'll need something
08:27with a discrete GPU.
08:28And actually, I did find Adobe Premiere Pro
08:30was a little bit sluggish,
08:32given this is normally GPU accelerated.
08:34But then again, editing snaps in Lightroom
08:36was still very, well, snappy.
08:38As for gaming, well,
08:40the onboard Radeon graphics are fine.
08:42If you play less demanding titles
08:44or don't mind dropping the graphics settings right down.
08:46And actually, Rainbow Six Siege was totally playable
08:49at 1080p with ultra settings,
08:51averaging 74 FPS, which is not too bad at all.
08:54And in Age of Empires IV,
08:56I got a reasonably playable 44 FPS average
08:59at 1200p with low settings.
09:01Although clearly the game didn't think I'd manage this
09:03as when I booted it up for the first time,
09:05the default graphics looked like this.
09:08However, one advantage of not having a dedicated GPU
09:11or any kind of crazy performance
09:12is that it is almost silent the whole time.
09:15I didn't really hear the fan at all.
09:17So if you are using this in an office
09:20or somewhere where you need to keep things chill,
09:23it's a good option.
09:24Let's test out the speakers.
09:25And if I jump into this new Top Gun trailer,
09:29which I'm very excited for,
09:31it's probably gonna end up being rubbish,
09:32but I've been waiting this long, I wanna watch it.
09:35It does sound good.
09:36It's not the loudest I've ever heard,
09:38but it's rich, good amount of bass.
09:42Not too shabby for speakers built into the stand.
09:45Although you just can't ignore these big bezels,
09:50these big letterboxing black bars on the side.
09:52It does take away a little bit from the experience.
09:56Now, one thing that makes this stand out
09:57is that Huawei calls it a super device,
10:00which means you can use it as a hub
10:01for connecting compatible Huawei
10:03and also Honor laptop phones and tablets.
10:06So you can open up and control your phones
10:08on the Mate Station and even share files
10:10between devices with Huawei Share.
10:12It's pretty nifty,
10:13although setup can be a bit fiddly sometimes,
10:15and actually I couldn't convince the Mate Station
10:17to even connect with my MateBook X Pro,
10:20but connecting a phone was pretty easy,
10:21although it can be a little bit stuttery sometimes.
10:23It's not flawlessly smooth between them.
10:26But still, it's good for checking messages,
10:27keeping apps open,
10:28and answering calls via the MateView's quad mics,
10:31if you fancy.
10:33So there are some nice smart extras there,
10:35but really only if you're in the Honor or Huawei ecosystems,
10:38which fewer and fewer people are these days.
10:40Actually, to be fair, Honor are still very good.
10:42I do recommend their phones.
10:43The Honor 50 is great value,
10:45and as I say, the laptops from both brands
10:47are still top-notch.
10:48So you may still be in the ecosystem to some extent.
10:51There is another feature that sets this apart, though,
10:53from, say, an iMac,
10:54because you can actually use this as just a screen
10:57if you want to plug in your laptop or another PC
10:59and use it simply as a second monitor.
11:02I have to be honest,
11:02I've had a bit of trouble making it work.
11:04I've connected various USB-C cables
11:06to both my MacBook and my Windows laptops,
11:10and I couldn't seem to get it to work,
11:11but apparently it should work.
11:13So maybe put a little asterisk there.
11:16So the MainStation X has a fairly hefty price tag,
11:19but we do get a few extras bundled in the box.
11:22And actually, I really like this Bluetooth keyboard
11:24with its integrated fingerprint sensor.
11:26Typing is great,
11:27and I like having this separate numpad,
11:28although I would have preferred
11:29perhaps USB-C charging instead of batteries.
11:32The mouse does feel a little bit cheaper,
11:34although I do like the solid metal wheel.
11:36But again, the USB-C charging would have been nicer.
11:39So let's wrap up.
11:40And you know what?
11:41I've missed a good all-in-one.
11:43I don't review them enough,
11:44mainly because there aren't enough good ones
11:46to really talk about or that are, you know, exciting.
11:48I think the iMac does stand out,
11:50but if you want a good, premium,
11:53proper alternative, proper Windows alternative,
11:55this ships with Windows 11, as you can see,
11:57then the MainStation X is the one to go for.
12:00Downsides?
12:01Well, it is still quite expensive.
12:02Also, this three-by-two aspect ratio
12:04is going to be a little bit like Marmite.
12:06You will love it or hate it,
12:07or, well, actually, in my case, quite like it,
12:10but not have it all the time.
12:12I'm not sure how that really works.
12:13And also, it would be nice
12:14if it was perhaps a little bit brighter
12:16or had some higher standard HDR support.
12:18But as a whole,
12:19especially with these nice bundle extras as well,
12:22which cost extra if you go for the Apple alternative,
12:25I actually really like this thing,
12:26and I would recommend it
12:27if you're in the market for an all-in-one.
12:29But my advice does still stand
12:31that I would rather go with something like a MateBook
12:34plus a MateView monitor,
12:36which combined costs you a fair bit less than this
12:39and gives you the flexibility of having a separate laptop
12:42and just, you know, connecting them via one cable.
12:44So practically, I think that combination works better.
12:47But if you do want something like this,
12:49then, well, you should buy something like this.
12:52I will leave a link below if you want to check it out.
12:53And also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
12:55Would you be tempted to buy an all-in-one?
12:57Let me know in the comments below.
12:58And if you enjoyed the video,
12:59a little like and subscribe would be very much appreciated.
13:01And I'll catch you next time right here on the Tech Chap.
13:04Thanks for watching.
13:05Oh, and don't forget to check out Surfshark VPN.
13:08Click the link below and use the code TECHCHAP
13:10at the checkout to get 84% off
13:13and three months extra for free.