Huawei Linux Laptops Running Deepin Linux Now Available
Three brand new Huawei Linux Laptops running Deepin have been released by the Chinese tech giant. Deepin is a Linux distro developed in China.
The Chinese association with Deepin is a little unsettling for some users. But the source code of this Linux distro is open for everyone to go through, so there are no serious issues there.
Huawei is the world’s third-biggest smartphone manufacturer. It briefly acquired a second position as well, however, it lost the lead due to the ongoing trade war between the US and China.
Anyway, the three Huawei laptops available with Linux Deepin distro include: Huawei Matebook 13, Matebook X Pro and Matebook 14. Here’s everything you need to know about these laptops —
Huawei Linux Laptops: Specs, Price, And Availability
The specs of the Huawei Linux Laptops are as follows:
| Matebook 13 | Matebook X Pro | Matebook 14 | |
| CPU | Intel® CoreTM i5-8265U | Intel® CoreTM i5-8265U | Intel® CoreTM i5-8265U |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce MX250 | NVIDIA GeForce MX250 | NVIDIA GeForce MX250 |
| RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| HDD | 512 GB SSD | 512 GB SSD | 512 GB SSD |
| Screen | 13 inch IPS display | 13.9 inch LTPS display | 14 inch IPS display |
| Weight | 1.3 kg | 1.33 kg | 1.53 kg |
As we can see, the specifications of all three Huawei Linux powered laptops are almost identical. The only difference is between their screen type, weight, and design.
The Matebook 13 and 14 inches are almost similar in size and are priced at ¥5,399 ($762) and ¥5,699 ($805) respectively. While the Matebook X Pro is designed along the lines of the Apple Macbook Pro priced at ¥8,699 ($1,200).
As you can see, the Huawei laptops aren’t cheap by any means. They’re made to look like Apple devices but with bumped up specs.
However, I still don’t see a Huawei laptop powerful enough to challenge the Macbook Pro 13 inches with Core-i9. They do have a dedicated Nvidia MX 250 Graphics card with GDDR 5 memory type.
This type of graphical power isn’t groundbreaking but it is more than enough to run Fortnite, Apex Legends, and several other games. Linux also has several natively supported games on Steam, so these laptops won’t have any problem in gaming.
Speaking of the Linux Deepin distro, we recently reviewed the Deepin Version 15.10 and were quite impressed with it. In our review, we said that “Its (Deepin’s) elegant appearance can make any Windows or macOS user jealous.”
Furthermore, there are several good reasons why you should consider buying a laptop with a pre-installed Linux instead of installing yourself.
A laptop with pre-installed Linux comes with all the necessary drivers and works right out of the box. Whereas, installing a Linux distro and all the necessary drivers yourself can be quite difficult for some people.
Although installing and using Linux has become really easy over the years, having official support from a big OEM like Huawei offers a piece of mind.
Furthermore, by buying Linux-powered laptops you’re also indirectly supporting the open-source community that works hard to bring you access to quality software for free.
Huawei recently revealed its HarmonyOS as a competitor of Google’s Android. But there’s no plan for the company to start shipping laptops with it.
Other Linux Laptops To Lookout For
If the accusations against Huawei trouble you in any way then you can check out offerings from manufacturers like Dell, System76, Pinebook, etc.
Purism, a tech company with a focus on user privacy, also sells Linux powered Librem laptops.
Are you impressed by Huawei’s Linux Laptops? Let us know in the comments.
Also Read: Best Linux Distros — How To Choose The Perfect Distro?
