Honor has revealed a new Snapdragon-powered business laptop is on the way.
After releasing the Intel version of the Honor MagicBook Art 14 in China, and officially launching in Europe yesterday at IFA 2024, the mobile company confirmed what internet whispers had suspected: a version of Honor MagicBook Art 14 is coming with a Snapdragon X Elite processor.
The company has yet to set a release date or price for the slim-line laptop - but we’ll be watching this one like a hawk.
What’s new from Honor?
Honor has been busy at this year’s top tech event, showcasing the Honor Magic V3 (read our full review right here), alongside the MagicPad 2, and the MagicBook Art 14 for a European audience.
Now, just twenty-fours later, the company has confirmed it’s squeezing Qualcomm’s mobile processor into its latest laptop, and creating an entire ecosystem of devices and apps that work seamlessly together. With the Snapdragon processor, Honor expects the device to offer Wi-Fi 7 support, improved power efficiency, and better performance.
From what we’ve seen here in Berlin, there doesn’t appear to be any other significant changes to the laptop. So, expect the same specs found in the Intel version running Windows 11. That includes 1TB storage, a choice of 16GB or 32GB RAM, and a sharp 14.6in OLED screen. Better still, in contrast to modern Apple devices, the device features a host of ports that offer more flexibility on the go.
We had the chance to try out the MagicBook Art 14 powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 155H at this year’s IFA. And while we weren't able to push it to the limit, try all the AI tools, and open a thousand tabs in Chrome, what we did experience was a quick and efficient laptop with a pleasing design and build. Expect a real performance boost if it’s anything like the last MagicBook 14 we reviewed (find out more here).
Built from magnesium, with a keyboard constructed from titanium, helps ensure the machine stays incredibly lightweight - weighing just over 1kg and measuring 11.5mm at its thickest point, this is about as portable as it gets. And yes, it’s slightly lighter than a MacBook Air, which will cheer the company’s social media marketing team, who seem to exist to troll its po-faced rivals.
There’s a lot to praise about the screen, too. At 14.6in, it’s a good size for business users who need a broad touchscreen display without being hefty to carry around, boasting 700nits luminance, and 100% DCI-P3, making it ideal for watching movies, although we’d need to test it properly to see how it stacks up in the field of best video editing laptops. However, we did find the screen a little too reflective in an admittedly well-lit exhibition hall, despite an abundance of eye-care technology built-in.
The ultrabook is also impressively soft-to-the-touch. It might not be, as Honor CEO George Zhao claimed, “as soft as a baby's skin”, but it’s not far off, feeling very comfortable in the hand, with a near-matte feel.
Perhaps the real eye-catcher, though, is the detachable magnetic camera, which locks into place and feels sturdy once in place. It's a really rather novel way of dealing with built-in webcams that traditionally use sliders, covers, or just a spot of Blu-Tack over the lens. It also has the benefit of being reversible, if you need to show others on a video call what you're looking at. While we haven't had confirmation yet, expect Honor to start selling these separately for when the originals inevitably tumble under the desk never to be seen again.
