Huawei has officially announced a new range of devices in South Africa, specifically targeted toward the business space. The lineup was unveiled by Huawei SA head Richard Yu at the company’s Business Product Launch Event. A wide range of devices is coming, from laptops and desktops to monitors and printers.
Speaking at the event, Yu explained, “Our consumer-oriented products have drawn widespread acclaim over the past decade, due largely to their groundbreaking user experience. Huawei will incorporate this premium consumer experience into its business products, following three key principles: quality, intelligence, and reliability.”
Smarter, not harder
First up is the company’s range of business laptops, more formally known as its MateBook B series. The lineup features one of Huawei’s FullView displays, along with an independent TPM 2.0 security chip. The company hasn’t given too much detail on what to expect from the range. The flagship model – the Huawei MateBook B7 – weighs just 1.33kg, thanks to an aluminum alloy chassis. That notebook features a 14in 3,000 x 2,000 panel, will run either an Intel Core i5-1135G7 or Core i7-1165G7 processor and will sport 16GB of RAM. There’s only one storage option for the B7 — a 512GB SSD. It should be light, speedy, and feature decent battery life.
Not that portable
A desktop machine from the Chinese company? Sure, why not? Huawei’s lineup, the MateStation B series, aims to offer power to users but on a very compact footprint. The company’s 8-L chassis is supposedly three times smaller than a traditional case. You do the math. The one you’ll want is the MateStation B520, which Huawei touts as its flagship model in the desktop range. The company makes a lot of noise about its strength and endurance, plus its security features. It might even have a point. But mostly we’re interested in the combination of 10th generation Intel Core i3/5/7 processors, SSD hardware, and 8GB or 16GB of RAM. It’s not, as far as we can see, extremely modern, but it weighs just 4kg or so. That’s a lot of space to save on a desk.
Read More: Huawei’s new product showcase should kick off on 28 April
Using any of the MateStation B devices will be pretty difficult without a monitor. Huawei knows this, which is where its Display B3-24 series comes in. This is a TÜV Rheinland-certified 23.8in full HD screen to keep you invested in your Twitter scrolling. Or more importantly, your work. We haven’t managed to track down this exact model, just yet. Pity.
Prints of darkness
Next up are Huawei PixLab B printers. Huawei claims that any device in the vicinity of a Huawei PixLab B printer can connect in as little as twenty seconds. They support multiple connections, and it’s even possible to print from a smartphone. A Huawei smartphone has better interoperability, but that’s an obvious call on the company’s part. Smartphones, tablets, and other devices carrying Huawei’s branding should auto-detect the printer’s presence when they’re in proximity. Because that’s not creepy at all.
The headliner, the PixLab B5, uses a new type of drawer-type toner cartridges. The point, apparently, is to speed up the process without getting your hands dirty. Presumably, so you can get back to your TPS reports in a hurry. The drum cartridge supports up to 15, 000 pages, the toner cartridge supports 1,500, while the printer itself spits out 30 pages per minute. It’s still just a monochrome multifunction printer, though.
Scheduled tablets
Tablets are something with which Huawei is very familiar. The new MatePad C series is being positioned as a premium device for office workers. The MatePad C5 (the frontrunner of the MatePad C series)… comes close to this. It’s a little older than most other devices here, but features a 10.4in screen, runs one of the company’s Kirin 810 processors, and includes either 64GB or 128GB of storage. 4GB of RAM is standard across the range.
It supports App Multiplier and Huawei Share, designed to make file transfers a whole lot simpler. The 7,250mAh battery supports 18W fast-charging — this isn’t blistering, but it’s not terrible either. Hopefully, the pricing will reflect the lineup’s relative age.
Huawei says that all of its new business-focused devices are currently available in South Africa. But they’re available primarily through Mustek and Pinnacle at the moment. Since these are distributors, you’re probably going to need an IT department and a budget to lay hands on this lot. They don’t appear to be destined for retail just yet.