Product test
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by Jan Johannsen
Reviewing the Huawei Mateview: Wireless sounds tempting, but cables are better
14.10.2021
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Huawei is now selling monitors. In the Mateview, the manufacturer has a developed quite an exemplary model. On paper, at least. The 28-inch 4K screen also accepts image signals wirelessly from computers or smartphones. Sounds good, if you ignore the limitations.
Huawei monitors are quite new in this country. The Mateview is one of two models. While the basic model is an office monitor, the Mateview GT’s higher refresh rate is intended for gamers.
4k display with two colour spaces to choose from
Gamers would certainly grumble about the Huawei Mateview’s 60 hertz refresh rate. But for working, it’s more than satisfactory. The 3:2 aspect ratio is unusual. I’ve come to appreciate it over time, though. The display isn’t as narrow as the widely used 16:9 or 16:10 displays. This extra space is especially noticeable on web pages. There’s less scrolling. Here the high resolution also comes in handy. Huawei calculated 18.5% more image content compared to a 16:9 monitor.
At 28.2 inches, the Mateview is quite large. I don’t think it’s too big yet, though, and have enjoyed having it on my desk for the last several weeks. It doesn’t look bulky for its size. The narrow frame takes up only six per cent of the surface.
In addition to the size of the IPS display, its maximum resolution of 3840 × 2560 pixels ensure that you’ll get a lot of content on-screen. My work notebook provides the necessary resolution via USB-C. This isn’t the case with my HDMI-supplied 2015 MacBook Pro. There I have to live with black bars above and below my image. A maximum brightness of 500 nits and the 1200:1 contrast ratio are completely sufficient for office work.
Instead of the 16.7 million colours I’ve become accustomed to in screens over the past few years, the Mateview can display 1.07 billion, according to the manufacturer. Sounds like a big difference, but I didn’t notice it with the naked eye.
In contrast, colour changes when switching the supported colour space are clearly visible. Mateview offers a choice of DCI-P3 with 98 per cent coverage and sRGB with 100 per cent coverage. In addition, the monitor supports DisplayHDR 400.
Slightly ergonomic and easy to operate
The Huawei Mateview can be adjusted by 11 centimetres in height. You can also tilt the screen five degrees down and 18 degrees up. The monitor can only be turned to the side with its stand. It cannot be turned into portrait mode (pivot) at all.
The so-called Smartbar is located below the screen. There’s a control element that reacts to touch at the back. This allows you to change the input source or adjust the volume with a tap and swipe. You can also adjust the brightness and, as already mentioned, select the colour scale. There’s also a mode that makes the display yellow, which is supposedly easier on your eyes. Other screens offer more options, but the Mateview does enough for me.
Wireless projection: wonderful in theory, needs improvement in practice
One feature that sets the Mateview apart from other screens is called «Wireless Projection». Sounds promising, I’m happy about every cable saved. It should work with smartphones and laptops.
However, the selection of supported smartphones is very modest. It has to be a Huawei model with NFC and at least EMUI 10. If you don’t just want to mirror the mobile screen, but actually use desktop mode, the requirements are even higher. Then EMUI 12 is required, and a Kirin 980 chip at minimum has to be installed.
This happens to be the case with the Mate 20 I have on hand. Contrary to Huawei’s claim, you can’t just place the smartphone at the base of the monitor. The NFC interface will only call up a meaningless notification on the smartphone, not actually establishing a connection between the devices. However, the connection uses your smartphone’s settings. If you figure out the process, you can then use a wireless mouse and keyboard to operate your smartphone. This can be helpful, but it can’t completely replace a computer.
However, the Mate 20 isn’t my everyday smartphone, and recently the range of new Huawei phones has become increasingly limited. Why? A US boycott against the manufacturer, which among other things prevents access to Google services on new devices.
For a PC to connect wirelessly to the Mateview, it must support the Miracast screencast standard. Which is the case on my work notebook. Pressing «Start+P» launches projection mode, allowing me to select the monitor. However, the resolution is well below 4K, and the mouse cursor is heavily delayed. I’ve observed this on other screens using Miracast as well. This is more a fundamental problem with the standard than with Huawei’s monitor. But that doesn’t change the fact that any cable is better than wireless projection.
Enough ports and decent speakers
The Mateview doesn’t have a boatload of ports, just all that a monitor should have at the moment. At first I was disappointed with the selection. However, this is only due to the fact that not all ports are on the back of the stand. Huawei has positioned some at the sides.
Of the two USB-C ports, one is only used to power the monitor. The other receives image data from the connected computer and charges it with up to 65 watts. You can connect other devices via an HDMI 2.0 and a mini DisplayPort. Two USB A 3.0 sockets are available for external devices. You can connect headphones to the Mateview via the 3.5 mm port.
Two speakers with a power of five watts each are located in the base of the Mateview. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s comparatively decent for box monitors. You won’t get «cinema-quality sound» as advertised by Huawei, but the Mateview is decent for a screen.
Verdict: good, but too expensive without a suitable smartphone
The Huawei Mateview is a nice, large monitor that looks good on a desk. However, if 27 inches, a 16:10 format and a 4K resolution are enough for you, you can get similarly good screens for much less. To justify the high price with wireless projection from a smartphone, you need a suitable Huawei model.
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.
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