As promised, Honor is expanding its lineup of products in Malaysia, starting with the Honor MagicBook. This is the Chinese company’s productivity-focused laptop, and it is slated to be launched on our shores sometime this month.

However, do note that this is not the latest iteration of the MagicBook that we tested back in November 2019. Rather, this model is one generation behind, so you don’t get the sexy new bezel-less display of the current model. Regardless, the MagicBook could still be an attractive productivity laptop if it’s priced right for our market.

Curiously, only the AMD variant of the MagicBook will be introduced here. It features an AMD Ryzen 5-3500U processor paired with 8GB of RAM, along with a Radeon Vega 8 GPU. It’s not an awfully powerful GPU, but it should be able to deliver reasonably good frame rates in less demanding games like Dota 2.

Besides that, the MagicBook has a 14-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display that can get reasonably bright with vibrant colours. That being said, the viewing angles aren’t as wide as expected; the panel noticeably dims when looking at the screen from an angle. Nonetheless, the display also has a matte finish, which should help minimise glare.

When it comes to storage, the MagicBook offers a generous 512GB SSD; only this sole variant will be sold in Malaysia.

Connectivity options of the MagicBook, on the other hand, are decent. It has a single USB-C port – it’s used for charging and data transfer – two USB-A ports, an HDMI output, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Not the most complete selection of ports, but certainly not the worst either.

Any productivity laptop worth its salt has to have a good set of keyboard and trackpad. In the case of the MagicBook, it’s…okay. While the trackpad is quite accurate with a smooth surface, the keyboard isn’t particularly great. The thing is, it has limited key travel, giving it a shallow feel.

On top of that, the MagicBook’s keyboard doesn’t have very pronounced tactile feedback either, so you don’t know exactly when you’ve actuated the keys. But there is one saving grace: the keyboard provides a “pillowy” typing experience, so it’s not all bad news.

We don’t know know yet exactly when the Honor MagicBook will be launching in Malaysia, and the local pricing of the productivity laptop has not been announced yet either. Rest assured, we were told the MagicBook will arrive here sometime this month.