Honor just launched its very first laptop for the Malaysian market in the form of the Honor MagicBook. While we’re not getting the latest iteration of the notebook for our market – this model is one generation behind – it is still a rather attractive productivity-focused laptop, thanks to its excellent value for money.
Since this is the MagicBook’s best selling point, let’s talk about its local pricing first. Only one variant of the laptop is available here, which comes with a very generous 512GB SSD storage and 8GB of RAM. How much does it cost with this configuration? Only RM2,299.
That’s right, you’re getting 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for only RM2,299. In a market where most laptop manufacturers are only offering half of the RAM and storage capacities at this price point, the MagicBook certainly stands out when it comes to value for money.
On top of that, Honor is also throwing in a number of freebies (worth RM1,017) for those who purchase the MagicBook early. Not only will you get a Bluetooth mouse and a Honor-branded laptop bag, you will also receive a complimentary Honor MagicWatch 2. Of course, these free gifts are only available while stocks last.
As for the MagicBook itself, it’s a reasonably well-equipped laptop for productivity tasks. Even though its AMD Ryzen 5-3500U processor isn’t quite as popular as Intel’s offering, it offers relatively comparable performance, as, say, a Core i5-8265U chip – that’s quite respectable.
Besides that, the MagicBook also features a Radeon Vega 8 integrated GPU. It’s not an awfully powerful GPU, but it should be able to deliver high enough frame rates in less demanding games like Diablo III and Dota 2. For an integrated solution, the Vega 8 actually offers rather impressive performance.
And then there’s the MagicBook’s 14-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display. It can get reasonably bright with vibrant colours, but the viewing angles are not quite as wide as expected. In our brief time with the laptop, we notice that the screen noticeable dims when looking at it from an angle. All in all, however, it should be good enough for most folks.
Other specifications of the MagicBook include a single USB-C port – which can be used for both charging and data transfer – two USB-A ports, an HDMI output, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s also a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button.
The Honor MagicBook will go on sale in Malaysia later today on Shopee at 2PM for RM2,299. Alternatively, you can also purchase the laptop on Honor Malaysia’s online store, Senheng, as well as SenQ from tomorrow onwards (8 April) at 12AM.