Honor MagicBook 15 review: A great laptop, but more functional than magical

Pros:

Keyboard

Weight

Build quality

Cons:

Webcam placement

Configuration

Limited ports

When I first heard of Honor’s MagicBook 15 launching in India, I was intrigued. Were we looking at the Mi Notebook-equivalent of the 15-inch laptop world, a laptop that would set the baseline against which future sub-50k 15-inch laptops would be judged?

Frustratingly, the answer isn’t definitive. The MagicBook 15 is well-specced and certainly a good laptop, but there’s little about it that pushes boundaries, whether that be on the performance, design, or price fronts.

The Honor MagicBook 15 is quite plain to look at, but it’s also simple and well built. Image: Anirudh Regidi

The Honor MagicBook 15 is quite plain to look at, but it’s also simple and well built. Image: Anirudh Regidi

It’s a great laptop, but it’s more functional than magical.

Specs: ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

If you’ve been following the PC space for a little while now, you’ll have heard the noise about a resurgent AMD knocking the socks off Intel’s best on both the battery life and performance fronts, of how Intel is now the one playing catch-up.

The Honor MagicBook 15 is quite slime and light for a 15.6-inch device. Image: Anirudh Regidi

The Honor MagicBook 15 is quite slim and light for a 15.6-inch device. Image: Anirudh Regidi

Those stories are true, and this laptop is powered by an AMD CPU, but it’s not the AMD CPU everyone is so hyped about.

What you get in this laptop, instead, is a generation-old AMD APU, the Ryzen 5 3500U (with Integrated Vega 8 graphics), 8 GB RAM, a 256 GB PCIe SSD, and a 15.6-inch FHD display with a nice hinge.

I/O options are very limited on this laptop. Image: Anirudh Regidi

I/O options are very limited on this laptop. Image: Anirudh Regidi

Ports include a single USB-C port, two USB-A ports – one of which is rated at USB 2.0 speeds, an HDMI port, and a 3.5 mm combo jack. You also get a pop-up webcam in the keyboard (yes, in the keyboard) and a power button that includes a Window Hello-compatible fingerprint reader.

There’s a Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint reader to be found here. Image: Anirudh Regidi

There’s a Windows Hello-compatible fingerprint reader to be found here. Image: Anirudh Regidi

I’m guessing Honor went with the 3rd gen AMD chip to keep the laptop’s price in the sub-45k range, and it’s a good decision, but I can’t help but wish that Honor had tried a little harder for a more efficient 10th gen Intel CPU or 4th gen Ryzen unit.

The thing is, there’s not exactly a shortage of similarly (or better) specced laptops in this price range. Lenovo’s IdeaPad S145, for example, offers the same config and twice the storage at the exact same price.

If it’s not the specs, then maybe…

… it’s the keyboard?

I have to admit, I love the MagicBook’s keyboard. It’s not backlit, which is a bummer, but the keys are squarely planted, have low travel, and bounce back fast enough that my typing speed is unaffected.

The trackpad is also quite nice, and while it doesn’t seem to support Windows gestures, there’s just enough friction on the surface for fingers to glide smoothly over, and for accurate tracking.

Unless you’re Lenovo, keyboards and trackpads don’t sell laptops, though. Then maybe…

… it’s that pop-up webcam?

Nah. The webcam, which sits between the F6 and F7 keys on the keyboard, is poorly placed and its quality, poor.

Given its placement, there’s no way you’re not going to be showing people your nose hairs, and if you’ve got the laptop propped up on your knees while you’re lounging around in bed, you’re going to subject viewers to glorious views of your belly and/or chest, depending on how comfortably you’re reclining.

The pop-up camera is a nice idea in that it helps keep bezels thin, but people aren’t going to appreciate having to show off their nostril hairs to the world. Image: Anirudh Regidi

The pop-up camera is a nice idea in that it helps keep bezels thin, but people aren’t going to appreciate having to show off their nostril hairs to the world. Image: Anirudh Regidi

Even if the laptop’s on a desk, the angle is less than flattering. and if you’re a little bit tall, you’ll have to hunch over to present your full face to whoever you’re conversing with.

Having a webcam is better than not having one – looking at you, Mi Notebook 14 – but I’d rather have thick bezels than this awkwardly placed one.

OK, so If it’s not the webcam, then maybe…

… it’s the price?

I guess. The price of Rs 43k is very reasonable, and the aforementioned IdeaPad S145, which is definitely a better deal, only appears so because it’s currently discounted. If nothing else, there’s the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i, which offers a newer and more powerful 10th Gen Intel CPU and 256 GB SSD for about the same price, and which I think I’d opt for given the more efficient CPU and promise of better battery life.

Gah! What about performance then?

It’s OK. For handling a regular student’s or office-goer’s workflow, performance is more than adequate. The Ryzen 5 CPU, while a little old, is still no slouch when it comes to crunching numbers in Excel or delivering cat gifs at record pace. The integrated Vega 8 GPU is also good enough for light gaming. I saw about 30-40 fps in CS: GO at high settings at 1080p, which is more than playable, and lighter games like GRID Autosport and PUBG Lite should run just fine.

If you want to edit the occasional video or maybe render a 3D image, you can do that too, but Intel’s 10th Gen CPUs with QuickSync support will serve you better here. The newer Intel CPUs also beat AMD’s older 3rd Gen CPUs in 3D rendering and other CPU-heavy workloads.

At 6.5 hrs, battery life is great for a day of work and/or leisure, and given our more sedentary, post-COVID lifestyle, I doubt a charger is more than an arm’s reach away anyway.

Speaking of chargers, the laptop comes with a bundled USB-C charger rated at 65 W that can get you to 50% charge in just under 30 min.

The speakers are passable, as is the display. Display gamut came in at a measly 54.7% sRGB and brightness at 175 nits, which is about average in this class of device. Contrast ratio was around 750:1, which is also average and good for text-heavy work.

Should you buy this laptop?

Sure. If you like the design, the slim bezels, and the fact that it has a fingerprint reader in the power button, it’s a great laptop. It’s also got a fantastic, if unlit keyboard, and at 1.53 kg, it is quite light. I’m also assuming you’re fine with friends and colleagues having an unrestricted view of your (hopefully) trimmed nose hair, and the limited port selection.

That being said, I think Lenovo’s IdeaPad S145 is a better deal simply because it offers twice the storage at the same price. If you need something with better battery life, you might also want to check out the IdeaPad Slim 3i with the 10th Gen CPU and 256 GB SSD option.

Ratings

Build and Design: 3.5

Keyboard And Trackpad: 4

Features: 2.5

Display: 3

Performance: 3

Battery: 4

Overall rating: 3.75



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