Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company Huawei, is probably more of a huge deal than the average consumer may think. This is the single largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world, an area where Ericsson held the title up until 2012. Speaking hardware in particular, this space has been utterly taken over by Microsoft, with its Surface Pro line basically claiming the 2-in-1 notebook space until further notice. Huawei’s brand has come up in conversation more than once, as one that has been catching up to Microsoft; hard to believe, but it’s becoming true in some respects. With its improved and expanded MateBook line, including the MateBook X and now the new MateBook E laptop.

It’s always amazing to see how a somewhat quietly rising company does to get heads turning its way, even making some seriously impressive gains in the smartphone market as a start. As a continuance to making remarkable products, Huawei’s MateBook E takes on the Surface Pro, focusing its genre on both size and software alike. Two variants of this model are out there, with its base, gray-colored model featuring an Intel Core M3 processor and 4GB OF RAM, and 128GB of storage. The other, a gold model, comes with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. Both of these are a step up from the internals we saw in the original MateBook.

Besides the fact that you won’t see much putting this and the MateBook original side by side, The build and design of the MateBook E makes the idea of stepping on it, well, not an actual nightmare believe it or not! This guy is premiumly robust, engulfed in full device protection. All 12 inches feel great in hand, and it’s 2160 x 1440 IPS resolution is more widescreen, featuring a 3:2 ratio, which is nice, as many people prefer the wider body for open space and room for multitasking. One notable difference between this and the original MateBook is the enhanced keyboard, which no longer holds the fatal flaw of having a flimsy cover to it. Ports and connectivity feature a USB-C port for data synchronization and battery charging, a 3.5mm stereo headset jack, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 33.7Wh battery, capable of 9 hours of use.

As a second try at fixing the issues of the original MateBook, it’s kind of a toss up. See, these new MateBook E models are a good follow-up, yet mostly the same product as before. With a few minor improvements, and as a good example, let us not forget the very needed upgrade to the previously “floppy” keyboard experience, this series also takes aim at a very overlooked hardware solution. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader. This feature is something that most laptops, including the Dell XPS 9560, do not have as far as biometric security. Besides this, technical differences are nothing to boast about, but they are still differences. Hence, these laptops from Huawei have been around for about a month now, and are readily available in the United States through various online stores such as Newegg and Amazon. The two models, the gray and gold variants, run for $799.99, and $999.99, respectively to their configurations.