Huawei's MateBook to land in the US in mid-July at a starting price of $699

The Huawei MateBook US release date has been announced as July 11th, when the 2-in-1 will be available at a starting price of $699.

Back in February at the 2016 edition of the Mobile World Congress, Huawei unveiled the MateBook, a Windows 10-based competitor to Microsoft’s Surface series of 2-in-1 hybrids. As months passed, Huawei stayed mum on availability, but now the China-based telecommunications giant has announced this final detail as well.

As with all large tablets, the main attraction of the Huawei MateBook is the display, in this case a 12-inch IPS panel running at 2,160 by 1,440 pixels. That’s a drop in sharpness compared to the Surface Pro 4’s 2,736 x 1,824 display, but still good for a PPI of 216.

When it comes to the internal hardware, Huawei will offer the MateBook in multiple configurations. The entry-level model comes with an Intel Core M3 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. If you need more power, Core M5- and Core M7-based versions are also available, and you can also choose models with up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage space. Note that the jump in processing power is matched by a bump in pricing; the maxed-out Huawei MateBook costs a respectable $1199.

All of these components are packaged inside a beautiful aluminum body that measures just 6.9mm across the waist and tips the scales at 1.4 pounds. Huawei insists that the MateBook is the lightest 12-inch tablet currently available for purchase, which is a notable feat given the tablet’s internal hardware.

Huawei’s attempt to respond to the Surface series extends to the accessories and their pricing. The MateBook keyboard will set you back $129, the optional stylus (which can recognize 2048 different pressure levels) costs $59, while the dock accessory is priced at $89.

For more details on Huawei's first 2-in-1 hybrid, make sure to check out our Huawei MateBook hands-on piece.