After delving into the world of technology, I realized that what is needed in a work computer is high power, sufficient RAM, long-lasting battery and modest size. But this combination rarely exists in Windows laptops due to technological constraints. Want something powerful? A heavy gaming laptop with a battery that lasts only a few hours will have to be purchased.
Want a compact laptop? Less powerful with a battery that is also not amazing. So when I was given the Honor MagicBook X14 2025 to review, I finally found a work laptop that no longer needs to compromise.
Honor MagicBook Art 14 2025
Screen 14.6″ (3120×2080 pixels), 3:2.
OLED Touch, 120Hz, 1600 nit
CPU Intel Core Ultra 7 255H
GPU Intel Arc 140T
RAM 32 GB LPDDR5x
Internal Storage 1TB SSD
Main Camera 1080P
I/O 1 x USB-C1: USB3.2 Gen2
1 x USB-C2: Thunderbolt 4
1 x USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1)
1 x HDMI: HDMI 2.1-TMDS
1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack
Battery 60Wh
Charging 65W USB-C
SIM/Telephony No
WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Audio Jack Yes
Waterproof No
Fingerprint Scanning System
Selling Price RM5999
SCREEN
The screen is a 14.6″ OLED with a resolution of 3120×2080 pixels and a 3:2 ratio. The images displayed are amazing because the screen of the flagship phone is on a larger size. The colors not only look vivid but also display HDR10 content that looks realistic. I rarely review laptops but I think the MagicBook Art 14 2025 screen is the most amazing I have ever used.
It makes the MacBook Air screen that I am currently using look like an ancient product. This is also helped by the 10-finger touch support from the 3:2 screen ratio. More lines can be displayed on the screen with this ratio which makes it compatible for those who do a lot of typing (like me).
The viewing angles are very good because this is an OLED panel with a maximum brightness of 1600 nits. No matter from the top, bottom or side, the content displayed on the screen will look perfect. If there is a drawback, this screen can be touched and traps dirt very easily. No oleophobic coating technology is used to prevent fingerprints from sticking easily.
DESIGN
The design recycles the design of the MagicBook Art 14 2024 with no significant changes made. It is still compact, light, premium and comes with a variety of ports that are not offered on laptops in the same class. How light is it? Only 1.03 kilograms which is not felt at all when the laptop is carried in a bag and carried around. In the closed position it is only 11.5mm thick which makes it thin for a laptop.
The box-shaped power button is placed on the top, one row with the F keys. There is a fingerprint scanner with Windows Hello for quick unlocking. This fingerprint scanner operates consistently without any issues during the review period.
There are two air intake openings for ventilation on the right and left sides behind the screen with a row of air vents placed at the bottom. It is quite interesting to see that this thin laptop has a comprehensive cooling system complete with active fans. On the left side there are two USB-C (1x USB3.2 Gen2 and 1x Thunderbolt 4) and a magnetic camera storage compartment.
On the right side there is an HDMI 2.1 port, a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB-A USB3.2 Gen2). The port offering is quite complete, except for the lack of a microSD card reader and Kensington lock slot that are usually included. I won't complain too much because the ports offered by Honor are actually much more luxurious than 90% of other thin laptops.
There are six upward-firing speakers placed under two sets of grilles on the left and right of the keyboard. Similar to the MacBook Air design and the audio quality thrown out is very good. Clear, loud and does not feel flat. If you are the minority who still watch videos on laptops, the MagicBook 14 Art's audio system is very good.
KEYBOARD
The keyboard is a chicklet type made of durable titanium material. Even so, typing feels comfortable with the space between the keys is quite good. There is a built-in lighting system that can be activated to automatic, medium or maximum mode.
In a video game session, it is still a good keyboard because it detects all the finger pressure we give. The detection is also satisfactory without us realizing that the controls given are not detected or have a noticeable time delay. There is a button to summon Copilot because this laptop is a Copilot+ PC with various artificial intelligence (AI) features built in.
The keyboard surface is non-glossy with a slightly rough texture to ensure that finger pressure is not easily transferred to the keys. I really like this texture because it provides a visible response to the fingers when typing. The keys are also not noisy when used which is a bonus for those who do not want to disturb the people around them while typing.
TOUCHPAD
The touchpad is not very large making it very comfortable to use for sketching work in Photoshop. As someone who hates carrying accessories like a mouse, the MagicBook Art 14's touchpad is very useful. There is various gesture support and the pad can detect every movement and pressure quite accurately. Its haptic feedback system should also be praised because it is similar to that of a MacBook.
PERFORMANCE AND USAGE
In Malaysia, the MagicBook 14 ART is only offered with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H chip paired with up to 32GB of LPDDR5x 8400 MT/s RAM and 512GB of M.2 PCIe 4.0 storage. The combination of processor, RAM and SSD that I feel is quite solid. Only the SSD can be upgraded with a single M.2 slot accessible when the bottom panel is removed. RAM cannot be upgraded as it is built directly into the processor chip.
The storage used is capable of reading 6.911 GB/s and writing up to 6.148 GB/s which is fast for a work laptop. So it is not surprising that the performance of installing and opening applications on this laptop feels fast and responsive.
In the Fire Strike Extreme, Wild Life Extreme and Time Spy Extreme tests, the scores recorded are comparable to the average work laptop on the market. So it is not surprising that in the PCMark10 test, the scores recorded are much better than the average of other work laptops. The 32GB RAM memory is much larger than the 8GB used in work laptops.
Synthetic tests only provide abstract numbers but how about in real-world use? Paperwork tasks, writing articles, Excel documents, Words, Docs, Photoshop, PhotoScape and CapCut all run smoothly. The computer starts to get warm and the fan activates when doing complex video and Photoshop editing. In most tasks like web browsing and work documents, the cooling fan is not activated.
The MagicBook 14 Art 2025 can still be used as a gaming laptop but only for games that are quite old or that do not require high settings. Games should also be played at moderate 1080P settings only. When launching a video game, the computer heats up and the cooling fan can be heard more clearly.
I cannot recommend using this thin and elegant computer for games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Red Dead Redemption 2. Even a decade-old GTA V cannot be played smoothly on high settings. Set the bar for the games you want to play lower.
BATTERY
The 60Wh battery is advertised to last for 10 hours on a single charge. In daily work use up to 12 hours of use can be achieved quite consistently as I reduce the brightness and rarely play audio. Recharging is done using a 65W charger and it takes around 100 minutes which is normal for a laptop. Charging is via one of the USB-C ports on the left side of the computer.
CONCLUSION
The Honor MagicBook Art 14 2025 is a Copilot+ PC work laptop that is very elegant in design, performs with high specifications, is equipped with comfortable keys and comes with a fairly complete I/O option.
All of this is packed into a thin body that weighs just over 1 kilogram. It should have “Art” in its name because the artisan engineers at Honor have managed to produce a sexy work laptop without compromise.
The MagicBook Art 14 2025 is sold for RM5999 in Mocha Brown and Emerald Green colors.
PROS and ADVANTAGES
Good performance for work tasks, videos and light games.
Adequate I/O options.
A comfortable keyboard for typing and gaming.
Very attractive and premium finish.
Satisfactory battery life.
Loud and clear audio system.
CONS and CONS
The camera that needs to be removed is a bit annoying.
A little warm even when doing light work.