Get this.
I wanted to take a break from phones
for just a second to talk about a laptop,
the one I'm using to record this intro.
But wouldn't you know it,
my favorite part about this laptop
turned out to be how well it talks to phones.
(smooth electronic music)
Okay, so this is the Huawei MateBook X Pro 2019
and if you stuck with me through that name,
you are not only a good sport
but you probably noticed that it sounds familiar.
You're right, it's just a refresh
of last year's MateBook X Pro,
from the small bezels to the hideaway webcam.
While there are material improvements
to things like the processor options
and the Thunderbolt port,
the epicenter of my excitement is this little sticker.
No, not that one, this one.
Sharing files directly between devices
might seem like an antiquated or quant concept
in our cloud-connected world.
Every time I talk about an OTG thumb drive
that works with phones or I complain about
how hard it is to move files
from an Android phone to an Apple computer,
the comments section rises up to tell me
that I should just be using the cloud for that.
And if you're tempted to say that right now,
- Let me tell you something, don't.
- [Michael] Look, I love the cloud.
I use it all the time.
But sometimes, there's no substitute
for just moving files directly.
Like when you're on a train out of cellular range
or on an airplane with the slowest WiFi imaginable
and you don't want to get up to get
your USB cable out of the overhead bin.
You Apple users already know how awesome direct sharing is.
Apple's AirDrop is one of
the company's best innovations ever.
It lets you move files from Mac to Mac
and iPhone to Mac wirelessly with almost no setup.
Now, Huawei Share, which has been around
for a couple generations, is basically a clone of that
and the new MateBook takes it a step further
with a service called OneHop.
Here's how it works:
If you want to move a photo or a video
from your phone to the MateBook,
you bring up the file on your screen,
tap the phone to the PC, and that's it.
You're done.
It instantly appears on your computer
so you can edit, drop it into a presentation, whatever.
If you want to move a photo in the other direction,
you just reverse the process.
Open it up on the computer, tap the phone, boom.
If you don't hae a photo open on either device,
the tap will take a screenshot on the PC
and then sent it to the phone.
It's kind of an edge case,
but I could see it coming in handy once or twice.
Maybe the craziest part of this to me is I first saw
this kind of tap-to-share-feature promised
eight years ago when HP announced
its WebOS-powered TouchPad tablet and Pre 3 smartphone.
RIP.
And to be fair, we've seen versions of this since
for sharing between phones.
Samsung Bump and Android Beam, et cetera.
But, as is often the case,
the execution is what seals it.
Huawei's implementation is so smooth, so fast,
with just the right about of chrome to the interface
that it genuinely delights me.
That's not something I get to say often
about Huawei software.
I want this on every laptop.
There's more than just OneHop included in Huawei Share 3.0.
When the phone is connected to the machine using PC Manager,
you get this persistent notification on the phone
and it lets you do things like
remotely record your PC's screen if you want.
You can also do a few things without tapping,
like remotely turn on your phone's HotSpot
or browse the gallery.
You're also supposed to be able to share
clipboard contents between phone and PC,
though that feature didn't seen enabled yet
in the software I was running.
So, what's the catch?
Well, for me, it's not the much publicized security flaw
found in Huawei's PC Manager.
That was patched back in January.
Rather, it's the exclusivity
Huawei has built into the service.
Right now, it only works between the MateBook X Pro,
which you can buy in the USA,
and a Huawei smartphone running EMUI 9 or above,
which you can't buy in the USA.
You need to import it.
If you tap another phone to the tag,
it'll just dump you to Huawei's website.
Look, it makes all the sense in the world
for Huawei to want to build
its own ecosystem similar to Apple's.
Just take one look at the MateBook's industrial design
to see that the Chinese company has no problem
taking inspiration from the Cupertino one.
But we've recently seen companies like Microsoft
pushing a lot harder for PC to Android phone integration.
So to me, the next logical step
is to start putting NFC SharePoints on all Windows PCs
and make them compatible with most Android phones.
Turnabout being fair play and all,
it's about time other companies started
taking pages from Huawei's book,
especially when the features are this good.
Folks, if you do own a Matebook X Pro
or almost any modern smartphone,
you can change the look of either
with the help of today's sponsor.
Dbrand makes custom-fitted vinyl skins
to help your tech stand out and keep it scratch free.
Hit the link in the description to dbrand your own device
and thanks to dbrand for sponsoring this video.
If you want to know what it's like
to use the rest of the Huawei Matebook X Pro,
folks, Daniel Rubino has a great review
that covers everything from the big trackpad
all the way down to the nitty gritty of PCIE lanes.
Find that at Windows Central, also linked below.
Please subscribe to theMrMobile
if you'd like to see more videos like this
and, as usual, Huawei was not granted copy approval.
They saw this the same time you did,
but I did take the opportunity to ask
if they were ever gonna bring OneHop
to other, non-Huawei branded smartphones.
The company had no comment.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile, my friends.