Honor MagicBook Pro 14 (2025)

The Honor MagicBook Pro 14 has done something remarkable — it has dethroned the MacBook Air as Expert Reviews' top laptop pick, and after spending time with it, it's easy to see why. At £999, this laptop offers a combination of specs that would cost significantly more from Apple, Dell, or Lenovo. The headline feature is the 14.6-inch 3.1K OLED display, which is simply stunning. At 3120 x 2080 resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, text is razor-sharp, colours are vibrant, and the panel covers the DCI-P3 colour space — making it genuinely useful for photo editing and video consumption as well as everyday work. Power comes from Intel's Core Ultra 9 285H processor, one of the most capable mobile chips available in 2025. Paired with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM, multitasking is effortless — dozens of browser tabs, video calls, and document editing all run smoothly without any slowdown. The 1TB NVMe SSD is fast and responsive, and crucially, Honor has included dual M.2 slots so you can expand storage yourself — a genuinely pro feature rarely seen at this price. The battery is another headline achievement. Honor claims this is the world's first 14-inch laptop with a 92Wh battery, and it shows. Real-world usage consistently delivers 12-14 hours, meaning most users can get through a full working day and beyond on a single charge. When you do need to top up, the USB-C charging is fast and convenient. Port selection is excellent for a slim laptop — two 10Gbps USB-C ports with Power Delivery and DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1 for connecting to external displays, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The absence of Thunderbolt 4 is a genuine omission for power users who rely on high-bandwidth docking stations, but for most buyers this port loadout is more than adequate. The build quality is impressive. The aluminium chassis feels solid and premium, the hinge opens smoothly to 180 degrees for easy sharing of the screen, and the thin bezels give the display a modern, borderless feel. At 1.39 kg it is heavier than a MacBook Air but still comfortable for daily commuting. Honor Turbo X, the brand's AI optimisation system, works quietly in the background to manage performance and thermals. The laptop runs cool and quiet under everyday workloads, only spinning up the fans under sustained heavy processing. The main caveats are the lack of Thunderbolt 4 or USB4, Wi-Fi 6 rather than the newer Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7, and the fact that Honor is a less established brand in the UK. There is no dedicated GPU, so gaming and heavy creative workloads are off the table. For the right buyer — someone who wants the best possible everyday laptop for work, studying, or content consumption at under £1,000 — the Honor MagicBook Pro 14 is an outstanding choice. It is the laptop that makes you question why you would spend more.