Skip to main content

Could the Huawei MateStation X dethrone Apple’s iMac?

Huawei is updating its MateStation X with an all-new form factor, according to a leak on Weibo. The new desktop PC has an iMac-esque form factor, but with a 3:2 screen.

The leak, from a Weibo user named Uncle Mountain, dropped another bombshell — Huawei is ditching AMD hardware for Intel in the new MateStation X. The previous generation of this all-in-one desktop used a laptop-class AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, which was notably underpowered.

Huawei MateStation X.
Image source: Huawei Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Weibo leak claims the update will pack an Intel Core i9 12900H from the Alder Lake series chips. That’s a 10nm chip with six performance cores and eight efficiency cores. The new machine will also pack 16GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of SSD storage.

Recommended Videos

Uncle Mountain says the screen is a 28.2-inch IPS panel with 3840 x 2560 resolution. It can reach 60Hz.

Apple’s 2020 M1-powered iMac is a 24-inch 4.5K retina display with 4480 x 2520 resolution. It’s powered by Apple’s first-generation M1 chip, which has an eight-core CPU and seven-core GPU bundled into one ARM chipset.

While Apple’s iMac offers comparable performance to Huawei’s MateStation X, the comparisons end when you consider the iMac’s drawbacks, namely the lack of gaming.

The new MateStation X is a passable gaming machine, at least on paper. While it won’t blow you away, it won’t let you down with most titles, either.

And this is ultimately where it really shines. Huawei loves to take computer hardware design ideas from Apple but then slap Windows on the resulting devices. Some call it a blatant rip-off, but other see it as genius — you get all the beauty of Apple without the locked-down ecosystem of MacOS.

Plus, you can game on it. We’re talking actual, real games. The kind that takes advantage of dedicated GPUs.

You also get all the benefits of Microsoft’s open Windows platform, including compatibility with your Android device and Amazon Alexa-powered smart home. You won’t get that with an iMac.

Nathan Drescher
Nathan Drescher is a freelance journalist and writer from Ottawa, Canada. He's been writing about technology from around the…
My hopes for a new iMac Pro have been dashed — for now
An Apple iMac Pro in a dark room flanked by two monitors, one on either side of it.

Apple’s iMac Pro has been shrouded in mystery ever since it was discontinued in 2021. Over the past year, it has swung back into the news as numerous leakers and analysts have claimed a new one is coming soon. But when exactly? That’s far from certain.

Now, though, we might have moved a little closer toward knowing, and it’s not great news if you’ve been hoping for an imminent update. That’s because reporter Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter has outlined Apple’s plans for 2024 -- and the iMac Pro is conspicuous by its absence.

Read more
A new iMac Pro could still launch. Here’s what I want from it
An Apple iMac Pro in a dark room flanked by two monitors, one on either side of it.

A week ago, a shocking report emerged: Apple apparently had no plans for a larger iMac, potentially meaning the iMac Pro was dead and buried. However, opposition voices soon emerged, and the consensus now seems to be that Apple has only ruled out the 27-inch iMac, not the idea of a larger all-in-one entirely.

In fact, just yesterday, Bloomberg Mark Gurman reiterated his previous claims that a larger iMac is still in the works. That’s an exciting rumor because I’ve felt for years that the iMac isn’t quite living up to its potential. If a larger, more powerful version really is still in development, it could be a seriously impressive device. Here’s everything I want to see from it.
More raw power

Read more
Apple just dashed our iMac hopes and dreams
The back of a silver iMac in an office.

Apple has confirmed it has no plans to release a 27-inch iMac in the immediate future. The news comes on the same day that reviews for Apple's 24-inch iMac M3 and MacBook Pro M3 went live, with the company urging pro users who had been waiting for a 27-inch iMac update to go with a Mac Studio or Mac Pro instead.

An Apple representative confirmed that a 27-inch iMac with Apple silicon won't be arriving soon to The Verge. Apple last updated the 27-inch iMac in 2020, just a few months before Apple silicon was released to the world. It never saw Apple Silicon, instead being stuck on older Intel chips. Apple discontinued the product in 2021, eventually delisting it the next year.

Read more