Well, we’re glad to say it does, and if you’re sick and tired of a wire-heavy workstation and devices that don’t just… work together… then the productivity possibilities with Super Device are well worth investigating.
What Is Huawei Super Device?
For an in-depth explanation of what Super Device actually is, you can read our guide to Huawei’s tech ecosystem. To explain it briefly, Super Device is Huawei’s proprietary IOT, meaning that you can connect several devices together—wirelessly—for an incredibly seamless experience.
Say, for example, you have Huawei’s MateBook 14S, a MatePad 11, and the PixLab printer. Having so many devices, we’d forgive you for expecting no end of problems in terms of connectivity between them. However, Huawei’s Super Device allows all of your Huawei tech to talk to each other, offering a multi-faceted experience depending on your needs.
Plus, it is all wire-free, so no more tangles of wires behind your desk or spending three hours trying to print an address label off on devices that should work together but don’t. Super Device makes your whole productivity process cleaner, easier, and fuss-free.
The Testing Kit
To experience Super Device, Huawei furnished us with an entire ecosystem of devices, allowing us to see the true breadth of its proprietary IOT. The test units we received are:
Huawei MateBook 14S (laptop) Huawei MateView (4K monitor) Huawei MatePad 11 with M-Pencil and Magnetic Wireless Keyboard (tablet with stylus and keyboard) Huawei P50 Pro (smartphone) Huawei PixLab X1 (multifunction laser printer)
So, a wide range of possibilities present themselves here, with a selection of devices designed to work as a connected whole.
How Huawei Super Device Connectivity Improves Productivity
One of the main aims of Huawei’s HarmonyOS and, by extension, Super Device, is to allow all of your Huawei gadgets to converse quickly and easily with one another. With Super Device running, you have a wide range of different uses for each device literally a swipe away, making drastic changes to your productivity across the board. We can look at each connection method individually.
But first, let’s talk quickly about how you connect devices. It is incredibly simple; you just head to Huawei PC Manager, open Super Device, and you’ll see the device you’re using appear as a floating bubble. Any other Super Device-compatible tech will then show up in its own bubble, orbiting the central device. It is simply a matter of dragging one bubble to the central device, and hey-presto, you’ve connected your devices.
With PC to smartphone Super Device pairing, you can use your smartphone in multiple ways. This introduces the ability to transfer files wirelessly between your PC and smartphone, or vice versa. So, if you’ve been out and about taking snaps with your Huawei P50 Pro, you can quickly, easily, and wirelessly transfer them to your MateBook 14S, simply by using Super Device.
You’ll also see a facsimile of your smartphone display on your laptop screen, where you can use most of the phone’s functions, including answering WhatsApp messages or make and take calls, without even picking your phone up. This is great to help with focus, as it means you can answer a message quickly without picking your handset up and thus avoid falling down a social media rabbit-hole.
With PC to tablet super device pairing, you have three options. You can use the tablet in Mirror, Extend, and Collaborate modes. Mirror (as the name suggests) is a copy of your laptop screen, which allows you to use the stylus with your favorite digital art program, knocking up a quick sketch to then manipulate back at the MateBook. Any sketching you do will also take place on the laptop screen, so you can see how this could streamline your creative process.
Extend Mode allows you to use your tablet as a second screen for your laptop, which is a great idea if you want to work on two screens in a coffee shop, where tabletop real estate is premium. Collaborate Mode allows you to use the MateBook’s mouse and keyboard to interact with the MatePad, while also transferring text, files, or images between the two with a simple swipe action.
PC to monitor Super Device pairing works in much the same way as PC to tablet, with a couple of exceptions. You have mirror mode and extend mode, which both work in the same way as with a tablet (except the MateView doesn’t have a touch screen). Note that this is wireless projection, so you don’t even need an HDMI cable, or any other cable to connect the devices, for that matter.
You also have what Huawei calls pop-up connectivity, via Super Device. So, for example, your Huawei printer will use pop-up connectivity, a prompt appearing when you switch your printer on, allowing automatic, wireless pairing. Anyone who has ever tried to print a single-page document from a PC or smartphone to an HP printer will know this particular pain point, so the ability to simply connect and print via Super Device is somewhat of a luxury, when it should be a standard throughout the home printing industry.
You’ve seen how Super Device could work wonders for your productivity, but does it?
Huawei Super Device: A Harmonious Experience?
Having used Super Device for several weeks as my daily workstation, I can certainly say that the ecosystem is great from a productivity standpoint, and even better if you throw creativity into the mixer.
Wireless projection between the MateBook 14S and the MateView monitor is great; no longer do I need to connect my laptop to my monitor via HDMI. I simply used Super Device to set up my monitor in Extend mode, meaning I now have a large work monitor alongside the laptop’s screen; perfect for word processing, which I spend most of my day doing.
I also love the ability to connect the P50 to the MateBook. For full disclosure, a condition I have means I struggle a lot with focus, finding I am easily distracted by anything and everything. With my phone’s display present on my laptop screen, I can answer anything urgent without the other distractions picking up my phone can introduce.
I can even leave the P50 in another room and set it to do-not-disturb mode from the MateBook, meaning I can answer important calls from the laptop, but other distractions won’t make it through, and I physically cannot pick my phone up to check it; a major productivity boost for me, personally.
It is easy to see how Super Device could streamline the workflow of digital artists, graphic designers, and those who engage in similar pursuits, be that for work or pleasure. While I don’t work in the digital design sector, the MatePad 11 and MateBook 14S make a powerful combination in terms of putting digital pen to paper, thanks to mirror mode and the use of the stylus; something you can’t achieve easily with a laptop.
In terms of connectivity, I had no issue at all with connecting devices and keeping them connected. During testing, I experienced no connection drop-outs, which is important if you’re going to streamline your workflow. As soon as I fire Super Device up, I am able to connect to any of the compatible devices that are active in the vicinity, with something as simple as a swipe of my finger.
To discuss the printer connectivity again briefly, I found this a joy. As you might have guessed, I have wasted many an hour scratching my head in front of my HP inkjet, wondering why I can’t just print my girlfriend’s umpteenth Vinted postage label just by pressing “Print”. The pop-up connectivity between the MateBook 14S and the PixLab printer meant I could connect to the printer straight away, click print, and enjoy a laser printed document within seconds. Imagine!
So, Super Device is easy to use, assists with productivity, and allows you to connect an unprecedented number of proprietary devices with one another; something the likes of Microsoft, Apple, and Google could do with looking at a little more closely. Such connectivity is therefore surprisingly innovative, and when it works so well together, you can see exactly what Huawei’s R&D department has been ploughing work hours into achieving. A harmonious experience? Indeed.
Huawei Super Device in a Nutshell
So, there you have it, Huawei Super Device in use. Given that Huawei only announced the ecosystem in early 2022, we are excited to see where Super Device takes us next, and how Huawei is going to streamline our workflow even more, as new Super Device features hit our desktops. So far, we’re really impressed with the ease of use and the connectivity Super Device offers, and feel it a worthy winner of our MUO Award for Excellent Device Connectivity.
