HUAWEI MateView GT Review – Wider for the win

The HUAWEI MateView GT is HUAWEI‘s first gaming display and you can find out if it offers more than just a wider field of view in this review.

Complete with a 165Hz refresh rate, 90% DCI-P3 colours and 3440 x 1440 WQHD resolution in a 34-inch screen, the HUAWEI MateView GT certainly has plenty to offer which I really looked forward to for this review. It was announced together with its smaller cousin, the HUAWEI MateView earlier last month.

It goes without saying, thanks to HUAWEI for providing us the MateView GT for this review.

Specs

Larger than it looks

Design-wise, the monitor has a rather futuristic feeling to it. Not only is it wide, but its curved nature also makes it feel bigger than it already is.

However, do note to exercise caution during installation. Without the stand, the monitor already weighs 6.65 kg on its own, which can make putting the MateView GT together a challenge. Make sure your table or desk is sturdy enough to be able to support 6.65 kg worth of monitor.

The display is supported by a vertical stand. Underneath the stand, the rubber surface helps to keep the monitor stable. However, because it is not easily moved, rotating or repositioning the monitor is really tough. I had quite a bit of trouble trying to plug the cables in when I had the MateView GT against a wall.

Thankfully, adjusting the height and angle of the monitor is extremely easy as not much force is needed to make these adjustments. You can choose to have the monitor between angles of -5° to 20° and the range between the highest and lowest vertical point is 110m, which will suit pretty much everybody.

A better view

At the start of this review, I already mentioned what features the display of the HUAWEI MateView GT is boasting. To sum it all up in simple terms, the display can accurately and beautifully present just about any image or video. In particular, the colours on the screen are very vibrant and striking.

The brightness of the monitor is amazing. On the lowest setting, everything on the screen is still visible. At max brightness in a dark room, the monitor is basically a flashlight that lights up the whole surroundings. Having such a wide range for brightness is definitely a welcome addition. 

Since HUAWEI did market the MateView GT as a gaming monitor, I tried out a few games to review its capabilities for gaming. Namely, Apex Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio does provide an edge in these competitive shooters. With the wider field of view, it felt a lot easier for me to notice enemies sneaking around or popping up from corners. Gaming aside, the ultrawide panel is still useful for productivity. It is basically like having two monitors simultaneously, which is perfect for those who need to manage multiple browsers and applications at the same time.

As for the 165Hz refresh rate, the experience of watching anything on the display feels extremely smooth. Images feel less blurry and more seamless, which is great benefit for FPS gamers. The MateView GT also supports AMD FreeSync Premium which is very useful for reducing screen tearing and stuttering. While it was previously supported by mainly AMD’s graphic cards, RTX 3080 supports it as well, which is great news.

Additional gaming features

While most monitors just display images, the HUAWEI MateView GT takes it a step further by actually having optional programs which can make your gaming experience easier.

Amongst these features is the Dark Field Control function. Basically, it increases the colour contrast with an emphasis on darker images. As a result, darker areas are a lot more visible, making hidden enemies and items easier to spot.

The other feature is the crosshairs, which adds a static crosshair overlay to the centre of the screen. I can see this being useful in some FPS games that do not have crosshairs as part of its in-game HUD. However, the crosshairs are really big, so big in fact that in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the crosshairs block the in-game crosshairs and even the enemies’ heads. There are two colour options and five variations for the crosshairs, but there is unfortunately to setting to adjust the size.

Do bear in mind that in most multiplayer FPS games, using the crosshairs would be considered cheating.

Ports and joystick

The HUAWEI MateView GT comes with 2 HDMI ports, 1 DisplayPort, 1 full function USB-Type C and a headphone jack. It has an extra USB-Type C port, but this is for power supply only. 

This is pretty standard overall, but the full function USB-Type C is really flexible since it can be used for pretty much anything, even as a display input. If you find yourself somehow short on ports on your CPU, this is a godsend. There is also a cover for the ports, which is great for tidying things up.

I am including the monitor’s joystick in this section as it is quite close to the ports. This five-way joystick, which is located under the display, lets users navigate through the on screen display menu to adjust most of the monitor’s settings. You can even assign shortcuts to the joystick which is pretty useful.

Audio Performance

The monitor is equipped with a dual-speaker SoundBar. The sound quality is surprisingly loud yet clear and has a nice stereo effect. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, I could easily discern where shots and footsteps were coming from. I also tested the audio by watching videos with stereo sound and the effect comes across really well.

The monitor even has its own microphone, two to be specific since it is a dual-microphone array. With 4-metre-Sound Pickup, Background Noise Cancellation and Echo Cancellation features, HUAWEI really went all out in making a monitor with a great audio system. Obviously, if you have your own high-end speakers and headset, these features will be redundant. Nevertheless, they are great to have.

The volume of the monitor is easily controlled via the RGB lightstrip on the SoundBar which is really convenient. The RGB lightstrip is customisable with different colours and speeds, but unfortunately, it canot be synced with sound.

Closing thoughts

The HUAWEI MateView GT is not just a simple ultrawide monitor. On top of its great visual specs, it comes with many nifty features which can give actual gameplay advantages. The sound system also has no business being as good as it is.

My only concerns are mainly during installation and positioning the monitor around, given its weight and design. As the majority of your time using the monitor will be spent using it and not setting it up, I can wholly recommend the MateView GT to gamers looking for an ultrawide monitor.

Visit HUAWEI’s website to learn more about the MateView GT.

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