OPINION: At the IFA 2022 tradeshow in Berlin this year there’s been plenty to get excited about. Since I landed on Wednesday I’ve seen everything from £5.5k soundbars like the super-cool Bang and Olufsen Beosound Theatre, to vanity-focused smartphones like the Huawei Nova 10 Pro.
But in the sea of announcements, one of the things that impressed me the most wasn’t a specific device, but a subtle shift in strategy I noticed during a briefing with Huawei. Specifically, a subtle shift in strategy away from boasting about big performance numbers and quirky features to talking about colour gamuts and Delta E.
This occurred when Huawei briefed me on the new Matebook X Pro, MatePad Pro and Nova 10 series. In each instance, Huawei bragged about the new devices’ “super accurate” Delta E – which on the MateBook X Pro is reportedly guaranteed to be below the hallowed 1.0 figure.
To catch readers up, Delta E is a measurement of the distance between colours. It’s a good metric for measuring how accurately colours are displayed, which is important for creative work such as photo and video editing.
The majority of laptop manufacturers have previously been more interested in talking about HDR compatibility, resolution and refresh rates. But, the shift in language is clever, as it shows Huawei is doubling down in its effort to entice creatives to its wares.
For years we’ve recommended Apple products to creatives because of their overt focus on targeting these key screen stats. Look at our best laptop guide or best tablet list and you’ll see that Apple products have always held a distinct place there because of their wonderful colour accuracy.
But MacBooks aren’t the only laptop option for professional creators, with plenty of Windows-flavoured portables offering comparable specs, both in terms of performance and screen quality.
This is why I couldn’t be happier to see Huawei shift its strategy and messaging, as it’s finally highlighting the specs that professional creators care about.
