Chuwi Launches The LapBook SE: Gemini Lake And SSD For $300
by Brett Howse on August 13, 2018 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- LPDDR4
- Chuwi
- Gemini Lake
It’s been a bit of a wait to see the latest Intel Gemini Lake SoC to find its way into laptops, but Chuwi has now released the LapBook SE, which features the Intel Celeron N4100 processor, which is four of the latest Atom cores. Chuwi has also added some new features to improve their low-cost device lineup even further.
The LapBook SE features 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and ironically this is one of the first laptops available with LPDDR4, since Intel’s Core processors only support LPDDR3 at the moment. There’s also 32 GB of eMMC storage, along with 128 GB of SSD. Chuwi was likely taking the more is better approach, but I would have preferred to see it with just the SSD, and it’ll be interesting to see if you can configure it that way after purchase.
| Chuwi LapBook | |||||
| Model | LapBook SE | ||||
| CPU | Intel Celeron N4100 4 cores, 4 threads 1.1 - 2.4 GHz 4 MB Cache, 6W TDP |
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| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 600 12 EU 200-700 MHz |
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| RAM | 4 GB LPDDR4 | ||||
| Storage | 32 GB eMMC + 128 GB M.2 SSD | ||||
| Display | 13.3" 1920x1080 IPS | ||||
| Camera | 2 MP | ||||
| Battery | 5000 mAh Rated up to 8 hours |
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| Dimensions | 317 x 215 x 15.9 mm 12.5 x 8.5 x 0.63 inches |
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| Weight | 1.44 kg / 3.17 lbs | ||||
| Price | $299 USD as of writing | ||||
The LapBook SE has a 13.3-inch 1920x1080 IPS display as well, continuing their trend of providing a good display even in a low-cost machine. And, as a nice upgrade, there’s also a backlit keyboard.
Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that the SE includes a USB-C port, which Chuwi has been using for charging on some of their products. The LapBook SE does offer HDMI and USB-A, along with an SD card reader and headset jack.
Chuwi tends to offer more for less, and with a good amount of storage, an IPS display, and the quad-core Gemini Lake processor, the LapBook SE should slot nicely into the bottom end of their range. We should be getting one for review as well, so if you have any questions about it, please let us know in the comments.
Source: Chuwi
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eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
@Brett: Thanks for the reply! I don't expect business class support at this price level, but would like to know that the unit that I might buy will actually match the specs on the mfrs website. Also, when you review this and similar devices, please include information on the drivers (revision etc.), and, if possible, information on the sources for the trackpad, keyboard and screen. Thanks!R3MF - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Virtually no laptop is advertised as having linux support, yet there is a general understanding that generic x86 hardware will work in linux.Yes, you might find that your laptop has some obscure bluetooth or wifi chip that is not supported, but the device itself functions fine as a computer.
This is [not] what we are getting with many Intel Atom powered devices, for you can't even install a linux distro!
When you get the new Chuwi device, please try installing Ubuntu 18.04 and Suse Tumbleweed, so we know...
And no, I would not consider it reasonable for that non-advertised feature to change, as I might a non-advertised m.2 slot.
cfenton - Wednesday, August 15, 2018 - link
That's fair I guess, but I think it's worth warning people that they've done this in the past, so anything outside of the baseline advertised functions might not exist in the model consumers buy. Maybe this is common with cheap laptops, but I don't usually see a lot of reviews for cheap laptops, so this stands out to me. I'm not saying you ought to do this in a review, but just that I'm probably going to keep doing it in the comments on Chuwi articles and reviews.However, after digging into this a bit more, it seems that Chuwi also changed the TDP limit on the CPU in later revisions to try to keep the thermals under control. The effect of this is that the CPU doesn't boost past about 1.5ghz, while the original version could hit 2.2ghz. I know Turbo speeds aren't guaranteed, but it should be capable of hitting that speed at least in short bursts. Turbo speed is something they do advertise, and all the benchmarks from the review units will be better than what consumers get now.
StevoLincolnite - Monday, August 13, 2018 - link
Would be awesome if we could get some benchies to see how Gemini Lake performs and how she stacks up against all the old Atom processors to see how far we have come.serendip - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
A $399 Surface Go kills this thing. At least you get Microsoft support for hardware and software for a few years whereas cheap junk from Chinese OEMs are disposable computers. The Pentium Gold CPU also has much stronger single threaded performance compared to Gemini Lake Atom cores.I'm happy with my $250 Atom tablet but I bought that years before the Go was announced. If I was looking for a cheap and light Windows machine, I would go for a Go.
eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Agree that the Surface Go is an interesting machine, but the Chuwi has a 13.3" screen (yes, it's 16:9, but still significantly larger than the Go's), and it is a laptop with an actual keyboard. For me, the Go's screen size is a bit too small (the Surface Pro's or the Chuwi's screen size is about right for my uses), and having to buy the actual keyboard (the cover) for the Surface Go increases the price to the $ 500+ range. All that being said, I have my reservations about the Chuwi, and look forward to an actual review.IntelUser2000 - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Not this Pentium "Gold".The Surface Go's chip is really slow.
Jorgp2 - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Any idea if the TDP can be unlocked?xx0xx - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Seems like the problems with these devices are multiple...- Often cannot install linux
- Atom is terrible performance, especially in Windows
- A used Thinkpad from multiple Intel generations ago with an SSD will hands-down smash the performance of this device, give more port options and a replaceable battery, without costing more
Hereiam2005 - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
Those used laptops are either on the heavy side or lack the battery life of this.If you want portability, long battery life, windows 10, with real keyboard, low price and no noise, this is the thing.