Teclast X98 Pro

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Teclast X98 Pro Unboxing Video And First Impressions

Teclast X98 Pro Unboxing Video And First Impressions

The Teclast X98 Pro is the upgraded version of the X98 Air series, Today mine arrived in from China. It’s the Chinese version, with that annoying Windows 10 Single OS version. No way to install English or any other languages, so I made a backup the drivers myself and did a Windows 10 fresh install. Below is my unboxing video

I’ll have some more videos to follow very soon, benchmarks, comparing it to the old Air 3G model and gaming video.s Keep an eye on the Teclast X98 Pro playlist in Youtube for new videos.

By the way, GearBest.com now have the X98 Pro listed for $258

My first impressions: It’s identical in looks to the X98 Air II and Air 3G (No surprises here, we knew this already) The only difference to an Air II is the X98 Pro engraving on the back. The eMMC is a Samsung branded one on my unit. 140 reads and around 50 writes. Doesn’t seem like an eMMC 5.0 to me, but a 4.5.1 unit? Or I got a bad one. Still the speeds are around that of the Microsoft Surface 3’s eMMC. But, my first benchmark I got 170mbs read and 90 write, I can’t get this anymore after my reinstall of Windows 10, why I don’t know.

The rear of the X98 Pro does get quite hot, warmer than a Z3736F one I think. I will investigate this further with my temperature probe.

RealTek Wireless N, same as the X98 Air 3G. Same BT, same Realtek USB 2 MicroSD card reader (Why not a USB 3 reader!!!)

Onto the X5 Z8500 and Gen8 GFX. The CPU speed is a nice bump up 912 single thread and 2972 multi-thread scores in Geekbench 3. GPU is much faster (benchmarks coming) Can output to my 2560 x 1440 monitor at 60Hz. The Bay trails never went over 1080p via the HDMI port.

Video tech reviewer and tech blogger. I have a huge interest in the latest tech, tablets, laptops, mobiles, drones, and even e-scooters. Active in the tech community since 2008 days of the Omnia i900 Windows phone. Samsungi8910omnia.com, Samsunggalaxysforums.com founder from way back.

44 Comments

  1. Dear Teclast genius(es),

    I am wanting to reinstall an english language windows 10 Pro 64bit atop the (crappy) Chinese only 32bit os that it came with. I have the requisite W10 installation flash drive and product key but I am chicken to do the reinstall for fear I will lose the dual boot to android5 capability. Got any methodology tips for me and many other non-Chinese usa buyers?

    Many thanks in advance, AJ

  2. What about 5GHz Wifi? Still only (slow) 2,4 Ghz? I will wait for a better Version with USB 3.0, LTE and 5 GHz Wifi.

    • Yes just 2.4Ghz. I would love to see dual band AC, USB 3.1 type c or USB 3 and 4G. Maybe next years model?

  3. And how is the microphone quality? I want to know if cortana could be used properly on this tablet.

    Could you please check it out? Just do a little voice recording please.

    • Really bad, muffled and like a 1920s recording. But it could be because I’m not on the original drivers and some config file is missing.

  4. Geekbuying will apparently get stock on on the 27th if interested..

    • Thanks, but after geekbuying was sending out kspico cracked windows machines I wonder if they can be trusted? Might be the Chinese model with hactivation? I would rather go to gearbest.com or banggood.com, my two favorites now after Ali express Honesty team and OKQI.

      • As I have no experience buying from these sites I’ll go with your suggestion and cancel then! Next question – what shipping to the uk? DHL? EMS?

        • Expedited shipping? Priority airmail? Banggood still say it is coming soon.. Where actually has it in stock? If anywhere?

          • Latest is maybe in a week or even September according to Honesty Team on Aliexpress. Teclast don’t have the international stock ready as promiced.

      • thought about it and not cancelled yet.. The site gives the full language list and I’ve emailed for clarification. I figure unboxing video on receipt going straight into language settings, and checking activation – then if anything is wrong I’ll have the video and their email back as ammo for a PayPal dispute. Any problems and the video goes on YouTube, and I go to PayPal. Fingers crossed it should all be fine though – if it were a Chinese lingo version I figure it’d already be posted, but they say they are waiting for stock so I’ll see what happens! I went with dhl btw.

        • Geekbuying are now saying stock in on September 15th so I have requested cancellation after all. Did you say the Air was now being shipped with Windows 10? Might order a tried and tested Air instead!

          • Banggood are saying it’ll be in stock in 1-3 days.

            They say its just past their tests and is being ‘re-stocked.

      • Hi Chris, have you tried QH-Store from AliExpress? I bought my X98 Air 3G there on Aug 3 and I had it with me by Aug 13. Found out about them on the Teclast website, on the following link http://www.teclast.com/en/Buyproducts.html . Would have bought from OKQI but they didn’t ship to Uruguay. It packs the Hynix 64GB eMMC.
        As they are “official” I don’t think it’s cracked, but just out of curiosity, how does one check that? Also, how do you activate windows after a clean install?

  5. How is touch responsiveness chris?

    I ask because in your video it seems to miss a few times when you touch it,I had an onda tablet before and I had bad experiences with this.

    Also do you think that the high temperatures could damage the tablet on the long run?

    • It’s responsive, same as the other 9.7 models. Often I miss touches on the video as the angle i have to touch the screen at makes it hard. The tripod is in the way. But Windows 8.1 and now 10 can be tricky at times with the close windows button and other smaller one screen buttons. I have this issue with even the Surface 3. Windows is still not 100% perfect for touch.

      I don’t think would damage it, the chipset will throttle and even power itself off it gets too hot. 105 degrees, I think is the shutdown trigger temp.

  6. and you wanted windows back you should be able to just image it back on due to the new keyless activation!

  7. Looks good, I might get one, I demand an update simply for the sake of my own personal web viewing experience 🙂
    While looks like MS has stepped up their effort in the Tablet OS space I think I would still prefer be pretty tempted to blow away the Win10 install and have a nice fast large native capacity Android 5 on this tablet with all my favorite apps.

  8. I get the feeling Chris, that the X98 Pro is a bit of a let down considering it’s specs compared to the 3G/Air II?

    It would seem that the 3G/Air II are still very good buys, and for those that own them not really worth the upgrade to the Pro?

    • It’s just a let down in it’s temps, it gets up to 86 degrees. But for my own personal use it’s a step up. I can finally run my monitor at it’s native 2560 x 1440 resolution and the tablet is much faster in general and a better multitasker. Just when it games it gets too hot and throttles after a while reducing the FPS in games it seems.

  9. Ordered mine from Honesty Team on Aliexpress, they said they are getting their international version stock in and will be shipping out tomorrow! Cheers Chris for the unboxing and gaming reviews on youtube, the new tab is looking promising for my intended use.

    Quick questions:
    1) Would an external Xiaomi 2A powerbank charger be able to top up the battery?
    2) If so, does the unit need to be powered off, or would it be able to do it while running?
    3) For the next gaming test, could you please try out Civ 5?

    • Hi, your questions:

      1 & 2. Yes it works. I have a Mi 10400mAH power pack and it will slowly charge it when powered (Must use the short supplied cable) Powered off it will charger much faster.

      3. I’ll see, I’m overloaded with requests and it’s time consuming.

      I ordered first from Honesty Team, I was jsut going to be shipped when they stopped it due to it being only in Chinese. They are a good seller those guys. Recommended, them and OKQI.

      • No worries, really appreciate your time! Your reviews are awesome and really help to cut through the BS when looking at some of the Chinese online reviews that have been run through translators

  10. Let me ask some questions for your full review.

    1. Battery life compared to X98 Air 3G.
    2. Battery drain in connected standby.
    3. Availability of hibernation as an option at the power menu.
    4. 3G bands.

    Thank you!

    • Hi,

      1. Looks to be the same as the X98 Air 3G, still working to get a full normal day’s use with it. I have been testing games and gaming you can get around 4 hours with full brightness.

      2. There is some drain in sleep, 1-2% an hour?

      3. Restart, shutdown and sleep are the option I have.

      4. No 3G

  11. If they put usb 3 type C and better wireless chipset… What a pity! I’ll wait for the next release of this then 😐 ( http://www.teclast.com/en/zt/X89dualos/ )
    Chris, do you think the non laminated screen is a real letdown, or does it perform equally well?

    • Non-laminated isn’t a huge letdown. Just I prefer laminated as it looks a little better and it helps cut down on reflections.

      • Yep… The reflections are the most annoying thing on these devices. They are lightweight, sleek and efficient but you have to really struggle at times to find the right angle to barely watch the screen (even with max brightness). When I’ll buy one of these tablets I’ll propably buy a matte screen protector… 😉

        • Yes, even harder when I’m trying to record video of the tabelt in action, reflection is a huge issue.

  12. Referring to your comments about the screen being so easy to scratch im guessing a ‘Tempered-Glass Screen Protector’ like this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Protector-Tempered-Hardness-Installation-Lifetime/dp/B00SF6XH3S/ref=pd_cp_23_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=15KYY78NEK5PAK5YRRMV would be a good idea? any suggestions? if the front panel is exactly the same dimensions as on an iPad Air 2 i guess this one would do the job.. apart from the big hole at the bottom. Maybe one meant for an Android tab?

    • There are a few sellers on AliExpress that sell X98 Air 3G tempered glass protectors. That would be better as it has no hole in it.

      • True, but being in the uk and not wanting to wait that long I’d rather look for something on Amazon! Can you think of anything off the top of your head?

        • No, if you want it quick it will have to be an amazon one unless someone sells Teclast X98 ones.

  13. Pretty awkward results, the lower RAM tablet loading the benchmark faster, and the faster gpu tablet performing 4 fps better. Maybe display driver updates for the newer cherry trail will be improved as time goes on, if there are drivers for the tablets gpu?

    • Yes mixed results. Resident Evil 5 in DX10 mode wasn’t an easy test, but yes I did have the original and dated GFX driver. I have since updated using the Intel update utility.

      The 85 degrees on the Soc wasn’t good, must be the larger 12 GPU heating things up. I’ll see how it handles Counter Strike and some other popular titles today if I find the time.

      • I’m looking forward to seeing how things like Dawn of War or Homeworld might work on it 😉

  14. Hi Chris, what do you think a good charger might be? Or do you think the supplied one is up to the task? Surface 3 charger maybe?
    I’ve ordered mine from geekbuying and hopefully it’ll arrive in the coming week 😉

  15. Hi Chris, my HP tablet came with Bitlocker enabled and disabling it gave me much better Crystaldiskmark results. Any chance that could be the issue on the X98 Pro?

    Pretty disappointing to see a regression from the last generation (although improved 4k read/write will probably make for a snappy experience anyway, and super-fast sequential speeds are less useful when you only have USB2.0 external interface).

    • I checked this, but it’s disabled. At least the 4K speeds are okay.

  16. Can’t wait for the full review Chris!!!!

    Just quickly, does the extra RAM make a big difference in your early tests?

    • Ram, not much of a difference. But you do notice it when multitasking it will let you load up much more before it slows down.

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