Cube has today formally announced the Cube i9 in a press conference in Shenzhen, China. The Cube i9 is the successor to the Cube i7, it’s a large 12.2″ Surface Pro 3/4 clone with a 6th Gen Intel Skylake Core M3-6Y30 fanless processor. 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. It’s the same processor used in the Surface Pro 4 M3.
The screen is an IPS 1920 x 1200 panel and the tablet has a design very similar to the Surface Pro 3 or 4, with a 2 position kickstand and keyboard type cover style dock.
The tablet also features a full sized USB 3.0 port and a USB 3.1 Type-C port. What I can’t seem to see is if it has dual band wireless and is that 1920 x 1200 screen fully laminated? It also have dual left and right speakers, d/c in charging and MicroSD card slot. HDMI looks to be via that type-c port.
There are a couple of disappointments, it’s a shame there is no stylus support and it’s not taking advantage of the Surface Pro 4 2160 x 1440 screen as seen in the Chuwi Hi12. We can only hope that the Hi12 gets a Core M3 version or Cube releases a i9 Stylus version with stylus support like they did with the i7.
The tablet will sell for 2999 yuan in China, which is around $455, Cube’s most expensive tablet yet. No word on the release date.
Official Cube i9 page (Chinese)
Press images:
ScottyB
I’m impressed with how many comments that Chris from TechTablets has responded to on this thread. TechTablets also do great YouTube reviews on these Chinese manufactured tablets. I wasn’t aware of Cube etc. until I saw these reviews. I contacted Cube about stylus support for the Cube i9 and they’ve replied that there will be a Cube i9 Stylus available after the already announced Cube i9. However, Cube customer support aren’t all that reliable as they previously told me that the Cube i9 wouldn’t be available until the end of 2016!! So don’t take this information as ‘gospel’. I did notice that the Cube i9 screen is the same size (although different resolution) as the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 android tablet screen with Wacom Stylus support so I wonder if they’ll use the Samsung screen for the Cube i9 Stylus? Cube will need to get a move on as many other manufacturers are currently releasing 12inch Windows tablets with stylus support.
richie
hmm … 16:10 screen ?!? .. no wacom support ?!?.. 450$ ?!? .. WTF
if i need tablet for FHD films there is enough old Atom 3735F and price below 100$
i need surface clone for work => 3:2 display, wacom, core m
i hope for Hi12 “pro” version .. SP3 screen, wacom, min 4GB ram, Core M (M3 is enough, or at least Z8500)
Cuberdon75
Exactly…you’ve said it all
David Santiago
Yes, I think we are all in the same situation, it’s quite strange why there is still a niche market right here, on productivity W10 tablets.
Kostas
I do not like the aspect ratio.
Chris Papadopoulos
To all of you complaining on 16:9 & 16:10 screen ratios i want to express my point of view: I personally i don’t enjoy watching any sort of video on any other form of screen ratio (like for ex 3:2). All TV manufacturers do 16:9 ratio – that’s why all films will be based on that resolution – for now and at least for the next few years to come. Also almost all laptops/monitors are 16:9 nowadays.
I agree that a “less widescreen” aspect ratio might fit better in some cases but it’s not for all of us 🙂
16:10 is not bad at all – maybe you’ll get tiny bars on top and bottom when watching 16:9 video feeds like youtube and films.
As for PEN -> a big disappointment indeed !
But happy about the kickstand and USB-C !
Cuberdon75
16:9 is best for video. That’s it. A lit of people use computers for much, much more than that.
And even for video, 16:9 makes sense only when you go full screen and landscape. Most people don’t go full screen when watching e.g. YouTube, they’re happy to have a little box somewhere on their screen, in which case screen ratio is irrelevant.
Jonathan
More specifically 16:9 is best for 16:9 video and the best compromise for wider films, 4:3 is best for those of us who want to watch old 4:3 TV shows or even do something productive 🙂
Chris, out of interest why do you want a Core M powered video player with stylus support?
Chris G
Yes the kickstand is big plus and the USB 3.1 type-C with USB 3.0. Now Teclast and other Chinese MFG’s will have to match or better this, in the long run it’s only good for us consumers and things will only get better. Now all we need is fully laminated displays and dual band wifi to be standard. Both of which aren’t confirmed yet on the i9, but it looks as if we won’t get either.
Mukyo
Is it safe to kickstand SPro on your lap?
Just curious.
Chris G
Not really ideal, I don’t my Surface Pro 3 using it on my lap, it’s too easy to topple over.
richie
sorry .. but for watchig FHD video i dont need CoreM tablet about 450$ …
Mukyo
Why everyone is aiming for very high res?
Even cube i7 at full res 100% is already too small to see.
Definitely there will be cube i9 stylus later.
Hopefully still wacom. As I am started to get used to my i7 stylus
But if it’s 400 over I think I am going to pass.
Chris G
1920 x 1200 is okay, but not too sharp at least we won’t have scaling issues and could even set the scaling to 100% and it would be perfectly usable. Also be good for running same games at native screen res. I’m too use to my Surface Pro 4 screen now. No Wacom on this model unless they do release an i9 stylus model. The price is already set at 2999 yuan, which is around $450. This is the release price, as soon as Teclast or Onda releases a Skylake Core M3 model expect the price to drop.
Imareal Whinestein
I’m with you about the resolution, the touch screen gets useless on browsers and the windows boxes at high resolution, haven’t seen a fix for this yet. Anyone have a fix? Even lowered my resolution on iwork8u and it doesn’t help much.
Джей Доу
185 PPI? No, thanks.
Samuel
Will prefer a asus transformer style docking.
And Wifi need to be at least dual band 2.4/5ghz even if it does not support ac.
Guess I will skip this tablet and waited for an alternative for my core-m tablet/laptop purchase.
ScottyB
Without stylus support this tablet is obsolete before it’s even for sale, and there’s no sign of a stylus in any of the promotional material. It would be better to put the money towards one of the up and coming 2 in 1 tablets from Samsung, Toshiba, Lenovo etc. that all have M3 processors with stylus support. Cube can’t claim a cheaper Surface Pro clone when the stylus is integral to the whole concept of the Surface Pro. I was waiting for this announcement of the i9 but have been left disappointed.
Chris G
Teclast or Chuwi might have a reply to this model soon, hopefully with stylus support and Core M3.
David Santiago
Well… I don’t know where are you from, but here in Spain I don’t see good mid-high range tablet-pcs. The only one I am still waiting for in Europe is the Samsung TabPro S, the rest are all cheap Atom’s or expensive Surface brothers. I urgently need a product like this and until the date there is nothing for 400-700€.
Jonathan
!9:10 display, no stylus, no mobile data and an over engineered keyboard/stand solution (weak spot/expensive)? Very disappointed in Cube at the moment.
Jonathan
16:10 display even, haven’t finished coffee yet…
Edgeworth
I hope it can compete with the Surface Pro 4. To be honest, I don’t expect as much power as the SP4 has, but if we only get 10-20% less and at least 6-7 Hours of Battery Life this could be great!
Chris G
I’ve had the Surface Pro 4 M3 and its power is a really good step up from the 5Y30. Cube claim 10 hours video playback, so I would think 6 hours real world use. I’ll see when I get it.
Shaun Collins
My next tablet for sure..
The one I’ve been waiting for…
Shaun Collins
3:2great for on-screen keyboard…
Kickstand. Yes big yes! Without a keyboard great! With keyboard no floppy crap
Core m vs atom. Do I need to make a point!
12.2″ screen very big… Great..
Waacom pen.. I dont care. Buy a mouse! Plus would have added a higher price tag
Steevenoo
I think that the CHUWI HI12 is the best option !!!
Better screen resolution and stylus support (Hanvon) ?
Chris G
Is the Hi12 confirmed to have stylus support now? The X5 Z8300 is a good 3 times less powerful than the new Core M3-6Y30, underpowered even for that SP3 screen.
seevi
I’m really glad to see a Skylake Core M tablet, it’s not a Surface 3 screen but I’m still glad they switched to 16:10 instead of the 16:9 on the i7.
Stylus support would be really nice though. I’m womdering if I should get own as soon as they start to release them or if I should wait for the first few reviews in case something like the USB 3 failure on the i7 happens.
I wonder what Teclast is working on.
Cuberdon75
I just can’t believe there would be no stylus support on a Surface clone…there has to be.
Cuberdon75
1920:1200 is 16:10 though, not 3:2
Disappointed it’s not a clamshell dock
Chris G
Yes 16:10, shame it’s not using the old Surface Pro 3 screen like the Chuwi Hi12.
Steevenoo
Nice but …
– seems like the same wifi/bluetooth chips (no 5 ghz) 🙁
– laminated screen ? I doubt but …
– where’s the pen, stylus support ?