I’m only just back from IFA in Berlin and I did stop by Chuwi’s booth to have a chat and see if they had anything new on display. And sure enough, they did. The Herobook Pro is a new 14.1″ Kaby Lake R laptop that’s in the works. The current model on display was a working prototype but more or less what we can expect for the final version.
The first thing I noticed is the similarities to the Aerobook or Lapbook SE’s in terms of build, design and definitely the keyboard. While it is a slightly bigger 14″ Vs the 13.3″ on the Aerobook or Lapbook SE from Chuwi the keyboard is good to type on. Good sized keycaps and good travel. Backlit also but just in white like the Chuwi Aerobook.
The Herobook pro will ship with 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 256GB SSD or possibly 64GB eMMC plus SSD slot on the bottom for adding more storage. The chipset is the Celeron 3867U with two cores at 1.8Ghz, Intel 610 UHD graphics and Intel Wireless AC 3165 with BT 4.1.
The chipset is a 15W SoC so active cooling is required. The intake vents are on the bottom and I could barely hear the fan but of course at the expo stand it was simply just at idle I would need to push it hard to gauge fan noise and thermals. I’ll do that once I get hold of a loan unit for review.
It runs Windows 10 Home and on the bottom, they have 4 x 2W downwards firing speakers which hopefully sound better than the Aerobook or Lapbook SE’s speakers which are rather tinny sounding.
For ports, it has two USB 3.0 ports, MicroSD reader, full-sized HDMI 1.4A, type-c port but USB 3.0 spec only and d/c charging port.
The build seems okay, plastic palm rest and metal lid and underside. But the screen isn’t fully laminated sadly but it’s an IPS panel and 1920 x 1080p. That web camera location isn’t the greatest but it does have a privacy shutter for those that want that. I really think it should have been placed in the top bezel, after all, there does seem to be enough room for a webcam in the top bezel. The large touchpad is again similar to the Aerobook, Windows 10 precision driver-controlled with a smooth surface.
Chuwi told me it will first be on sale for $299 USD and coming this month. They also now (Finally!) have the Lapbook Pro with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, and the same Gemini Lake SoC. Previously all the Gemini Laptops were stuck at only 4GB of DDR4 RAM.