Hi 8 Pro Review (Latest Batch "64-bit with new wifi module)

[John]

I know Chris has elected (at least for now) not to review the Hi 8 Pro.  As an owner of a Hi12 I’ve been very happy with my Chuwi experience to date but I realized that while it might sound silly to some, there were times I wanted a small tablet for things like reading in bed, watching movies or tv shows at the gym (treadmill / exercise bike type stuff).  I use the Hi12 mainly for text books and reference materials here the aspect ratio of the screen is ideal but realized that it was excellent for a few things but overkill and not the best design for things like movies on the go.  I never considered previous 8″ tablets because of the lower rez (1280×800) as I am one of those folks who seems very sensitive to lower dpi screens.   I had avoided the Hi8 Pro initially due to the concerns a lot of folks were having initially but in following numerous threads and forums it seemed like they finally got the hardware figured out at and were shipping units without issues (hardware issues at least).  Still being someone concerned I paid a premium and bought domestically off Amazon so I would have access to a much better amazon A-Z Guarantee rather then dealing with a chinese based seller.   No benchmarks because I honestly think they are worthless, instead my review is based on actual hands on use as compared to other tablets I own/use etc.

Build Quality – I was actually surprised.  I was not expecting construction to be at the same level as my Hi12, clearly it was plastic vs metal, etc.  That being said I was actually impressed.  The plastic is a nice matte finish with an inlay of some sort, an etching that gives it just a little bit of texture and a pattern you can see when the light hit’s it right.  I prefer this over a high gloss finish and I think it elevates the look as much as can be done with plastic.  The metal band around the perimeter is a nice touch, it’s hard to say if it does much from a structural stand point or if it’s purely an aesthetic flourish but it certainly does look nice.  Screen is not laminated so you do have a gap but its nothing anyone who’s used a similarly priced tablet is going to be upset by.

USB Type C is nice, actual implementation seems rather limited.  I probably need to play with this more in Windows 10 as opposed to Android to get a good feel for it but this definitely does not seem like a full blown USB Type C implementation and really almost feels like they simply used a Type C Jack but it’s still a USB 2.0 controller (speeds, device support, etc.).  There’s no video out from the Type C, etc. I was surprised to see Type C on a Cherry Trail device and I welcome it (so much easier to plug in with the lights off!) for convenience but I think Chuwi could be clearer about the limitations with their design.

Headphone Jack – From whatI understand I have the latest version that has “all the fixes” but the headphone jack is still really questionable.  If you have a three pole headset (i.e. what comes with your phones, that has Mic as well as stereo left and right) the tablet appears to not fully support them.  If plugged in all the way you get the stereo separation issues but if you pull it out JUST the right amount everything works fine.  In my experience this is typically a sign that the jack itself is not setup to properly receive and work with any headphones that have three poles as opposed to two (look at the jack, if you see three 3 black rings instead of just two thats an easy way to verify).  That being said once it’s sitting just right (or if you use a regular pair of headphones WITHOUT a mic line) the audio is clean, and what I would consider static free.  Yes, if it’s dead silent you can hear some background static but it’s not the horror story of constant static or anytime you move the cord you get a bunch of static.  Long story short, in my experience, if you use the right kind of headphones it works just fine, I just don’t understand why so many of these low end tablets use jacks that only take 2 pole, it’s 2016!

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi – No issues with either for routine daily use.  My gym has wifi and so I regularly use WiFi to stream netflix while listening to the show via bluetooth headphones .  This isn’t the MOST demanding test so I do suspect that if you really pushed the traffic on the antenna i.e. bluetooth mouse and keyboard while using the wifi chip you would see the typical sign of shared antenna design such as mouse sutter and wifi latency.  But for watching a video and listening to it via bluetooth it kept up ok.  It’s still only 2.4ghz but at the price point it’s relative.  I did not run into any issues with dropped signals, failure to connect, etc.

Screen – Gorgeous.  It’s basically a poor mans nVidia shield tablet.  There is some IPS glow but thats just IPS.  My tablet came with a screen protector pre-installed which I assume is normal.  Unfortunately it is of the plastic variety which I will replace if I ultimately decide to keep the tablet.

Performance – Definitely a bit snapper then my Hi12 and I suspect that comes down to the resolution being a lot lower.  The Hi12 doesn’t run terribly but you certainly can feel it trying to “keep up”.  I was initially concerned that going down from 4gigs of ram would possibly make performance worse but for single task it gets along okay.  Windows you should just throw multi-tasking out the window.  the 2gigs of ram really result in extended hang ups when multi-tasking that you don’t see on a similar tablet with 4gigs such as Hi12.  Android on the other hand runs just great and actually feels snappier then my Hi12 which I suspect comes down to the resolution.  I don’t play games on my tablets, just read pdf’s, watch netflix, and browse the web and in those instances the performance felt just great.  I actually found my Hi8 Pro to be snappier then my nexus 9 especially when moving AROUND, i.e. a nexus 9 can be fast once your doing one thing, but start switching apps and the thing just grinds to a halt (a common complaint with that tablet).

The Deal Breaker – Right now I am at a complete cross road with the tablet 100% because of the software implementation.  They really kind of screwed the pooch in my opinion in how they setup the dual boot system.  Windows 10 takes up too much space and can’t be updated anymore as the anniversary update requires more free space then will ever be available.  This means you are going to be “stuck” in time with Windows which is not a good thing from a security stand point (in my opinion) which when combined with the 2gb of RAM for me at least makes the Win10 partition really useless.  It’s slower, takes up excessive space, and now can’t even update itself anymore.  Android on the other hand is completely gimped with only 4gigs of free space and because of it being on Lollipop adding an SD card does little to help the matter.  Apps like Amazon Video can’t save to the SD card, etc. With little hope that Chuwi will update this to Marshmallow your basically stuck with 4gigs of actual useable space under Android which for me is borderline a deal breaker especially considering 20+gigs is completely going to waste on a Windows 10 installation that also is going to be stuck in time!  If Chuwi sold this device still as a Android tablet thats the version I would buy in a heart beat because its a fantastic android tablet.  As a dual boot device though it tries to be too many things with its limited resources and fails to do any of them well.

[Vedran]

Have you tried this approach for Anniversary Update?

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update/not-enough-disk-space-for-anniversary-update/c26212d7-7ab2-4a65-9231-d8e6d1b88d97

[John]

You bet, it’s funny you posted that.  Basically windows update plays dumb and tells you that your device is 100% up to date (it’s not clearly but I think this is Microsoft dancing around the fact that the device does not have enough space literally to install the update).  When you download the update tool it runs, tells you that an update is available (anniversary), begins the process then errors out with a red message telling you to free up space.  there is no way to point or tell it to use the SD card (I have a 32gig card installed that otherwise reads/writes without issue).  I believe windows requires the free space to be available on the drive windows is installed to so plugging in a thumb drive, sd card, etc. doesn’t change that windows needs 8gigs of free space on it’s partition to work with.  The only solution I could possibly see is if Chuwi themselves released a new windows 10 image pre-patched that could be FLASHED over the original install.  But being that it’s Chuwi (and this is true for chinese tablets in general) I suspect such a solution won’t ever appear.  Now it’s possible there might be an Iso of win10 that could be installed that includes the updates but for a lot of people that isn’t ideal either (driver and hardware issues).

For me the promise of windows 10 was supposed to bet the idea that you had an always up to date version of Windows that was safe and secure and required no weird user involvement of flashing hardware or breaking drivers.  In this regard it fails completely, some solutions might come up but I really don’t have a desire to wait and take the chance when I still have the option to return the tablet and consider other options.

[Vedran]

I apologise, I wasn’t specific enough.

Do not use Windows 10 upgrade assistant (first link).

Use Media Creation Tool (second link).

Anniversary Update is rolling out in stages through Windows Update: e.g. my Surface picked it up only few days ago, while I’m still waiting for the update to roll out for HP Envy 8 Note. Maybe I’ll stop being patient and use Media Creation Tool as well, but I’d rather wait for it. (Same with Hi 8 Pro)

[Chris G]

Thanks for this review, after my “fun” with the Hi8 Pro first batch I decided to never get it again touch it second batch or 3rd. But good to see someone’s review of it. Things improve or get worse and it all varies from the batches. So many times I rubbish something with all it’s faults (Onda oBook 10) then to have people tell me their experience is great and they have NONE of my faults I encountered. And then the other way too. I give something a good review and their unit is a lemon.

Such is a lottery we play buying a Chinese tablet. BUT, things have been good. Just stay away from Voyo and Onda in general, I’ve found.

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[John]

I’m US based so my pricing and access to things is probably a bit different then folks across the pond but I’m leaning towards returning the tablet.  Asus has a newer Zenpad that I was able to play with in person at a store and while it was only 1280×800 I found the display to be adequate.  Side by side there is definitely no comparison for sharpness but I also found the laminated display to be an improvement and it wasn’t as night and day.  The Zenpad also runs Marshmallow which means the SD card is actually useable so for about the same money (approx $110 USD) I can go with a Zenpad that runs a MT-8163 chip by MediaTek and while a lower resolution I found the display itself to be of higher quality.  I also find the touch screen to be more responsive and it’s also gorilla glass.

Since I’m not one to really care about having dual boot (it’s neat but having a Hi12 if I want windows 10 on a tablet I will use that device) the only advantage to the Chuwi Hi8 Pro is the high rez screen.  The ZenPad had smoother scrolling in Chrome (under android), was snappier when task switching between apps (android), and has a gorilla glass laminated screen.  as much as I really like the PPI of the Hi8 Pro the ZenPad definitely feels like the better fit for me I just wish it had an option for a 1200p screen like the Chuwi!   My decision is also skewed slightly by my preference for Android in a tablet of this size.  Basically my ideal tablet would be a 8″ Android device with 32gb storage and 3gigs of ram and a 1200p screen but I am not aware of any that fit that bill in the price range I want to spend so compromise comes into play.  The Chuwi made a great first impression and if they offered a simple way to flash it to android only and recover all the wasted space I might be more willing to “live” with Android 5.1

[Author]

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