The Chuwi LapBook 12.3 Review: Premium Feel, Budget Price
by Brett Howse on September 6, 2017 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Apollo Lake
- Goldmont
- Chuwi
Design
Since most of the internals are shared with Chuwi’s other offerings, such as the LapBook 14.1, and the Hi13 tablet, what sets the LapBook 12.3 apart from those is the design. The small numbering difference between the LapBook 14.1 and the 12.3 could easily fool someone into thinking they were very similar in design, but that’s not the case at all. Whereas the 14.1 model is your typical, budget laptop, with a plastic chassis, the LapBook 12.3 punches way above its weight with a full aluminum chassis. The plastic on the 14.1 was fine, and would be a very durable product, but aluminium really adds a big dash of premium to this budget device.
The 3:2 display is also very welcome here. Microsoft’s Surface lineup has proven that 3:2 works very well on the PC, whether in a portrait touch mode, or the more traditional landscape laptop mode, and that carries on here with the 12.3-inch 3:2 panel. Chuwi hasn’t been able to shrink the display bezels as much as it did in the LapBook 14.1, but on a smaller laptop, it would be tough to fit in the keyboard, trackpad, and all of the internal components if the display bezels were much smaller than they are. The bezels are the same color as the rest of the laptop though, although the bezel is plastic. This coloring makes the bezels all the more obvious to see, but for the price, it’s not a huge issue. The only real solution would be to add a larger display, and there’s a lot less options for 3:2 panels on the market.
The keyboard is exactly the same as the LapBook 14.1, and it offers decent travel and a good feel, but there’s no backlighting available. That’s also something that is to be expected at this price point, but it has to be pointed out, since it would be missed. Chuwi has also kept the somewhat strange keyboard layout, with the power button where Delete should be, and other keys shuffled around. The keyboard size and feel is fine, but the layout could use some work, and it would be best if Power wasn’t so easily pressed by mistake. It’s fairly frustrating to accidentally shut off your computer when you meant to make an edit.
The trackpad is all plastic, and is easily the biggest let-down in the Chuwi lineup. Good trackpads are hard to come by on Windows laptops, but the Chuwi model offers some of its own quirks as well. The two-finger scroll direction is the opposite of almost every other PC available, and there’s no drivers to let you swap it around if you wanted to. The trackpad feel is poor as well, thanks to the not smooth plastic surface and poor response. The money saved on the laptop would be well spent on a good mouse to use with it.
Chuwi continues its other quirks as well, with the single USB 3.0 port on the left, and single USB 2.0 port on the right, both upside down compared to every other laptop. That’s not the end of the world, but certainly odd enough to cause you confusion a few times during the USB superposition games everyone must play trying to connect devices. There’s also a microSD slot, and mini HDMI connector as well.
Overall, the design is quite impressive for a laptop hovering just over the $300 mark. The aluminum construction offers a very premium feel to the laptop, and the build quality and hinge feel solid despite the price. The small size will likely scare away some buyers, but the keyboard feels just as good as its larger cousin, the LapBook 14.1.
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Arbie - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
" it would be best if Power wasn’t so easily pressed by mistake. It’s fairly frustrating to accidentally shut off your computer when you meant to make an edit."I am endlessly amazed that the designers of "On" and "Off" buttons / keys / software have never heard of time delays, multiple-press sequences, or confirmations. I've got at least two computers where accidentally hitting the power button shuts them down - right now, no questions. Why can't Windows give me an optional confirmation in the power options? Stupid beyond belief IMHO.
systemBuilder - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
They are apparently using a Chromebook keyboard with standard windows keycaps.kaidenshi - Friday, September 8, 2017 - link
"Why can't Windows give me an optional confirmation in the power options?"It does, in the Power settings in the control panel. It probably took you longer to type out that comment than it would to change the setting to ask for confirmation.
Samus - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
Still has a power button in a devastating place...who wants a computer that shuts down every time you blindly hit backspace...Ej24 - Thursday, September 7, 2017 - link
Change the setting of what the power button does in control panel > power options > choose what the power button does. Change it to sleep or something other than shutdown. Problem solved.0iron - Thursday, September 7, 2017 - link
I have ASUS UX305, with same power button location. What I did was change setting to 'Turn off the display' & 'Do nothing' when power button is pressed. Problem solved.Flunk - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
I think Chuwi's biggest branding issue is that they name sounds like chewy. That's not something you want if you make electronics. Maybe if you make cookies.Naris17 - Thursday, September 7, 2017 - link
Think I've heard them go by the name 'Beetles' in Asia if that's any better to say.Personally I always equate the Chuwi name to Chewbacca, so I think it's awesome.
Icehawk - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
I still have no idea how fast this is in real life. It would be nice to actually know how it will work in real life - how long to open a PDF, run a filter, merge data in Excel or whatever. I could care less what CineBench score it gets we aren't trying to determine IPC or architecture improvements. More real world testing is what review sites need to be doing as part of their testing IMO.Can it play 1080p HEVC? 4k? How long to load a web site?
sarscott - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
I own the Chuwi 14.1 and if the laptop is in a very cool room and the CPU is not overheating, the laptop can play a 10 bit 4k HEVC mkv video. Don't know if the 12.3 has the same overheating issues. There is a mod to add a copper shim to the 14.1 that works very well but I feel the laptop is not worth the effort. https://youtu.be/uhtgUHZYjZ8