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
Every once in a while, we get surprised. It seems to be a rare thing in this industry these days, but it does still happen from time to time. The Chuwi Lapbook 14.1 was one such surprise when we reviewed it earlier this year. Chuwi hasn’t been around for a long time, but in one fell swoop, they forever changed the expectations on a budget laptop. Reasonable components, coupled with a good IPS display, instantly changed the expectations on any budget offering from the big PC makers. So far, they’ve not really responded, and the LapBook 14.1 is easily the top pick for anyone wanting a 14-inch laptop for not a lot of money.
So, imagine the shock when this still relatively unknown PC maker surprised us again. Earlier this year, they announced the LapBook 12.3, which is now available. It takes the same basic internals from the LapBook 14.1, couples it to the same display found in the Surface Pro, and packs it all into an all-aluminum chassis. The budget bar has been raised again.
The underlying platform is almost unchanged from the LapBook 14.1 that we reviewed in March. At the heart is an Intel Celeron N3450 CPU, which is a quad-core processor based on the Intel Atom lineup, but the latest Goldmont architecture. This isn’t going to be a blisteringly fast laptop, but the N3450 holds its own in light tasks. In addition, Chuwi has bumped the RAM from 4 GB in the LapBook 14.1, to 6 GB in the LapBook 12.3. That’s a very respectable amount for this PC. Storage remains the same 64 GB of eMMC, which isn’t a lot, but is much better than the 32 GB seen in most PCs in this price range. The LapBook 14.1 also had an M.2 slot inside where you could add a SSD if desired, and the LapBook 12.3 makes that even easier with a removable panel on the bottom to access the M.2 slot.
Chuwi LapBook 12.3 | |
CPU | Intel Celeron N3450 4C/4T 1.1-2.2 GHz 2MB L2 Cache 6W TDP |
GPU | Intel HD Graphics 500 12 Execution Units (Gen 9) 200-700 MHz |
Memory | 6 GB Dual-Channel |
Display | 12.3" 2736x1824 3:2 IPS |
Storage | 64 GB eMMC Expandable up to +128GB microSD plus M.2 slot (2242 SATA) |
I/O | 1 x USB 3.0 Port 1 x USB 2.0 Port 1 x micro HDMI micro SD Card Slot 1 x Headset Jack |
Dimensions | 300 x 223 x 16.7 mm 11.8 x 8.78 x 0.66 inches |
Weight | 1.45 kg / 3.18 lbs |
Battery | 37 Wh, 24W AC Adapter |
Wireless | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 1x1 with Bluetooth 4.2 |
Price | $310-$330 USD |
The star of the show though is the display, with its 267 pixels-per-inch. The 2736x1824 resolution means that it’s also a 3:2 display, giving a bit more display height than a standard 16:9 laptop, and for productivity tasks, that’s been a winning aspect ratio on Microsoft’s Surface lineup. There’s no touch though, but you can’t have everything for this price.
Speaking of the price, this all-aluminum laptop, with a higher resolution display, and more RAM than the LapBook 14.1, can still be had for around the $300 USD mark. At the time of this writing, it’s going for $330 on Amazon, compared to $270 for the larger, plastic, LapBook 14.1, and it can be found for less on other sites. That’s a remarkable price for a device with these kinds of features, and you’d be hard pressed to find a computer that offers more, for less. Let’s dig into the Chuwi LapBook 12.3.
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Hereiam2005 - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
My i5 7200 laptop was 400$, delivered.tipoo - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
Was it 3 pounds?Hereiam2005 - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
Yep. 3 pounds, 13 in, aluminium. FHD instead of QHD but that's about the best the i5 can drive.There's a 2.5 pounds 12 in version but it's too small for my taste.
R3MF - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
any clues as to the make/model?Hereiam2005 - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
Try google A37X ForceRecon 5457. It's a Korean brand.The official price is about 500$, but they give you 15% discount if you buy from certain Korean websites.
The favorable exchange rate doesn't hurt either.
Amazing deal considering the price of the i5 7200u is 280$ each in batch of 1000.
tipoo - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
The only english results seem to be a few comments on review sites, can't find a single full review. seems like an uphill battle to find out more on, unless using poorly google translated pages.zodiacfml - Friday, September 8, 2017 - link
More likely it has a TN panel with 1:600 contrast ratio and a resolution of 1366*768Hereiam2005 - Sunday, September 10, 2017 - link
I have my laptop right here and it says 1920:1080 resolution. So guess again.Hereiam2005 - Sunday, September 10, 2017 - link
http://prod.danawa.com/info/?pcode=4855034Use google translate if you don't understand Korean.
superunknown98 - Wednesday, September 6, 2017 - link
I'm a little confused as to why the 12.3 would score lower in CPU tests than the 14.1 seeing as the 12.3 has an entire aluminum body to dissipate heat. Also can the white point on the display be changed?