For the last several years, Chuwi has been shaking up the bottom end of the PC market with low-cost alternatives to the big manufacturers that offer significantly more PC for the money than you’d typically see. But, until this year, Chuwi has focused only on the lowest cost notebooks. Their signature over the last couple of years has been more RAM, more storage, and a better display than most other notebooks in their price range, making them an easy recommendation in the value end of the spectrum. Today we are taking a look at the latest notebook from Chuwi, the AeroBook, and here Chuwi has deviated from their norms. Luckily these risks all result in a better user experience, but of course it comes with tradeoffs.

The 13.3-inch Chuwi AeroBook is the first notebook from the company to not use an Atom based processor, with the AeroBook making the leap to an Intel Core based CPU in the Core m3-6Y30. This is a Skylake-Y series CPU, meaning this isn’t the latest generation Amber Lake-Y we just took a look at in the HP Spectre Folio – or even the previous generation Kaby Lake-Y – but a generation farther back still. So even though it’s a step up to Core, it’s not a giant leap. The Core m3-6Y30 offers two Skylake CPUs cores with Hyperthreading, and a base frequency of 900 MHz with a maximum turbo frequency of 2.2 GHz. Compared to the latest Core m3-8100Y, it’s well behind the 1.1-3.4 GHz range that CPU can achieve, but regardless, it’s still a nice step over the previous Atom based Chuwi LapBooks we’ve reviewed.

As a budget device, you’d likely expect budget specifications, but Chuwi, as usual, offers quite a bit of value in the AeroBook. The version sold in North America comes with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD, meaning it’s well-equipped for an Ultrabook with a price of just $499.00 USD. For comparison, that’s twice the storage as the same priced Surface Go, and you don’t need to purchase a keyboard for this laptop either. As a budget device though, there’s always going to be compromise, and that happens here with the RAM being single-channel only, and the SSD being a M.2 SATA version. But it does pair nicely with the Core m3, offering enough RAM and storage to make the system usable for many tasks.

Chuwi also continues to offer an IPS display, and while that is a standout feature on their lower cost devices, once they bump into higher price brackets, it’s no longer the rarity that it is at the $250 range.

Chuwi AeroBook
  Specifications
CPU Intel Core m3-6Y30
2C / 4T 900 MHz - 2.2 GHz
4.5 W TDP
GPU Intel HD 515
24 EU 300-850 MHz
Display 13.3-inch 1920x1080 IPS
Glossy
No Touch
Storage 256 GB SSD
Netec SATA M.2
Wireless Intel Dual Band Wireless AC-3165
1x1 802.11ac with Bluetooth
I/O 2 x USB 3.0
1 x USB Type-C w/PD
1 x Micro HDMI
Micro SD
3.5mm headset jack
Webcam 2.0 MP
Battery 38 Wh Li-Ion
24 W AC Adapter
Dimensions 308 x 209 x 15.2 mm
12.1 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
Weight 1.26 Kg / 2.77 lbs
MSRP $499 USD
 

To hit the lower price ranges while still offering reasonable baseline specifications, other portions of the laptop do take a hit, as you’d expect. Chuwi offers only 1x1 Wi-Fi, but it is the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 NIC, so despite being a 1x1 NIC, it’s still a quality one. Chuwi also only offers a 38 Wh battery, which is certainly on the small side for a 13.3-inch notebook.

With a new notebook lineup, and the jump to Core, Chuwi has bumped their price bracket up slightly, but they are still offering the value you’d expect. Let’s dig into how the rest of the notebook fares, starting with the design.

Design
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  • zmatt - Monday, June 24, 2019 - link

    I'm not interested in buying another 16:9 laptop. That aspect ratio needs to die in computing.
  • quadibloc - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link

    For a brand-new laptop, this is indeed a good deal. Of course, if one looks around, one can take a chance and buy a second-hand old gaming laptop for that kind of money, so that's a price range where there is an uphill struggle.
  • 808Hilo - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link

    A PC is not a brand. It is a commodity. Porkbutt or Porkchop
  • LiamWearing - Thursday, July 30, 2020 - link

    I absolutely agree. Me and my wife, we are using it only to watch movies, work and sometimes play https://fr.lowdepositcasino.com/ because there's nothing else to do. You might not even know about it but you really can do that now on your laptop.
  • WaltC - Thursday, June 27, 2019 - link

    Chewy, chewy, chewy, chewy----wait...wha?
  • albert89 - Saturday, June 29, 2019 - link

    Another Chinese own company ready and willing to steal your secrets. Who (if that wasn't enough) will be moving to Vietnam this fall, to avoid those U.S tariffs all in the name of free and fair trade.
  • stephin672 - Sunday, June 30, 2019 - link

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  • CraigIsSatoshiBsvIsBitcoin - Monday, July 1, 2019 - link

    Bought my ex-wife a Chuwi laptop. She was making her PhD thesis with it for a few years (obviously didn't back up anything) and then it died. Didn't really upset me at all :)
  • CheapSushi - Wednesday, July 3, 2019 - link

    Tiny typo:

    "then-bezel design" should be "thin" most likely
  • Leo222 - Tuesday, August 6, 2019 - link

    But if he understands the graphic graphics tablets, by the type of these https://www.bestadvisor.com/drawing-tablets . And the same Photoshop. It would be nice to have a budget laptop for drawing

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