Chuwi Hi10 Pro Review

Last Updated on March 29, 2020

The Chuwi Hi10 Pro offers a 2-in-1 tablet with both Android and Windows 10 available to boot. Although it is often referred to as the Chuwi Hi10 Pro, it can also be found as the Chuwi Hi10 Plus from Chuwi USA, the only difference being the larger, 10.8-inch display of the Plus.

It’s all very well having two operating systems, and a pretty decent set of specs on paper, but is the Chuwi Hi10 Pro any good as a tablet or laptop?

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Specifications

 

Chuwi Hi10 Pro Specifications
Dimensions: 10.88 x 7.27 x 0.35 inches
Weight: 1.24 pounds (without keyboard)
CPU: Intel Atom X5 Cherry Trail Z8350, Quad core
GPU: Intel HD Graphics Gen8-LP10
System RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB eMMC
Expandable to 128GB with TF Card
Operating System: Android Lollipop 5.1 & Windows 10
Display: 10.8-inch IPS Full HD
Resolution: 1920 x 1280 WUXGA
224 PPI
Ports: 1 x TF Card Slot
1 x USB Type-C
1 x Micro USB
1x Micro HDMI
1 x 3.5 mm Headphone Jack
Cameras: Front Facing:   2MP
Rear Camera:  2MP
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
Battery: 3.7V/8400mAh—up to 7 hours of battery life

Design

Despite its low price, the Chuwi Hi10 Pro features a full metal unibody styling with a splendid aluminum alloy chassis. The matte silver finish gives it a quality look while preventing the messy fingerprints of more glossy plastic cases.

It’s a solid build which is easy to hold, with curved edges helping you to grip and a relatively light weight of just 1.24 pounds. The thin chassis of this tablet manages to squeeze in a plethora of ports, including USB-C for charging, a Micro USB, a Micro HDMI and a 3.5mm audio jack, which is now usually missing from modern tablets.

A keyboard, which is often included in the package, adds two further full-sized USB-A 2.0 ports to the mix. The keyboard is quite heavy at just over a pound, and almost doubles the weight of the tablet when attached. However, the keyboard does provide a solid dock and won’t wobble too much with the tablet fixed to it.

Display

For many people, the display of a tablet is the most important part, and the Chuwi doesn’t disappoint, but it won’t wow you either. The 1920 x 1280 resolution is pretty good for the price, with vivid colors and clear text. Unfortunately, the 224 PPI falls way behind the iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface, with text being less sharp and often blurry.

The brightness level of 350-nits is decent for use indoors and you can further crank it up with the Intel Graphics option.

For use outdoors or in sunlight it’s not so great, with the screen being quite reflective, even at maximum brightness settings.

The glass display feels smooth and not cheap in any way, but it doesn’t use Gorilla Glass or any other hardened substance. It’s definitely advised to buy a screen protector or two to look after this tablet. The capacitive touchscreen works quite well, even with an added protector, and correctly identifies taps or multi-touch gestures.

Unfortunately, for movie watching, the display is let down by the poor tinny speakers, which are based on the back of the tablet. Even at the loudest of volumes, they can be quite hard to hear and distort terribly. You will need to use the audio output for any serious listening to music or watching video content.

Performance

One of the key selling features of this tablet is the dual-boot operating systems of Windows 10 and Android 5.1. Considering the Windows 10 license alone is nearly 70 bucks, the tablet offers remarkable value for money as well as versatility.

Windows Performance

The Cherry Trail chipset with 4GB of RAM just about meets the minimum qualifications for running Windows 10. The Hi10 Pro can provide enough grunt for running most basic Office apps and casual gaming.

The system will show its weaknesses when pushed too hard with graphics intensive games or tasks, like HD video and image editing.

The Hi10 Pro manages to pack in 64GB of internal storage, which should be enough for most basic tasks but can be extended to 128GB if required. Although the internal memory is flash based, eMMC is slower than an SSD drive with boot times and larger files being much slower.

Tablet Performance

For basic multimedia or browsing tasks, it can often be quicker in the Android interface. Although the Android OS 5.1 used is two years old, don’t expect it to be updated, as the Chinese are notoriously slow at processing the latest updates.

It does feature access to the Google Play store, but many apps may not be compatible with the older Lollipop system. The specifications of this tablet won’t be capable of playing many of the latest games anyhow, other than at the lowest settings.

For multimedia apps like YouTube or Netflix, it’s more than capable, even with several tabs open.

Is the Chuwi Hi10 Pro Right for You?

The Chuwi Hi10 Pro has plenty to like about it—a low price, a decent quality display, and an all aluminum alloy chassis. Performance wise, for the basic professional or student, it should have more than enough computing power for your everyday tasks.

You have to remember the limitations of the hardware at this price. The battery life is pretty long at six to seven hours, but can’t match the longevity of the iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface. The cameras too, are not up to the standard of higher end 2-in-1 tablets, but are you really buying a tablet as a photography device?

As long as you don’t expect a top of the line performance for video editing or other productivity tasks, this tablet should provide enough to keep the average user going.

The best part is the price, which works out at nearly a quarter of high-end 2-in-1 tablets like the iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface.

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