After the fashion of low cost smartphones, which have really allowed everyone to have an aesthetically valid and functional device in their hands from different points of view, another trend is now coming from China. That of inexpensive notebooks. This is the case of Chuwi HeroBook, among the cheapest laptops you can buy. Here's what it offers and if it's worth buying.
Let's start with the price, because this is probably the trump card of this notebook. Just 180 euros . It is a 14-inch laptop, which boasts an Intel Atom x5 quad-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB memory.
Aesthetics
Design and build quality do not present any obvious criticalities. At first glance, the Chuwi HeroBook looks like many other notebooks. It has a largely silver body with a black bezel around the screen, which is rather well optimized and hidden. Obviously, the body is entirely made of plastic, which on the one hand is not unpleasant, but on the other hand (obviously) returns a feeling far from that offered by high-end notebooks.
The notebook has a small thickness, just over 2 centimeters, and weighs 1.48 kg. Quite heavy for plastic, but not that awkward to carry. Connectivity is pretty standard.
On the left side there is a USB 3.0 type A, a connector for the power cable, which unfortunately is not USB-C, as well as an HDMI output. On the opposite side there is another USB 3.0 port, a standard 3.5mm jack, and a microSD card slot.
On the bottom there is a compartment to house an SSD expansion, a particularly interesting choice to increase the performance of the laptop with a paltry expense of about 30 euros. Compatibility is with M.2 2242 and 2280 format.
The speaker is hidden between the screen hinge. The sound quality is acceptable, but obviously nothing that can make you enjoy great sound. It may be fine for watching YouTube videos, but forget about bass or deep, full-bodied voices; even the volume is not that high.
On the front there is a 0.3 megapixel webcam, located above the screen. The quality, useless to go around it, is questionable.
Keyboard
A separate discussion deserves the keyboard, which we believe to be one of the most important elements when buying a notebook. This is because, very often, the use of notebooks, especially cheap ones, is for video writing, or in any case for the office. An inexpensive notebook does not have great graphics potential, and it is normal that the most intense use will be dedicated to office activities that require more or less long typing sessions.
The keyboard is full-size, but does not have the numeric keypad on the right, as is available on other notebooks, such as the Teclast F15. The keyboard layout is QWERTY, the symbols on the keys are missing, but you get used to it soon. A large Shift key stands out, larger than the Enter one, with the full size directional keys well separated, easily reachable.
The keys have sufficient travel, but the plastic materials return an unconvincing touch and feel, a sensation that also extends to the sound component: the sound that the keys emit when pressed does not return a comfortable feeling.
Attention, however, this is not an insufficient keyboard, and indeed we have written long texts, like the review you read, with a rather low degree of error in typing.
We did not find any particular hitches in using it, but the feeling it returns is not optimal. In any case, we must always remember the price at which the device is proposed: for the price list, the keyboard is doing its duty.
Below the keyboard, there is a very large touchpad with integrated mouse buttons. The touchpad is undoubtedly the best part of the laptop. Very large and comfortable, it is used well, it is precise and gives a good feeling to the touch, also from the point of view of the precision of the inputs. Nothing to say. Mechanical button clicking is also acceptable.
Screen
Chuwi HeroBook has a 14-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 16: 9 and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. On such a diagonal we cannot hide that it is a very low resolution, especially because we are used to Full HD screens. The lower resolution immediately catches the eye.
Viewing angles are really too low
However, you should always keep in mind the rather low selling price, which would not have allowed the implementation of a 1080p screen. Moreover, it is not an IPS panel and this will make the viewing angles not particularly wide.
To use the notebook, in fact, you will have to perfectly orient the screen with respect to the user, otherwise the colors will start to veer significantly. The brightness is good for indoor use, but the laptop is difficult to use outdoors.
The screen, rather than being seen as a strongly negative aspect, must be appreciated as an element that probably allows us to keep the list price so low. It is certainly a compromise, acceptable if you look first at the portfolio.
Performance
Here too, of course, there is no lack of compromises. Chuwi HeroBook includes a quad-core Atom x5-E8000 processor, flanked by 4 GB of RAM and a 64 GB eMMC internal memory.
The processor is similar to the x5-Z8350 model found on a myriad of budget notebooks from a few years ago. However, this E8000 is slightly more powerful, clocked at 1.04GHz, which can go as high as 2GHz.
Beyond the features proposed on paper, in everyday life the performance of the device is satisfactory for basic use. As already mentioned, HeroBook is good for office use, word processing, to work in the Office environment, surf the net, read emails and, in general, to perform any operation that does not require graphics power.
It is also good for viewing videos on YouTube, on video streaming platforms, although in this case you would still have to deal with limited viewing angles of the screen, and not very deep audio.
Throughout our texts we have used it to surf the net smoothly, but don't ask HeroBook to become your main game machine. It is possible to play Asphalt Xtreme or Modern Combat 5, but if you try to install more demanding games you will not be able to get a good experience. For those wondering, it is by no means the ideal machine to play Fortnite or Apex Legends.
Autonomy
Good. Indeed, excellent. It will be thanks to the processor and screen that do not require a lot of power, but we managed to really get close to the 9 hours indicated by the manufacturer. This is excellent news for all those, for example, who use the notebook on the move, on public transport, on the train, on the plane, who can rely on the laptop without worrying about having to recharge it.
Conclusions
Is Chuwi HeroBook worth buying? The answer, of course, depends on the intended use of the laptop. If you only look at the price, then HeroBook is unrivaled, also because the design is really good.
The keyboard, although it does not return an excellent feeling, is still left to use, while the trackpad is really excellent. Battery life is the flagship of the laptop.
However, the performance is not great, especially in terms of graphics: it is not a laptop for gaming, even watching a movie is not recommended, due to the limited viewing angles of the display.
It is a useful and functional laptop for those who want to surf the net, write in Word, and perform basic operations, with the possibility of playing smartphone-based titles, not those that require graphics power.
It costs 180 euros on GearBest and can be purchased at this address .
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