Home Reviews ,,,,, Our test of Chuwi Lapbook SE , a laptop that we replaced our main work machine for a whole week, just ended. It is loved because it is light but at the same time robust, it has an extraordinary keyboard and a touchpad that is hard to give up. MicroSD expansion slot, USB reader and easy access to the main SSD. It sounds perfect, but there is a bitter note.
As did
Constructively it is flawless. The entire outer shell is made of brushed aluminum, with a mouse gray paint finish that is reminiscent of that used by Apple on the latest space gray MacBooks. The circular rubber feet protrude just enough to avoid contact of the cold aluminum with the desk and never bother.
On the back, the Chuwi logo lights up when you turn on the computer, winking at the Apple Apple that hasn't turned on for a few generations. As for connectivity we find a USB-A socket, 3.5mm audio jack and microSD slot on the right side, while on the left there is a second USB-A port, HDMI socket and power input.
Here it is, the toad to swallow. It is in fact the classic pin that is difficult to replace and even more to digest when on the move, forced to have a power outlet to power it and the original power supply always in your pocket. Leaving aside the fact that if the connector were to break, one must necessarily rely on one of those universal solutions that electronics stores also sell for € 20 or more, it also precludes the possibility of making more use of the power input.
1 of 8 
It was enough to choose a USB-C and not only would we have had the possibility to connect a hub with Power Delivery and all the consequent advantages, but it would have been easier to power it on the move with one of the power banks designed specifically to recharge more demanding machines than a smartphone. .
Leaving aside this mole, the opening of the lid amazed us. The hinges that support it are in fact really solid and well built. When we lift the screen the lid does not hesitate and follows our thrust, with a sensation very close to that which is perceived by handling high-end computers and we do not bother to compare it to a MacBook, which in this sense does not differ at all from the Chuwi in question. .
The display bezels are larger than you'd expect from a computer of this quality, but completely justified when looking at the price tag. Good, indeed very good, the performance of the screen already when it is turned off. We are not faced with an OLED panel (it would make the price skyrocket) yet the dead pixels are difficult to spot at a glance. Looking at it from the front and without light interference, a completely black plate appears before us. The bezels are only slightly noticeable if you tilt the screen towards a light source or turn on the computer. Excellent, the work that has also been done in this sense.
At first glance, the dimensions of the touchpad are impressive, higher than those of our MacBook Pro 15 '' mid 2014, as well as the keyboard, wider in the size of the individual keys. The inner shell takes up the colors of the outer shell but is made of polycarbonate instead of aluminum, a difference that however is only noticeable to the touch (the temperature of the two materials is obviously different).
Data sheet
Our test
As has already happened with previous tests of other computers, it is fair to reiterate that we have not performed benchmark tests as the writer considers them an end in themselves, especially when it comes to computers. The performance of a device of this type is in fact very personal and mainly dictated by its use.
In our case we replaced it for a whole week for the MacBook Pro 15 '' mid 2014 that we use every day to write on these pages. For the writer it is therefore a question of drafting articles with a text editor, paginating them within the site via the browser and processing the images with Photoshop and Lightroom, and it is on this type of use that our test mainly focused.
How is it going
In terms of performance, the computer did not disappoint us. He can easily sustain a pace of work that includes Photoshop open in the background and called up for some photo editing from time to time, two open browsers – Chrome and Firefox – with a total of 10-15 tabs open, one of which, on Google Docs, is dedicated to the writing of the articles (the others are dedicated to two Telegram chats for two different accounts, tables, web pages, mail, news and Cyber Layman database).
The 4 GB of RAM begin to be tight when you start some other program, perhaps managing a stream of photos on Lightroom and at the same time modifying some other image with Photoshop. What we have perceived is a natural processing speed lower than what we are used to. However, this is a comparison that does not make sense to exist since our main machine is dedicated to professionals and has a list cost, at the time of launch, ten times higher than what it takes to take the Chuwi Lapbook SE home.
For the keyboard there is an initial hatred that then blossoms into an unconditional love, substantially due to the larger size of the keys. Those used to writing on the same keyboard for years will really struggle to write here, because the keys are much wider, therefore requiring a re-structuring of their typing. In comparison, a MacBook keyboard letter measures 1.6 x 1.5cm while here the same key measures 1.8 x 1.7mm. To read them like this they seem very few millimeters, in reality they extend the typing surface by 3 and a half centimeters (27cm MacBook, 30.5cm Chuwi), which is enough to require a wider movement of the fingers over the entire keyboard.
For the writer it took 3-4 days to become fully familiar with the new form factor, some might take less while for others it might take a few weeks. The fact is that once you pick up the pace, productivity will not be altered at all. The travel and response of the keys is excellent. You just have to deal with a different layout from the one you are normally used to in our latitudes: it is in fact a QWERTY keyboard with an international USA layout, so basically it changes the way of typing accented letters if you set the same layout, while for those who write without looking at the keyboard you can risk setting the Italian layout (a third option is to replace the symbols printed on the keys with those of the Italian layout, on the net for a few euros there are several kits with adhesive key covers ready to use).
Equally positive sensations with the touchpad. The surface is really large (it measures 11.5 x 7.3 centimeters) so much so that by the time we returned to our MacBook Pro 15 '' mid 2014 we struggled to get used to the small size again (for comparison, the touchpad of our Mac measures 10.5 x 7.6cm).
The physical click has a good excursion but you have to keep in mind that for the left click you have to crush the lower left corner while for the secondary click the corner used is the lower right one.
We have much preferred the touch touch, mainly out of habit as the right click is done by touching the touchpad with two fingers as on Mac as well as some three or four finger gestures useful to switch to the desktop are similar to the Apple platform, to the multitasking screen or to subsequent desktops, making everyday work much easier.
In any case, the surface is smooth and the click, physical or touch, always precise. Unintentional touches are accurately recognized and never once have we felt the need to use a mouse: the large and well thought-out control surface proved more than enough to manage our workflow.
The screen has a good resolution and the colors are faithful to reality, the only flaw is the brightness, insufficient for outdoor use. The reflections then do not help: in a comparison with our MacBook (also here actually unrealistic given the abyss in the price between the two products) the latter reflects less light and offers a slightly higher brightness, which is preferred when there is is the need to work on the move.
From the standpoint of autonomy, however, there are no miracles. With the screen, as we said, at the maximum brightness level and in the previously described working conditions, you touch the 4 hours of use before the battery drops below 10%.
Conclusions
Chuwi Lapbook SE is a good product, for construction, performance and quality of touchpad and keyboard. It is invincible then if you consider the selling price and it becomes a real bargain if the destination is to use it mainly as a typewriter for the study or for office work. Under these conditions you can't really want better, even from the point of view of size and portability.
A small addition if, as the writer, you don't digest the Windows environment. We tried to install Ubuntu (at the time of writing the latest version available is 18.04) and all the main hardware components are perfectly recognized. In fact, our tests took place mainly on this operating system and if we ever were to give up the MacBook, this would really be a viable ultra-cheap alternative.
Pro
Cons
Price
Chuwi Lapbook SE is currently sold on GearBest at a price of approximately 240 euros .
,,
