Chuwi, a popular Chinese manufacturer of tablet and hybrid computers in Russia, has released a new tablet, announced back in the spring. Chuwi Hi9 Air continued the ideology of the company’s new model line, consisting of Android tablets.
The device was clearly created with an eye on the popular iPad, this time in the Pro version. The Hi9 Air model is positioned as a working device for active use, which is associated with a number of its features.
Let's take a closer look at what Chuwi offers as a workhorse with a 10.1-inch screen, 10-core processor for $180.
Characteristics
| CPU | MT6797 (Helio X20) |
| Video processor | ARM Mali-T880 780MHz |
| operating system | Android 8.0 Oreo |
| RAM, GB | 4 |
| Internal memory, GB | 64 GB eMMC |
| Screen | 10.1″ IPS, 2K (2560 x 1600), 10 touch touch |
| Main camera, Mpix | 13.0 |
| Front camera, MPix | 5 |
| Net | GSM: band 2/3/5/8 WCDMA: band 1/2/5/8 LTE: band 1/2/3/5/7/8/20/40 |
| Number of SIM cards, pcs. | 2 |
| microSD support | Up to 128 GB |
| 3.5mm jack | Eat |
| Moisture/dust protection | No |
| Data transfer | Bluetooth 4.2/Wi-Fi 2.4GHz / 5.0GHz |
| Navigation | GPS |
| Battery, mAh | 8000 |
| Dimensions, mm | 27.00 x 24.70 x 3.50 |
| Weight, g | 550 |
Equipment
According to old tradition, Chuwi Hi9 Air comes with only a minimum set. In the box the buyer will find:
- Chinese power adapter,
- charging cable,
- documentation,
- the tablet itself.
However, comparing the price with its closest competitors, this is a sufficient set.
Appearance
Our hero, with the screen turned off, does not outwardly stand out among his brothers. Due to the low price, the case had to be made of plastic, but for a comfortable grip it had edges rounded at the back. The corners are also slightly rounded so that they do not cling.
In landscape orientation, the main camera with flash is located in the center of the upper part of the rear panel. This is the only element placed on the back side. It is also decorated with the company logo.
The right side contains control buttons. The main interfaces, including a 3.5 mm jack and microUSB for charging, are located at the top end. The bottom edge carries a pair of grilles under which the speakers are hidden.
The front panel looks interesting. While competitors have almost completely abandoned bezels around the screen, Chuwi engineers, on the contrary, have equipped Hi9 Air with huge, almost 2-centimeter black “slopes” for the reason that it is more convenient to use the tablet.
Display
The main feature of the Chuwi Hi9 Air is the excellent IPS screen produced by JDI without an air gap. This 10.1-inch panel has an honest 2K resolution, which is immediately noticeable compared to the FullHD of competitive models.
Of course, 2K for 10-inches cannot be called Retuna. However, this resolution is enough to not notice the pixels when working. And the fonts look much nicer.
Due to the absence of an air gap and high resolution, the display received noticeably high brightness, sufficient for working in bright artificial lighting. The contrast is sufficient, and the display of colors, if not close to ideal, can be called simply very good.
Ease of use
Chuwi Hi9 Air received an impressive weight, exceeding half a kilogram. Therefore, for convenient control of the tablet, the wide frames of the screen really come in handy - especially since with such dimensions it becomes possible to hold it with one hand.
And what’s more, it’s possible to do this even with gloves, which is greatly helped by the rough plastic case, which can withstand low temperatures perfectly.
The interfaces are positioned to be easily accessible in both portrait and landscape orientations. The main thing is to keep the buttons up - although this is how they are located in many competitors, you won’t get confused.
Hardware capabilities
Despite its low price, Chuwi Hi9 Air can compete with top devices from other companies, for example, Huawei M5, thanks to the fact that the manufacturer used a 10-core MediaTek Helio X20 single-chip system.
The latter, although relatively old, is still capable of competing with flagship ARM processors thanks to a combination of two CPU Cortex-A72 cores @ 2.3 GHz, eight A53 with a frequency of up to 1.85 GHz, as well as Mali-T880 780 graphics MHz.
You shouldn't expect any records from this platform, equipped with 4 GB of RAM and a standard 64 GB drive. However, it copes with any current tablet tasks, including heavy office files, drawing in mobile versions of desktop applications (for example AutoCAD) and copes well with remote workers tables.
A powerful graphics accelerator allows you to run even serious modern games like PUBG and the new Asphalt.
Network and navigation
The tablet developers took care to fully support the necessary communication interfaces. Even Xiaomi has to pay a lot extra for LTE. Chuwi offers customers a tray for 2 SIM cards at once with support for both modern Internet connection protocols and voice communications.
The tablet works on all networks available in Russia or the CIS. Of course, it is far from setting records, but at shallow metro stations the connection does not disappear.
The dual-band Wi-Fi module works quite accurately and quickly, without speed restrictions (above those imposed by the protocol). With a good router, you can count on a communication range of about 10-15 meters. Modern Bluetooth 4.2 does not break communication with peripherals at distances of up to 10 meters.
In addition, the tablet is equipped with a navigation module with support for GPS satellites. Despite the absence of GLONASS and Baidu, a cold start takes no more than 30 seconds with 8-12 satellites. The resulting accuracy is sufficient to use Hi9 Air as a car navigator.
Battery life
Thanks to a fairly capacious battery and a highly optimized operating system, the new product has a fairly good operating time away from a power outlet:
- Web surfing – 10 hours,
- Watching movies – 8 hours,
- 3D games – 5 hours,
- Mixed mode – 12-14 hours.
Multimedia: cameras
Oddly enough, Chuwi Hi9 Air has very good cameras. The main one is equipped with a 13 megapixel Sony sensor with a two-color LED flash and shows very good shooting quality.
There are no problems with daytime shooting. Color rendition is correct, color balance is determined accurately, white balance is set correctly. Phase detection autofocus works instantly. At night, the camera shows a rather mediocre grainy picture, which, however, you can try to save using HDR.
The 5 MP front camera is sufficient for any video chats and simple selfies, but you can’t count on artistic shots: there is no autofocus or flash.
Multimedia: sound
Chuwi Hi9 Air has 2 external speakers, and both are hidden on the bottom edge. During operation in certain scenarios, they can be partially closed with your hands, but the volume margin is sufficient to ensure that the sound does not deteriorate. Without interference, stereo sound is really good for a device of the Hi9 Air level - loud, moderately rich and even slightly bassy.
The sound in the headphones is standard for tablets and smartphones in 2018. Nothing special, but it will handle any headphones.
Impression
Overall, Chuwi Hi9 Air gives the impression of an extremely high-quality tablet, which does not betray its low price: at least no worse than the Huawei Media Pad.
The assembly is excellent, without creaks or backlash. Working with such a device is a pleasure. It copes well with any tasks assigned to such devices. There is a small reserve of productivity, sufficient for a couple of years.
conclusions
The current price of Chuwi Hi9 Air is only $180. For a tablet with a current processor and sufficient performance, this is a good price. And taking into account the main quality - an excellent 2K screen - it is worth considering purchasing.
An all-band communication module should be decisive when choosing, since any analogues that have at least an LTE modem cost almost 2 times more.
Buy Chuwi Hi9 Air
