Chuwi, a company specializing in the production of tablet PCs, ultrabooks and 2-in-1 transformers, demonstrated its latest new products at CES 2018 - the Hi9 and Hi9 Air tablets.
Both models are positioned as devices that are primarily focused on gaming and consuming multimedia content. This review will focus on the younger model (Chuwi Hi9), which is a relatively compact and inexpensive multimedia device equipped with a high-quality 8.4-inch display, high resolution and impressive density pixels.
Equipment
The device with a shipping film glued to the display is delivered in a simple cardboard box. Apart from the tablet itself, the box contains:
- USB cable for synchronization;
- powerful AC adapter 100-240V (5V/3A);
- instructions in English.
Housing, buttons and connectors
The appearance of Chuwi Hi9 corresponds to a typical inexpensive Android tablet, and does not pretend to be unique. However, the manufacturer focuses on such important factors as ergonomics and ease of use.
Judging by the relatively narrow frames to the right and left of the screen, the developers tried to make the body as compact as possible. At the same time, the upper and lower frames remained quite wide, to provide a comfortable two-handed grip when holding the device in landscape orientation. The glass covering the front panel flows almost seamlessly into the side edges, thanks to curved edges using 2.5D technology.
The rest of the body is made of plastic with a matte, non-slip surface. The build quality is generally acceptable, if you do not pay attention to the little things: the rear panel bends slightly if you press on it in the central part. But the case turned out to be compact, light and thin (its thickness is only 7.9 mm), and as a result, convenient for transportation.
The tablet is equipped with a minimum number of interfaces for connection. All available connectors (microUSB, mini-jack 3.5 mm and a slot for installing a microSD memory drive) are placed in one row on the top edge of the case.
The power/lock button along with a two-position rocker for volume control are placed on the right side.
On the top frame, not far from the front camera, there is a sensor responsible for automatically changing the brightness of the backlight.
Display
Chuwi Hi9 is equipped with a high-quality 8.4” display from the Japanese company JDI, with a resolution that is excessive for such a diagonal – 2560 × 1600 pixels (WQXGA). The resulting pixel density is 359 ppi: more than enough for display perfectly smooth font borders and rendering clear images with an extremely high level detailing.
The display is made using full lamination technology, which involves the absence of an air gap between the touch panel and the LCD screen. As a result, the reflection coefficient is significantly reduced and a brighter, more contrasting image is achieved. And the capacitive 10-point touchscreen is responsive and sensitive, demonstrating lightning-fast and accurate response to touches. In addition, the IPS matrix used is characterized by wide viewing angles and very good color rendition.
The maximum brightness reaches 400 nits, which indicates the ability to obtain a legible image not only indoors, but also outdoors, in clear weather. In addition, night mode is supported, which allows you to reduce eye strain, which is especially important when working with text materials for a long time, without an additional lighting source. In general, the screen installed in this tablet is, by almost all criteria, ideal for comfortable reading, viewing photos and other graphic content.
Software
A significant part of tablet PCs produced by Chuwi are equipped with the Windows 10 operating system. However, this model, like its predecessor, is produced running Android OS, which is the best option for a compact device, initially oriented towards consumption multimedia content. The manufacturer equipped Chuwi Hi9 with a multilingual version of Android 7.0 Nougat, with full support for Google Play services.
The system supports dual-window split screen mode, allowing you to work with 2 applications simultaneously in landscape orientation. The firmware interface is standard, without modifications to the shell or other system components. In the list of pre-installed software, the only application from a third-party developer was ES Explorer File Explorer, which can be easily removed if necessary and replaced with any alternative file manager.
Performance and Memory
Chuwi Hi9 uses a 64-bit MediaTek MT8173 single-chip system, which includes Quad-core processor with two high-performance Cortex-A73 cores and two energy-efficient cores Cortex-A53. The platform is complemented by a fairly powerful graphics subsystem, represented by the integrated GPU PowerVR GX6250. Despite the mediocre results of synthetic tests, the device demonstrates decent performance when performing any trivial everyday tasks.
Thanks to a sufficient amount of RAM (4 GB LPDDR3), smooth operation of the OS interface is ensured, quick launch of applications, as well as the ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, without slowdowns. To install games and applications, an eMMC 5.1 flash module with a capacity of 64 GB is provided (approximately 54 GB is available to the user). In addition, memory expansion is supported up to 128 GB using a microSD drive, which can be formatted for use as an extension of the internal storage.
If we talk about the gaming performance of Chuwi Hi9, the power of its hardware is quite enough to run and smooth operation of most modern 3D games, such as Modern Combat 5 or Asphalt 8 Airborne. Of course, we shouldn’t forget that we are talking about an inexpensive device that no longer uses a flagship platform. When running insufficiently optimized games, or games that are extremely demanding on system resources, sometimes it seems that performance is reduced due to the high resolution of the display.
For example, by setting the graphics quality settings close to maximum, in the game World of Tanks Blitz you can count on 30, maximum 45 FPS. But even at medium settings, a completely adequate FPS indicator is provided, which is necessary for comfortable gaming and transmission of smooth images. During prolonged gameplay, the top of the tablet may feel slightly warm. However, Chuwi Hi9 copes well with intense loads, and the maximum heating level does not exceed permissible standards.
Multimedia capabilities, cameras
The tablet supports 4K video playback at 30 FPS. In this context, the device would benefit from having an HDMI interface, which is necessary to output images to an external display or TV. However, due to its absence, we must be content with wireless transmission of a multimedia signal using the Miracast standard, based on Wi-Fi Direct technology.
The speaker, which is hidden in the lower part of the case under two rows of small holes, demonstrates quite voluminous sound, like for a tablet. When playing audio at maximum volume levels, the speaker does not wheeze. Good headphones provide decent sound quality and a very decent volume reserve.
Chuwi Hi9 is equipped with a 5-megapixel main camera without flash. Despite the budget nature of the image sensor used, if there is a sufficient level of lighting, the frames are at least not blurry. With support for autofocus and HDR mode, the camera is suitable for shooting text, creating photo notes and scanning QR codes. Video recording is carried out in FullHD resolution.
The role of the front camera is performed by a 2-megapixel module, the capabilities of which are sufficient only for video communication. A built-in microphone is provided for transmitting voice messages and creating audio recordings.
Wireless interfaces
Due to the absence of a 3G module, the dual-band wireless data transfer protocol Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac is used to connect to the Internet. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality is provided by the MT6630 chip. In addition, Chuwi Hi9 can be used as a navigator, thanks to the presence of an integrated GPS module.
Battery and autonomy
With the help of a built-in battery with a capacity of 5000mAh / 3.7V, the tablet is able to continuously work away from sockets for 7 hours in intensive use mode. Under moderate loads, one charge lasts for about a day of battery life in mixed use. Overall, this is an acceptable result for such a device, especially considering the fact that Using the included power supply, the battery capacity is completely replenished in just 2 hours.
Advantages and disadvantages of Chuwi Hi9
Pros:
- very high quality display:
- thin and relatively compact body;
- decent gaming performance considering the price;
- good sound quality through the main speaker;
- “clean” OS without modifications;
- affordable price.
Minuses:
- no HDMI connector;
- There is no mobile communication module provided.
conclusions
Overall, Chuwi Hi9 is a rather interesting budget media tablet in a compact body with wonderful display, as well as hardware that provides a decent level of gaming within its price range productivity. At the same time, the device does not pretend to compete with more powerful and expensive devices, since it is unlikely to be able to attract the attention of those who like to test hardware by launching another resource-intensive game on the highest graphics presets.
This model would be quite suitable for a user who regularly travels and is thinking about purchasing a gadget that is quick to use, affordable and easy to transport. Which could be used on the road for comfortable reading, watching video content, having fun playing Android games and performing other related tasks. In addition, if you have an active Internet connection, Chuwi Hi9 could be an ideal tool for active web surfing, online correspondence and access to social networks.
