The CHUWI HiPad Pro is a budget tablet from Chinese manufacturer Chuwi. Originally this tablet came into the mainstream market earlier this year and ever since then has gotten the attention of so many users. For those who aren’t aware, CHUWI is a brand that produces mini PCs, laptops, and tablets (Windows and Android).
The company does a good job with the pricing of their devices, as they often fall below the $500 price tag. Despite their affordable pricing, devices from CHUWI look promising particularly in the performance department.
Unlike the smartphone market, which is heavily saturated with manufacturers, the tablet industry just has a few major players. These said brands often overprice their products, making them not accessible to most people. Brands like CHUWI are trying to change the perspective of the tablet market with their products, let us now take a look at one of their most recent Android tablets.
CHUWI HiPad Pro basic features and appearance rundown
Basic features of the Chuwi Hi-Pad Pro:
- 10.8-inch screen size.
- 8GB RAM with 128GB of onboard storage which is expandable.
- Processor – MediaTek Helio G95 SoC
- 7000mAh battery
- 8MP rear camera and 5MP selfie camera
Unboxing.
This tablet comes in standard brown box packaging which is similar to most laptop packaging. So there is nothing special about its packaging, you get the tablet and its charger in the box. But, you can choose to get additional accessories from the company like a Bluetooth keyboard and a Stylus pen. These will come in separate packaging with the keyboard in a similar brown box and the Stylus pen in a fancy white box.
At first glance, the neat design, flat sides, and somewhat matte finish make the HiPad Pro a delight to hold. The HiPad Pro measures 7.5mm in width which is similar to other more expensive tablets. On its back, you’ll notice a silver trim across the panel which divides the tablet in two, giving each side a slightly different shade of the tab’s color
The rear panel of this tablet is far from underwhelming. It is hard to see a tablet at the price of the HiPad Pro that comes with a dot-in display. But, on CHUWI’s HiPad Pro, you get a dot-in display for a higher screen-to-body ratio and a more immersive viewing experience.
The power button on this tablet is on the left-hand side if you are holding it in landscape orientation but on top in portrait. CHUWI designed this tablet to be used in landscape orientation which justifies the position of the USB-C port. The port sits on the left-hand side of the tablet just below the power button. There are two speakers on both the left and right-hand sides of this tablet offering great sound for watching films and gaming.
There is no headphone jack on this tablet but at the base, there is a SIM card tray which also holds a memory card slot. The 10.8-inch dot-in display screen has very slim bezels unlike other tablets in its price range. Also, the screen of the HiPad Pro can get very bright and handles light reflecting on it well if you use it under the sun or in areas with very bright lighting.
Processor performance
Arguably the best part of this tablet is the performance. At first, the specifications of the HiPad look pretty basic since it doesn’t use a flagship processor like other tablets. But the MediaTek Helio G95 processor is one of the most powerful processors in MediaTek’s Helio lineup. Ahead of it are the more recent Helio G96 and G99 processors.
As a result, the CHUWI HiPad Pro delivers optimally on your basic performance needs but also on more demanding tasks. I took the time out to use this tablet for my everyday usage in place of my Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. There are a few areas the Samsung tablet is better since it is more expensive and uses a better processor. But for almost half the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, the HiPad Pro offers a unique experience.
There are many use cases for this affordable tablet and work, school, gaming, and media consumption all fall under its wings. I made use of this tablet for work and media consumption and my experience proves that it will effortlessly handle school activities. Using photo editing and graphics design applications on this tablet was seamless.
One of the issues I anticipated was the device hanging but the tablet did not hang even after daily usage. I tested Canva, Figma, and Adobe apps (for photo editing and graphics designing). Now, I’m not quite the gamer, but I went ahead to try out some games like Asphalt, Call of Duty, and Apex Legends, all three games worked well without any lag.
Battery performance
The 7000mAh battery on the CHUWI HiPad Pro lasts for about 10 hours on a single charge as long as there is no case of intense usage. Streaming films or playing games drains the battery faster than it would with any other device. I noticed that in terms of battery life, this CHUWI tablet offers a similar experience to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
Charge time is slow as the tablet only comes with a 10W charging brick in the box. Charging the device from 0-100% took a whole three hours! A good way to bypass the sluggish charging ability of this tablet is by plugging it throughout the night. By morning it will be fully charged and set to go for a better part of the day.
Screen abilities and speaker performance
The screen on this tablet is one of its biggest flexes. Unlike other tablets with fat bezels, the Chuwi HiPad Pro comes with narrow bezels and a nice dot-in camera cutout. During my outdoor usage, the screen was the first thing to attract most people who laid eyes on it.
Asides from being stylish, the dot-in display also helps reduce the overall size of the CHUWI HiPad Pro. The HiPad Pro comes with a 10.8-inch screen, but is almost the same size as the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. Its screen bezels make it smaller than similarly sized tablets and a little bit more portable.
The screen is also a 2.5K IPS full screen which simply means that it offers a good display. Comparing its screen to an AMOLED display will be a big mistake as it doesn’t measure up. But, writing off the IPS display will also be a big mistake.
I didn’t have any issues with the screen while working, playing games or streaming Netflix. While in public with the sun hitting the screen I had to ensure that the screen brightness is at its maximum. The screen of this tablet is impressive and great for devices in its price range.
Per speakers, all four speakers on the HiPad Pro deliver amazing sound from both ends. I observed that two of the speakers, one on each side, offered a more immersive sound experience than the other two. The sound quality isn’t as loud and immersive as some might want it to be, but you won’t have to strain your ears to hear audio even when the volume is not at its peak.
Productivity features
From my experience working on this tablet, I can say that it is one of the best work companions around. The HiPad Pro’s productivity feature got a great boost thanks to its magnetic keyboard and stylus pen.
Starting with its magnetic Bluetooth keyboard, which makes typing and editing documents on this tablet effortless. This keyboard connects to the CHUWI HiPad Pro via strong magnets. The magnets are on the back of the tablet and its base (while in landscape orientation) and they firmly hold the keyboard to the tablet without wobbling. There is only one docking point for the tilt while typing, so one will need to get used to typing in that orientation.
The keyboard comes with standard function keys for power users with similar layout on a standard keyboard. As such, the experience you will get while using this keyboard is not far from what you get on a standard Windows or macOS keyboard. The keys are evenly spaced and key travel is awesome. But if you have long fingers you will have to adjust the way you type to avoid bumping into yourself while typing.
All basic typing activities for work will work perfectly on this tablet as you will only need to download either Google Docs or Microsoft Word from the PlayStore. The keyboard comes with a charging port and from my experience, a single charge will get you more than a week of active usage. The back of the Bluetooth keyboard uses a soft texture finish to help it stay in place and not slide about while in use.
Another exciting accessory on the HiPad Pro is the stylus pen. This accessory will catch the fancy of those into graphics designing and digital artistry. The pen has great sensitivity and is very responsive to every action you take while it is in use on the tablet’s screen. The stylus pen does not come with a charging port and does not also magnetically attach to the tablet. It has in-built batteries which the company says can last more than a year. To move it around you need to carry it like a regular pen unlike other stylus pens from more expensive tablet brands.
Pricing and Conclusion
You can get this tablet on its own without its accessories from the CHUWI official store at just $239. Adding the Bluetooth keyboard and stylus pen to the list brings the total price up to $319. This is not a comparison but, per product similarity, the Chuwi HiPad Pro is still much cheaper than just the iPad 9th generation and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite without their accessories. So, if you are looking to spend only a fraction of your earnings on your next tablet, you can consider the CHUWI HiPad Pro.
A few things still need to be worked on and we hope that the company will work on them. One of such is integrating Android 12L into the tablet’s software. This will bring more productivity features to the HiPad Pro, such as better multitasking. From our findings, CHUWI is preparing to launch its next-generation tablet, which will run Android 12. So you can as well wait to get the next-gen tablet and get more processing power since it’d launch with a better processor.