Chuwi undercuts MacBook Neo with affordable Intel Wildcat Lake laptop

Chuwi has introduced its first Intel Wildcat Lake laptop, the UniBook, and as the brand shares, it's expected to start at around $449, meaning it will be more affordable than the MacBook Neo. Of course, it's still unclear how well it will compare in terms of performance.

The UniBook is powered by the Intel Core 3 304, the starting option from the Wildcat Lake lineup with a 5-core CPU and 1-core Xe3 iGPU. Chuwi pairs the processor with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and the starting configuration is expected to sport a 256GB PCIe 3.0 SSD.

On the front, the Chuwi UniBook features a 14-inch display with 1920x1200 pixels resolution and 100% sRGB coverage. The company doesn't mention the refresh rate, meaning that it's likely a 60Hz panel. These specs make the display inferior to the 13-inch Liquid Retina display found on the MacBook Neo (available on Amazon).

Of course, the port configuration appears to be a bit better, with the Chuwi UniBook featuring two USB-C, three USB-A, an SD card slot, one HDMI, and one RJ45 Ethernet. For wireless connectivity, the laptop features WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. A 53.38Wh battery powers the internals, which can be seen as an improvement over the Neo, but it's still unclear how good the runtime will be.

While Chuwi shared the core specs, the company hasn't revealed any detailed images yet. However, the brand mentions that there will be a 180° hinge, and the only picture shared shows it in a sleek grey colorway. It's set to ship with Windows 11 Pro installed, which can be an issue for the 8GB system RAM, but the good part is that users will have the freedom to install a debloated version of Windows or simply shift to Linux. The company is expected to share more details on the launch and availability soon.