Verdict - UniBook is a decent package for the price
The Chuwi UniBook is an inexpensive 14-inch laptop and the overall performance level from the Wildcat Lake CPU is very low, but it might still be interesting if you need a basic laptop for light workloads with a decent chassis and long battery runtimes. The fan is usually very quiet, you get plenty of ports and the illuminated keyboard also works pretty well.
The matte IPS display is still okay, but Chuwi originally advertised a panel with 100 % sRGB coverage. The panel only covers ~60 % of the small sRGB gamut though, so colors look a bit pale. Chuwi only corrected the specs a couple of days ago, so you might be disappointed if you already ordered one.
In addition to the low overall performance level, other negative aspects include soldered RAM (only 8 GB) as well as poor webcam as well as speaker performance. All of this is still tolerable for the current price point of $449 and therefore interesting when your budget is very limited.
But is it a serious MacBook Neo rival as Chuwi advertises? No, because there are just too many compromises and the MacBook offers a significantly better user experience with a better IPS panel, better input devices (even though not illuminated on the base model) and a better sound system.
Pros
Cons
Specifications
Case, Connectivity and Input Devices
The UniBook uses a plastic base unit in combination with an aluminum lid. The dark grey chassis looks good, but the surfaces quickly attract fingerprints. Overall stability is decent, but there are some creaking sounds and the hinges are a bit wobbly. You can easily open the device and clean the fan, replace the SSD and the Wi-Fi module, but the memory is soldered.
Connectivity is very good with five USB ports in total (2x USB-C) as well as HDMI, a microSD-card reader (even though the transfer rates are slow) and even Gigabit Ethernet. The Wi-Fi 6 module only manages average transfer rates (80 MHz), but we had no issues with the signal quality during our review. The quality of the 720p webcam (with mechanical shutter), however, is very bad.
The black keyboard offers a pretty comfortable typing experience including two-stage illumination, which is an advantage at this price point. The clickpad is pretty small and does not offer the best gliding capabilities, but it works. Mechanical clicks, however, are very loud and feel cheap.
| SD Card Reader | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Networking | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| iperf3 transmit Wi-Fi6/7 RT-BE96U | |
| iperf3 receive Wi-Fi6/7 RT-BE96U | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
Display
Chuwi uses a matte Full-HD IPS display with 60 Hz, which is not surprising at this price point. However, the device was advertised with 100 % sRGB color gamut until last week, and this was only corrected after we contacted Chuwi with our own test results, because the sRGB gamut is only covered by roughly 60 %. This is a visible difference and if you already bought the device, you will be disappointed with the rather pale colors. Otherwise, the overall image quality is still okay, but the average brightness is below 300 nits. Contrast is still okay at ~1,000:1 and there is no PWM flickering, but there is visible backlight bleeding and our analysis with the professional CalMAN software shows high color deviations. This cannot be fixed with our own calibration, either, and confirms that this is a budget IPS panel.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 289 cd/m²
Contrast: 1070:1 (Black: 0.27 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 6.4 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.71}
calibrated: 5.2
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 3.5 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø4.96}
41.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
58.9% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
40% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 1.99
CCT: 6516 K
| Chuwi UniBook NV140WUM-N45, IPS, 1920x1200, 14", 60 Hz | Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB IPS, 2408x1506, 13", 60 Hz | Chuwi CoreBook Air F140J50-401, IPS, 1920x1200, 14", 60 Hz | HP Omnibook 5 14 Samsung SDC4213, OLED, 1920x1200, 14", 60 Hz | Alldocube iWork GT Ultra LTM0001, IPS, 2560x1600, 13", 60 Hz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 74% | -0% | 138% | 21% | |
| Display P3 Coverage (%) | 40 | 72.2 81% | 39.5 -1% | 95 138% | 48.7 22% |
| sRGB Coverage (%) | 58.9 | 97.9 66% | 59.4 1% | 69.2 17% | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage (%) | 41.3 | 72.6 76% | 40.9 -1% | 50.8 23% | |
| Response Times | 30% | 11% | 93% | -21% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * (ms) | 30.1 ? | 20.8 ? 31% | 33 ? -10% | 1.67 ? 94% | 40 ? -33% |
| Response Time Black / White * (ms) | 20.3 ? | 14.6 ? 28% | 14 ? 31% | 1.84 ? 91% | 22 ? -8% |
| PWM Frequency (Hz) | 480 | 1000 ? | |||
| PWM Amplitude * (%) | 13.5 | 45 | |||
| Screen | 45% | 18% | 32% | -21% | |
| Brightness middle (cd/m²) | 289 | 548 90% | 353 22% | 288.7 0% | 504 74% |
| Brightness (cd/m²) | 287 | 519 81% | 330 15% | 289 1% | 479 67% |
| Brightness Distribution (%) | 86 | 91 6% | 90 5% | 98 14% | 89 3% |
| Black Level * (cd/m²) | 0.27 | 0.48 -78% | 0.22 19% | 0.46 -70% | |
| Contrast (:1) | 1070 | 1142 7% | 1605 50% | 1096 2% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 6.4 | 1.4 78% | 4.9 23% | 3.43 46% | 9.65 -51% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 21.5 | 3.1 86% | 8.86 59% | 7.04 67% | 20.35 5% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 5.2 | 0.4 92% | 3.51 32% | 9.31 -79% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.5 | 2.1 40% | 5.74 -64% | 1.3 63% | 8.43 -141% |
| Gamma | 1.99 111% | 2.24 98% | 2.37 93% | 2.2 100% | 3.07 72% |
| CCT | 6516 100% | 6870 95% | 7222 90% | 6336 103% | 8432 77% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 50% /
49% | 10% /
13% | 88% /
57% | -7% /
-12% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 20.3 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 11.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 9.1 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 46 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (19.8 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 30.1 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 13.9 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 16.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 41 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (30.9 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 52 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 7738 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
Performance
Testing Conditions
We performed our benchmarks in Best Performance mode
Processor Performance
The UniBook is equipped with the Intel Core 3 304 processor (Wildcat Lake) with 5 cores. It can consume up to 35 Watts for a couple of seconds, but quickly drops to 15 Watts. Overall performance is very low and only sufficient for light workloads without too much multi-tasking. Some of our more demanding benchmarks (like Cinebench 2024) also crashed.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.7: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| CPU Performance rating | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB -12! | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra -1! | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (1555 - 21812, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (358 - 2213, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (579 - 8541, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (128 - 832, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (327 - 3345, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (72.4 - 322, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (159 - 2271, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (11668 - 77867, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (2643 - 6699, n=59, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Geekbench 6.7 / Multi-Core | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (2244 - 20325, n=63, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (5987 - 6708, n=2) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Geekbench 6.7 / Single-Core | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (960 - 4195, n=62, last 2 years) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (2407 - 2472, n=2) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (0.97 - 25.1, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (39.9 - 220, n=56, last 2 years) | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (0.4024 - 1.456, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx | CPU CheckMate
| Performance rating | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air -1! | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra -1! | |
| Chuwi UniBook -1! | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 -1! | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (1135 - 32888, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (5218 - 123315, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (444 - 5287, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (10579 - 95002, n=47, last 2 years) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (692 - 18418, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (3341 - 65433, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (638 - 96917, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (127.2 - 1379, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (610 - 17495, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (6569 - 85600, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air (v6.92.6600) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU CheckMate | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (471 - 5939, n=10, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra (v8.20.8100) | |
| Chuwi UniBook (v8.20.8100) | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
System and Storage Devices
System performance is still okay thanks to the SSD (256 GB), but 8 GB memory is a bottleneck and multi-tasking is not really possible. For everyday use, the system feels snappy enough, though, and the Wildcat Lake system quickly wakes up from standby.
PCMark 10: Score | Essentials | Productivity | Digital Content Creation
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
| Performance rating | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB -4! | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook -2! | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 -4! | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU -2! | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (4920 - 9939, n=47, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (8368 - 11646, n=47, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (5435 - 16606, n=47, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (5181 - 13779, n=47, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (365 - 2356, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (364 - 2277, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (372 - 2743, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (312 - 1854, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| WebXPRT 3 / Overall | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (156 - 530, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (132 - 378, n=60, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (234 - 1104, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
* ... smaller is better
| PCMark 10 Score | 5695 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (14554 - 131023, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (13982 - 127174, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (15709 - 135141, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Core 3 304 (n=1) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (6.1 - 300, n=56, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
| Drive Performance rating - Percent | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average 256 GB NVMe | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU and Gaming Performance
The Core 3 304 features an iGPU with just one Xe core, so the overall GPU and gaming performance is very low. You can still watch high-resolution videos without any issues, but more GPU demanding tasks are not really possible. If you want to play games, we recommend streaming services like Xbox cloud gaming.
| 3DMark Performance rating - Percent | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 2475 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1917 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 858 points | |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad Light Score | 587 points | |
Help | ||
| Blender / v3.3 Classroom METAL | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (76.3 - 227, n=5, last 2 years) | |
| Blender / v3.3 Classroom CPU | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Average Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU (n=1) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (241 - 1117, n=60, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
| Performance rating - Percent | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB -5! | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 - 1920x1080 Low Preset (FSR off) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (9.52 - 74.2, n=63, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (4.73 - 43.7, n=56, last 2 years) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (8.37 - 54.5, n=54, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 high AA:high AF:8 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (18.2 - 114.9, n=50, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (13 - 97, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (16.2 - 50.5, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Alldocube iWork GT Ultra | |
| Chuwi CoreBook Air | |
| HP Omnibook 5 14 | |
| Chuwi UniBook | |
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 90.5 | 71.4 | 15 | 4.73 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 98.1 | 78.7 | 38.7 | 36.1 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 23.2 | 10.4 | 8.37 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 24.6 | 16.3 | 16.2 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 62 | 23.6 | 18.2 | 0 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (2023) | 9.52 | 7.12 | 0 |
Emissions & Power Consumption
System Noise
The UniBook is a very quiet laptop and the fan is usually turned off or extremely quiet. If you utilize the full performance potential, the fan will spin up to 42.8 dB(A) for a couple of seconds, but quickly drops to just 30.9 dB(A) as soon as the TDP drops to 15 Watts. We did not notice any electronic noises form our unit.
Noise level
| Idle |
| 25.8 / 25.8 / 25.8 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 25.8 / 42.8 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 25.8 dB(A) | ||
| Chuwi UniBook Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 WCL | Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB A18 Pro, A18 GPU | Chuwi CoreBook Air R5 6600H, Radeon 660M | HP Omnibook 5 14 SD X Plus X1P-42-100, Adreno X1-45 1.7 TFLOPS | Alldocube iWork GT Ultra Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -6% | 0% | -9% | ||
| off / environment * (dB) | 25.8 | 24.9 3% | 25.8 -0% | 24.9 3% | |
| Idle Minimum * (dB) | 25.8 | 25.2 2% | 25.8 -0% | 26.4 -2% | |
| Idle Average * (dB) | 25.8 | 25.4 2% | 25.8 -0% | 26.7 -3% | |
| Idle Maximum * (dB) | 25.8 | 25.4 2% | 25.8 -0% | 26.8 -4% | |
| Load Average * (dB) | 25.8 | 36 -40% | 29 -12% | 39.3 -52% | |
| Load Maximum * (dB) | 42.8 | 45.6 -7% | 37.8 12% | 40.3 6% | |
| Witcher 3 ultra * (dB) | 43.1 | 40.2 | |||
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (dB) | 46.7 | 29.2 | 40.4 |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperatures are very low overall and we only measured slightly more than 40 °C under maximum load. During the stress test, the CPU consumes 35 Watts for a couple of seconds and then drops to 15 Watts.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 37.1 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 41.4 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 39.2 °C / 103 F
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 29.4 °C / 84.9 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.2 °C / 82.8 F (-1.2 °C / -2.1 F).
| Chuwi UniBook Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 WCL | Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB A18 Pro, A18 GPU | Chuwi CoreBook Air R5 6600H, Radeon 660M | HP Omnibook 5 14 SD X Plus X1P-42-100, Adreno X1-45 1.7 TFLOPS | Alldocube iWork GT Ultra Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -1% | -15% | 16% | -18% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * (°C) | 37.1 | 40.8 -10% | 46.8 -26% | 32.4 13% | 45.6 -23% |
| Maximum Bottom * (°C) | 41.4 | 38 8% | 43 -4% | 33.6 19% | 46.3 -12% |
| Idle Upper Side * (°C) | 23.8 | 28.5 | 30.2 | 32.1 | |
| Idle Bottom * (°C) | 22.8 | 29.9 | 32 | 34 |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
The stereo speakers sound very tinny and the overall quality is very poor. We recommend headphones or external speakers for videos or music.
Chuwi UniBook audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 20.5% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 7.9% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (9.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5.8% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 84% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 12% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 77% of all tested devices were better, 5% similar, 18% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 7.7% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.4% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 4% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 134%
Chuwi CoreBook Air audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (78.5 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 15.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (9.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 6.4% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (18.4% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 54% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 39% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 41% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 51% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 134%
HP Omnibook 5 14 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (92.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 19.3% lower than median
(+) | bass is linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (12.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 19% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 76% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 12% of all tested devices were better, 3% similar, 85% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 134%
Alldocube iWork GT Ultra audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (73 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 22.6% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.1% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(±) | higher highs - on average 5% higher than median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (8.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 78% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 20%, worst was 57%
Compared to all devices tested
» 79% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 23%, worst was 134%
Power Consumption and Battery Life
The UniBook is efficient and the 65W PSU is completely sufficient. The 53 Wh battery offers good battery runtimes and we recorded almost 14 hours during our Wi-Fi test at 150 nits, which beats almost all the rivals. A result of almost 12 hours at maximum brightness is also very good, but keep in mind that the maximum brightness is pretty limited.
| Off / Standby | 0.37 / 0.52 Watt |
| Idle | 2.4 / 4.5 / 4.7 Watt |
| Load |
17.7 / 52.9 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Chuwi UniBook Core 3 304, Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 WCL, 256 GB NVMe, IPS, 1920x1200, 14" | Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB A18 Pro, A18 GPU, Apple SSD AP0256Z, IPS, 2408x1506, 13" | Chuwi CoreBook Air R5 6600H, Radeon 660M, TWSC TSC3AN512-F6Q10S, IPS, 1920x1200, 14" | HP Omnibook 5 14 SD X Plus X1P-42-100, Adreno X1-45 1.7 TFLOPS, Samsung PM9C1 MZVL81T0HELB-00BTW, OLED, 1920x1200, 14" | Alldocube iWork GT Ultra Ultra 5 125H, Arc 7-Core, Netac NS1T0BSSD610, IPS, 2560x1600, 13" | Average Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU | Average of class Subnotebook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -22% | -80% | -8% | -170% | 0% | -65% | |
| Idle Minimum * (Watt) | 2.4 | 1.5 37% | 3.9 -63% | 1.9 21% | 8 -233% | 2.4 ? -0% | 3.7 ? -54% |
| Idle Average * (Watt) | 4.5 | 8.9 -98% | 8.1 -80% | 2.5 44% | 13.1 -191% | 4.5 ? -0% | 6.53 ? -45% |
| Idle Maximum * (Watt) | 4.7 | 9 -91% | 8.8 -87% | 8.1 -72% | 16.5 -251% | 4.7 ? -0% | 7.88 ? -68% |
| Load Average * (Watt) | 17.7 | 18.9 -7% | 44.2 -150% | 17.8 -1% | 40.9 -131% | 17.7 ? -0% | 41.7 ? -136% |
| Load Maximum * (Watt) | 52.9 | 26.3 50% | 62.4 -18% | 70.3 -33% | 75.9 -43% | 52.9 ? -0% | 64.9 ? -23% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * (Watt) | 10.3 | 38.3 | 19.1 | 41 | |||
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (Watt) | 11.5 | 34.6 | 19.9 | 41.4 |
* ... smaller is better
Notebookcheck Rating
Chuwi UniBook
- 08/08/2026 v8
Andreas Osthoff
Total Sustainability Score: Potential Competitors in Comparison
Image | Model / Review | Price | Weight | Height | Display |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. 79.8%  | Chuwi UniBook Intel Core 3 304 ⎘ Intel Graphics 1 Xe3 Wildcat Lake iGPU ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB NVMe | Amazon: 1. $499.99 CHUWI Gaming Laptop 16inch, ... 2. $469.99 CHUWI Gaming Laptop, 16GB RA... 3. $328.99 CHUWI 2 in 1 Laptop Tablet, ... List Price: 449€ | 1.2 kg | 16.4 mm | 14.00" 1920x1200 162 PPI IPS |
2. 86%  | Apple MacBook Neo 256 GB Apple A18 Pro ⎘ Apple A18 GPU ⎘ 8 GB Memory, 256 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 699€ | 1.2 kg | 12.7 mm | 13.00" 2408x1506 218 PPI IPS |
3. 81.4%  | Chuwi CoreBook Air AMD Ryzen 5 6600H ⎘ AMD Radeon 660M ⎘ 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | Amazon: 1. $469.99 CHUWI Gaming Laptop, 16GB RA... 2. $499.99 CHUWI Gaming Laptop 16inch, ... 3. $339.99 CHUWI Laptop Computer 14'', ... List Price: 549€ | 1 kg | 15.95 mm | 14.00" 1920x1200 162 PPI IPS |
4. 85.5%  | HP Omnibook 5 14 Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 ⎘ Qualcomm SD X Adreno X1-45 1.7 TFLOPS ⎘ 16 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 550 USD | 1.3 kg | 12.7 mm | 14.00" 1920x1200 162 PPI OLED |
5. 78.5%  | Alldocube iWork GT Ultra Intel Core Ultra 5 125H ⎘ Intel Arc 7-Core iGPU ⎘ 16 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | Amazon: List Price: 799€ | 870 g | 9.89 mm | 13.00" 2560x1600 232 PPI IPS |
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
This is how Notebookcheck is testing
Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.
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