Chuwi downgrades CoreBook X Pro with worse graphics and a smaller battery

Chuwi has started selling a new version of the CoreBook X Pro, a 15.6-inch laptop that it last refreshed in July 2021. While the company focused on improving the laptop's display last year, it has finally upgraded its processor with the 2022 model. To recap, Chuwi used to offer the CoreBook X Pro with the Core i5-8259U, a Coffee Lake processor also found in the 2018 edition of the MacBook Pro 13.

Now, the company offers the CoreBook X Pro with the Core i5-10210U, a newer Comet Lake-U series processor. This is not a straightforward upgrade, though. On the one hand, both processors rely on Intel's infamous 14 nm manufacturing process, which it has since replaced with 10 nm nodes. Both processors feature four cores and eight threads too, plus 6 MB of L3 cache. On the other hand, the Core i5-10210U peaks at 15 W, compared to the 28 W that the Core i5-8259U can sip from the machine's 45.6 Wh battery.

According to our database, the Core i5-10210U outscores the Core i5-8259U by 1% across various benchmark tests, despite having a 500 MHz higher peak clock speed. Incidentally, the Core i5-10210U has a 1.6 GHz base clock speed, 700 MHz lower than the Core i5-8259U. Ultimately, the main reason for the lack of a performance uplift is the UHD Graphics 620 in the Core i5-10210U, which pales in comparison to the Iris Plus Graphics 655 found in the Core i5-8259U. In other words, the Core i5-10210U may run more efficiently than the Core i5-8259U, but it will also deliver significantly worse graphics performance.

Unfortunately, the processor switch is joined by a smaller battery capacity; the older CoreBook X Pro has a 70 Wh battery. Purportedly, the laptop should still achieve 90 hours of sleep standby before it needs recharging. Elsewhere, the CoreBook X Pro retains its 144 Hz and 1080p display, plus its numerous I/O connections. Currently, Chuwi only sells the new CoreBook X Pro on AliExpress for US$799.99, a huge price increase over the US$499 that Chuwi still charges for the outgoing Core i5-8259U model.

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