Want a Surface Pro 4 without having to pay the $800 price tag? Well, thanks to Chinese manufacturer Chuwi, you can, sort of.
SurBook
In light of Microsoft's announcement of a new Surface Pro, Chuwi has launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund the creation of a $300 competitor known as the SurBook.
We'll be honest, we find the name to be silly. We know that it is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Surface line, but the name SurBook comes across as too desperate. It reminds us of those movies you'll find on Netflix with names like The Starving Games. It's just too on the nose.
Our issues with the name aside, the SurBook is clearly doing well with its target audience. The crowdfunding campaign has only been up for a few days, but it has already raised more than $175,000, well beyond its target goal of $30,000. The cheapest option is the $300 64 GB SurBook, but the most popular offering appears to be the $350 one that includes a stylus and keyboard. There is also a 128 GB model for $400 that also includes a stylus and keyboard.
Unsurprisingly, the SurBook's design is very reminiscent of the Surface Pro 4 and offers an identical 12.3-inch screen.
Specs
The Surface Pro 4 features Intel's Skylake processor, while the upcoming Surface Pro will have Intel's newest CPU, Kaby Lake. The SurBook, meanwhile, uses Apollo Lake, which was actually launched with Kaby Lake as its budget counterpart. The SurBook offers 6 GB of RAM compared to the 4 GB RAM offered by the Surface Pro 4.
The SurBook will offer one USB type-C port and two type-A ports. The Surface Pro 4, on the other hand, only offers the type-A port. Like the Surface Pro 4, the SurBook will run on Windows 10 so it will be compatible with all the Windows Universal Apps.
One area in which the SurBook does win out over the Surface Pro 4 is the battery department. Chuwi boasts that the SurBook's 10,000 mAh battery, compared to the Surface Pro 4's 5,087 mAh, will last for about eight hours. The new Surface Pro, however, is expected to last up to 13.5 hours on a single charge.
Of course, the SurBook's increased battery life may also be responsible for it being heavier than the Surface Pro 4. All in all, the SurBook is about 7 ounces heavier than the Surface Pro 4.
Value
Based on what we've seen so far, the SurBook does look like it offers a good value for its price. It probably won't be as fast as the upcoming Surface Pro and have a shorter battery life, but Chuwi's latest tablet makes up for those shortcomings by being significantly cheaper.
