I feel like this is another “Framework 12 vs Neo” type of deal. I can get a used MacBook Air M1 for £250 which beats the Minibook in every regard and it can run Linux.
Can it use an external display under Linux?
Chuwi Minibook X
181–190 of 318 posts
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#182I feel like this is another “Framework 12 vs Neo” type of deal. I can get a used MacBook Air M1 for £250 which beats the Minibook in every regard and it can run Linux.
It's much bigger and heavier. I hope Apple will bring back a 11" notebook one day.
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#183It's not particularly cheap. There are cheaper 14.1" laptops which are probably better-built, with a more responsive keyboard etc. Not sure why the poster chose this one.
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
A used x1 carbon is a better deal, faster, and weighs about the same with a bigger screen.
My x1 carbon gave me nothing but trouble from the beginning. I couldn't even move it too fast lest I risked it locking up. Additionally, my wrist strain got considerably better after ditching it for a comparably priced M2 that blows it out of the water in every conceivable category.
Previously my daily driver was a Thinkpad X1 Gen 6, it's a bit of troublesome.
Now it's X1 Gen 10, it has been largely trouble free.
Probably my next laptop will be the next Gen X1 with the new upgradeable LPCAMM2 RAM.
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#185The Minibook X is obviously targeted at the netbook form factor in the traditional sense, i.e. small and cheap. If you're like me and appreciate the netbook/UMPC form factors (for travel purposes in my case) but also need better specs to actually get any work done -- and you're willing to fork out a bit more to get that -- I would recommend looking at GPD's Pocket and MicroPC series. I own both a Pocket 4 and MicroPC…
I had the GPD pocket 2 and:
- the keyboards was terrible
- the battery didn't last more than 2h30 after only 6 months of use
- it ran super hot
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#186Snap! The US only keyboard is a bit of a pain, and the trackpad sometimes glitches, but when travelling light this is excellent.
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/05/gadget-review-chuwi-miniboo...
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
Absolutely. The 11" MacBook Air was the best laptop Apple ever made.
I yearn for an updated version of the 12” MacBook with modern specs and keyboard. The 13” Air is way too large to be the smallest MacBook ;_;
Yes, same here. I can’t help but think they had an iPhone SOC planned for it (tiny motherboard, only one usb-c) but the hw/os team weren’t ready.
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#188Starlite Mk IV is my favourite "netbook" successor. 0.9 kg, 11.6 1080p IPS display and Linux-first, with coreboot. Unfortunately it is a couple years old by now and you can feel that (Intel N5030 and 8GB of RAM). Sadly the company changed the form factor of Mk V to a detachable but if you can live with that it's also an option.
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#189I have one of these. It's an awful piece of shit and I love it. I bought it because I was going on holiday and didn't want to take a real laptop both in case it got stolen and to dissuade me from using it. I ended up using it more than I would have a normal laptop because it's so small and easily carried. My current use case is for my commute into the office, it easily fits on the microscopic train tables and doesn't…
> It's an awful piece of shit and I love it.
I think, realistically, the issues the author describes - particularly with the keyboard and trackpad - would drive me up the wall for any kind of serious use.
But then, if you're travelling on holiday, do you really want serious use? I like your rationale of taking something that's bad enough that you won't want to use it but you have something if you really need it even if it didn't quite work out that way for you.
And, apart from theft, and depending on where I'm travelling, maybe a cheap device that I don't mind the authorities rifling through the storage of wouldn't be such a bad thing. Like I don't necessarily want $RANDOM_CUSTOMS_PERSON_IN_SOME_COUNTRY to have access to my bank statements, account details, or to get into my social media accounts, or whatever.
And it would be nice not to have to worry about any of that stuff if the machine did get stolen (sure, the drive on my main laptop is encrypted, but physical access is always a massive force multiplier when trying to gain access to a system or its contents).
Re: Chuwi Minibook X
#190Earlier quoted context omitted.
I loved mine but I'd be lying if I said it gave me three years of acceptable performance. Sure, I can blame Chrome and JS, but ultimately, the core 2 duo and 8GB RAM did not keep up very long.
There was an 11” air with an i5/i7 - i splurged for 16gb of ram when i bought it in 2015 and it lasted me 10 years. It still works, but a few specific apps started to really drag on it.
I guess, but that kinda means I would've needed to improve my 11" MBA's longevity by buying another, more recent, 11" MBA though. :)