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KUU Lebook Pro : test / full review

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On this page:
Price KUU Lebook Pro
The KUU Company
KUU Lebook Pro, what is it
Unpacking
Finish
Specifications
Performance
Battery life
Screen quality test
Using the stylus
Audio quality
Comparison with the Surface Pro 7
Conclusion / Opinion
Tablets

KUU Lebook Pro : test / full review


Published on: 28-03-2022 / Modified: 29-03-2022

I have been using a Surface Pro for a few years now and I am very happy with it. This type of product is very special because it is at the crossroads between a laptop and a tablet, it is clearly not a product that will suit all uses but as far as I am concerned, I could not do without it. Why am I bringing up my Surface Pro when I'm going to test something else? I have a problem with the video output of my Surface Pro and had started my search for a new one until I was offered to test an alternative Chinese product, the KUU Lebook Pro.

For the record, KUU is pronounced "kiu" for French speakers, so this will avoid any misunderstanding when I write that I am testing a KUU.

Price KUU Lebook Pro




The KUU Company


KUU is a Chinese company founded in 2019 that specializes in marketing laptops, hybrid PCs and mini PCs. I admit that I didn't know this brand at all before testing this first product, so this test will be a discovery. KUU's product range is quite wide with some interesting propositions. Their products are clearly inspired by other brands but their price is ultra competitive. A lower price is often synonymous with lower quality, the reviews on Amazon are quite mixed but I'll be able to get an idea with this product that comes as a direct competitor to the Surface Pro from Microsoft...that's good timing, it's a product I know very well.

KUU Lebook Pro, what is it


The KUU Lebook Pro is a hybrid product that can be used as a laptop or a tablet offering the best of both worlds but that's for theory. I've been using a Surface Pro for years and I've never thought of it as a laptop or a tablet, it's really a different type of product. The KUU Lebook Pro runs Windows 10 but is eligible to upgrade to Windows 11. If you prefer Linux, you can in principle install Linux as well, but you will have to look for the drivers yourself, e.g. to recognise the fingerprint reader.

So if it's neither a laptop nor a tablet, how do you classify this product? I think this product is designed for mobile use where you need to access certain programs without the constraint of carrying a larger laptop, the touch screen allows you to do without a keyboard for simple operations. I've been using this type of product for a few years now and I use my Surface Pro for example to connect it to other devices to make various measurements. I calibrate my projectors with this kind of product, I do quick photo processing when I'm away from home, I do writing for my articles when I'm on a train for example. I have quite a varied use of this type of product and I have really got used to the combination of a product with a keyboard and touch screen to such an extent that I sometimes want to touch the screen when using a real laptop.

Unpacking


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The packaging of a product often gives an insight into its positioning. Microsoft Surface Pro products are premium products with a rather austere approach in their packaging as if to give them a serious look. KUU has a different approach with a stronger and more colourful visual, it's not a very premium approach at first sight but after opening the box, I quickly changed my mind. I will come back to this in the next paragraph.

The box contains the PC, a stylus, a detachable keyboard with touchpad, a power adapter, a USB hub containing 4 USB-A ports and connected by a USB-C port, a USB-C cable for charging and 5 sets of stickers for the keyboard (Italian, Greek, French, German and Spanish configuration) as the physical keyboard is qwerty. The KUU Lebook Pro is neatly packaged in black foam packaging, the product is well protected against shocks. This product is more of a top-of-the-line product from KUU and this first impression of the packaging and its contents is positive.



Finish


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The KUU Lebook Pro is a product costing more than 800$ and for this price you expect to buy a product with a good finish, which is clearly the case. The KUU Lebook Pro is quite thin for this type of product, it is thinner than my Surface Pro 2. The frame is made of metal and good quality plastic inlays, which gives a solid impression. The screen weighs 884 grams, which is a bit more than a Surface Pro and with the keyboard the whole thing weighs 1283 grams. So the weight is significantly more than a tablet, it is comparable to the weight of a Mac Book Air without being considered a real laptop.

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There is an external speaker at the bottom left and right

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Two USB type C ports at the top left, which is an improvement on my Surface Pro 2, but the placement of these ports is not really optimal because everything you connect will be subject to the earth's attraction and the whole thing will go down. I'm thinking in particular of the USB hub that comes with this product, it will literally hang downwards and come to rest on the area where you place your hand to hold the screen. It's a bit the same problem with charging the screen. If you put the screen in an upright position, the cable will go down and put pressure on the connector.

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On top there is a huge ventilation area to dissipate the heat generated by the CPU and GPU. The power button is on the top right edge and contains a fingerprint sensor to unlock the computer like what you would find on most smartphones.

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On the right side there is a jack type audio output and a button to control the volume.

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At the back is the stand that allows you to place the screen in an upright position, you can choose almost any angle as the stand does not lock into fixed positions like my Surface Pro. You can place the screen in any position you like, so this system gives you maximum flexibility. This stand is metal, so it shouldn't break with use, but you still have to apply some pressure to move it.

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The KUU Lebook Pro has a 5 megapixel front camera and an 8 megapixel rear camera. I haven't received any information about which sensor is used, but maybe I'll find out when doing the photo tests.

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The keyboard has slightly raised keys, each key is backlit on the sides (the letters do not light up). It attaches magnetically to the screen and the connection is immediate. The keyboard is 27cm wide, which is only slightly less than a traditional keyboard, the keys are correctly spaced and despite the size of my hands, I didn't really feel any big difference from my usual keyboard. There are however 2 things that bother me a bit with this keyboard, firstly the size of the "enter" key, I find this key too small for such an important function. The other thing is the size of the up/down arrows which are smaller than the left/right arrows. If you were going to play with the arrows, this is not a very practical configuration.

The touchpad has good sensitivity and smoothness except when I use the left/right buttons at the bottom of the touchpad. These buttons are invisible, but they are there to simulate the left and right clicks of a mouse. If you move the cursor precisely to a location and then click, it's quite possible that the cursor will move outside the clickable area and this is quite annoying at times.

I had a fairly basic keyboard with my Surface Pro, so this type of keyboard is a significant improvement that will allow me to do mobile writing without having to carry a separate keyboard.

The touchpad area is quite large, I will have to get used to it because I tend to drag a thumb in this area and therefore accidentally press the touchpad. It's mostly a matter of habit because I find that the placement and size are correct. For this first overview of the KUU Lebook Pro I am quite happy, this product leaves me with a very good impression.

Specifications


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Processor (CPU)

The KUU Lebook Pro is equipped with an Intel Core i7-8550U processor, a priori a Core i7 is rather the top of the range at Intel and this range often rhymes with performance. However, it must be put into perspective because this processor has been around since 2017, so it is not a latest generation processor and the level of performance will clearly not be equivalent to a recent Core i7. This does not mean that this pc will move as fast as a loaded wheelbarrow, I will come back to the performance later in this article.

Graphics processor (GPU)

The KUU Lebook Pro is equipped with an Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU, this is the default GPU associated with this type of CPU and therefore inevitably this GPU does not is also not last generation. I will come back to performance later in this article.

Screen

With a 12.6 inch screen, the KUU Lebook Pro is positioned a little above the Surface Pro 7 but the borders are quite thick and the diagonal of the screen is actually 31 cm (12.2 inches). I quite like this screen size, it's neither too small nor too big for a mobile experience. The 2k resolution also allows for a very detailed image with good pixel density.

Performance


To test the performance, I use the Passmark software, which not only gives a score to the performance, but also compares this performance with other components available on the market.

CPU

passmark_cpuspec

As I said above, the Core i7 range is often synonymous with good performance but here we're talking about a Core i7 released in 2017 and 5 years is an eternity in the component business.
passmark_cpu

I got a CPU score of 6183 and this puts this processor in the low end of the ranking. That doesn't mean it's bad, this is a hybrid PC designed for mobile use, it's not a gamer PC. This level of performance is more or less the same as the performance of a Surface Pro 7 with a Core i3, I will end this test with a comparison with this version of the Surface Pro.

With 6183 points, you have a computer powerful enough to support all daily office tasks, you can also use more demanding software such as Photoshop, but the processing speed will obviously be slower. Games that offer the ability to adjust the level of graphics can also be considered.

GPU

passmark_gpu

The Intel HD 620 GPU is part of Intel's processor-related architecture, so this GPU is part of the same generation as the CPU. This configuration is a bit dated but as this kind of product is not performance / gaming oriented, you should not encounter any problems for office automation and watching videos.
passmark_2D
passmark_3d
The two GPU tests in 2D and 3D clearly show that the performance is more of an entry-level performance.

Mémoire

The KUU Lebook Pro is equipped with 16 Gb of RAM, that's a fairly significant advantage over a Surface Pro 7 which starts at 4 Gb and can go up to 16 Gb. With the basic 16Gb of this computer you get ease of use for all daily tasks.
passmark_mem

The performance test shows that this type of memory (DDR4) offers a good level of performance because where the CPU and GPU are rather in the lower average, the memory performance ranks much better.

Hard Drive

The KUU Lebook Pro is equipped with a 512Gb SSD hard drive, this is another key benefit of this product as the Surface Pro 7 starts at 128Gb and the 512Gb version is linked to the most expensive version with a price of more than 1500€. With 512Gb, you can install several rather heavy programs or games and such a capacity will not pose any problems if you store mainly small files.
aja_1gb

I got read and write speeds of just over 400 Mb/s with this SSD hard drive. It's clearly not a very high level performance but it's still superior to a traditional hard drive.

USB

The two USB-C ports on the top left of the KUU are USB3 ports and they can also be used to charge the computer with 45W fast charging in Power Delivery, a compatible charger is delivered in the box.

Wifi

The KUU Lebook Pro is compatible with 2.4Ghz and 5GHz frequencies. With the 5Ghz frequency, I got a link speed of 433 Mbps but I didn't get more than 140 Mbps for internet data transfer. It's an acceptable score but it's not the fastest device I've tested. I tested the speed on two different routers and got good speed with the Netgear router and bad speed with the Technicolor router, the Netgear used channel 44 and the Technicolor used channel 100 while the network shouldn't be crowded.

The wifi therefore offers a good speed which will be more than sufficient for use in office automation or for streaming. I noticed however that the hand over from one access point to another was not very fast. I have several access points at home and it really takes the signal strength to drop below 10% for the KUU to decide to switch to another network which at that location has a signal of over 90%.

Battery life


I measured a capacity of 41070 mWh at full charge, I don't know the battery voltage so I don't know how to convert this to mAh to compare the capacity to a smartphone but if it's a 3.7V voltage, I get a battery of 11100 mAh, which is huge. The battery life will obviously depend heavily on what you do with this computer but if I push the charge on the CPU to full, I get about 2.5 hours of battery life. This may not sound like much but this is a load test where the machine spits out its guts with the screen on. In reality I think the autonomy should be around ten hours of continuous use (with normal use).

With a 45W fast charge you can charge the battery from 1 to 100% in about 2 hours and 40 minutes, this is quite long but it is due to two things. One is the capacity of the battery and the other is the speed of charging the last few percent. Charging the first 20 percent is faster than charging the last 20 percent.

Screen quality test


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The KUU Lebook Pro is equipped with an IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 2160x1440 on a surface of just over 30cm diagonal. The screen is superb and this is confirmed by the colour test. I got an excellent dE of 0.37, which is the best portable screen I've tested so far. The colours are very true and the white is perfect with a temperature of 6502K.
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The greyscale is also very well rendered with a gamma of 2.22 with sometimes deviations on some values but on average the greyscale is very well rendered. The contrast is also excellent, I measured a contrast of 2364:1, which is a high level of contrast for an IPS LCD screen.

The screen has a slightly unusual aspect ratio for this type of product with a 3:2 ratio, so the screen is a bit squarer than other products of this type and I think that's a great idea. I feel like I have a larger screen size as the aspect ratio is more favourable than on a Surface Pro. The lack of borders would have offered a full screen experience but the presence of those borders never really bothered me.

Using the stylus


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The stylus is included in the box of this KUU Lebook Pro where it is a paid accessory on the Surface Pro 7. This pen allows you to write or draw, but you should see this accessory as a backup solution because the precision is not enough to draw very sophisticated things, but for making a quick sketch or note (e.g. on a map), this style works very well. It also detects pressure to magnify the line and the latency between pressing and drawing is quite good. This stylus will not replace a pen if you need to write long texts.

The pen is magnetic and sticks to the right side of the tablet. The pen is turned on with one of the buttons on the edge of the pen, the other button allows you to erase what you have just drawn, for example. The other button is used to erase what you have just drawn, for example. You should get used to the presence of these buttons because if you are not careful, you could accidentally press one of them.

The pen has its own battery and can be recharged via a micro USB port on the top of the style. The choice of a micro-USB port is probably in response to a space constraint, but no micro usb cable is supplied with the KUU.

Audio quality


The KUU Lebook Pro is equipped with two external speakers that deliver average quality sound with a fairly strong treble emphasis, this is not very powerful but the volume is sufficient for most everyday use.

I measured the fidelity of the sound with my measuring device and got a graph that confirms what I had found with the sound subjectively.
kuu lebook pro test review avis recensione prueba opinion beoordeling photo audio

The sound produced by the KUU shows deviations at almost all frequencies and although these deviations are not huge on the mids, the deviation is very large on the lows and highs. If you listen to music with headphones, you will feel a little something missing in the sound and that can be explained with the gaps I measured.

Comparison with the Surface Pro 7


The KUU Lebook Pro is positioned as a direct competitor for Microsoft's Surface Pro range. I have used the Surface Pro 7 as a reference but the comparison could apply to other generations and the prices I will use below are subject to change.

The Surface Pro 7 comes in 3 versions:
- Core i3 1005G1
- Core i5 1035G4
- Core i7 1065G7
I'm going to use the Core i3 version for this comparison as it's the version that comes closest to the KUU Lebook Pro in terms of performance.
comparatif surface pro 7 1

The base price is €899 but at the time of writing there is a special offer of €719. This price is comparable to the KUU Lebook Pro but there are some differences in favour of the KUU:
- 16 Gb of base memory versus 4 for the Surface Pro, that's a huge difference for your everyday convenience.
- 512 Gb of SSD storage, here again the KUU does much better than the Surface Pro

To get a keyboard like the KUU's, you have to pay £149.99 more. You also have to add a style that costs 109.99€ from Microsoft. I now arrive at a price of 978.98€ for the Surface Pro 7 with keyboard and stylus but less memory and a smaller hard drive. The price difference is therefore quite significant in favour of the KUU.

If we take only these factual elements, the KUU Lebook Pro represents an excellent alternative to the Surface Pro 7.

To be more complete and objective, I must also add some elements in favour of the Surface Pro:
- use of much newer CPU/GPU (better power management and heat dissipation)
- 2 year hardware warranty
- integrated memory card reader
- integrated USB-A port
- better audio quality

Conclusion / Opinion


As I wrote at the beginning of the article, I have been using a Surface Pro 2 for years and I am delighted with it but for some time now, the video output had become capricious and no longer allowed me to use my Surface Pro in good conditions. The KUU Lebook Pro crossed my path at the right time but I was a bit apprehensive as I wondered if a little known Chinese product would be able to compete with a premium product from Microsoft. The verdict? Yes, the KUU Lebook Pro can compete with a Surface Pro and not only on price but also on some concessions.

The experience of this kind of product is strongly linked to the screen, if the screen is not good, the rest of your experience will not be positive. The screen on this KUU Lebook Pro is excellent. First of all, its 3:2 ratio offers a good immersion and a larger working space. Its colourimetry is perfect, it is worthy of a premium product and its contrast level is also excellent. The touch part is responsive, I didn't feel any difference with my Surface Pro.

I sometimes need a physical keyboard for certain types of use and the keyboard on this KUU is very comparable to that of a Surface Pro. This kind of keyboard is not designed for writing novels but for writing a few articles, I never had a problem with it, the touchpad was less convincing but I mainly use the touchscreen for on-screen operations so I don't need the touchpad much.

What about the performance? This type of product is not performance oriented and KUU made the choice to use "old" hardware from 2017. This probably allows them to market a product at a lower price. The performance of this machine is not extraordinary but it is more than enough for office and multimedia use. The CPU/GPU pairing delivers enough performance to provide a good day to day experience, they are just less energy efficient and the fan will eventually kick in to clear the heat.

Amongst the things I didn't like about it was the sound quality, which was too poor for a product of this price. There is also the positioning of the USB ports, a position at the bottom would have been more logical. The presence of a USB-A port would also have been interesting. There is no video output either and although this may not be important for many users, for me it is an important criterion, so I had to buy a USB to HDMI adapter to be able to use the KUU on a projector or an external screen.

So I'll be able to store my Surface Pro 2 in a cupboard and keep it among my good memories.

Strengths:
- quality of the screen
- good keyboard
- sufficient performance
- good memory performance
- battery life and charging speed
- price/performance/equipment ratio
- keyboard stickers

Weaknesses:
- sound quality
- some missing connections (USB-A, HDMI,...)
- position of USB-C ports
- touchpad (especially the buttons)
- enter key too small


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