In a market overflowing with underwhelming budget laptops sporting outdated specs and sluggish processors, the Chuwi CoreBook X Pro comes as a breath of fresh air. It may not be from a big-name brand like HP or Dell, but what it brings to the table is enough to make even the giants sweat, at least in the budget space. We’re talking about a 12th Gen Intel i5 H-series processor, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 15.6-inch display, and a healthy selection of ports.
Specs like these are typically found on laptops that cost around ₹60,000. So, how has Chuwi managed to bundle all this into a machine that sells for literally half that price? Of course, there’s some corner-cutting involved. And naturally, questions pop up about Chuwi as a brand, its reliability, and what kind of compromises buyers will face. So the real question is: should one take the plunge and spend ₹30K on this laptop, or is this just another “too good to be true deal?” Let’s break it down.
Table of Contents
Design and Display
At first glance, the Chuwi CoreBook X Pro doesn’t try too hard to grab attention. It opts for a simple, clean aesthetic that may not turn heads but definitely won’t feel out of place in a boardroom or classroom. While the overall build does lean toward the budget side, Chuwi claims that the laptop does feature an aircraft-grade aluminium alloy lid with a sandblasted finish. Honestly? It does give it a smooth, premium feel that’s also resistant to dirt and wear. The rest of the chassis feels fairly average due to its plastic construction, but to its credit, it isn’t flimsy and shows little flex during regular use.
At around 1.7kg, it’s not the lightest laptop out there, but it’s in line with most other 15.6-inch options. That makes it comfortable to carry around in a backpack, making it ideal for college students or hybrid professionals. The hinge mechanism is solid too, offering smooth opening and a firm hold that keeps the display steady without any wobble.
Coming to the display, the CoreBook X Pro is equipped with a 15.6-inch Full HD panel at 60Hz, which is already a win considering many sub-₹30K laptops still ship with outdated 768p or 900p panels. The larger screen size makes it ideal for productivity, be it browsing, writing emails, attending video calls, or working on presentations. Sure, a taller 16:10 aspect ratio would’ve been great, but for this price, there’s no room to complain.
That said, there are a couple of drawbacks. The panel is 6-bit, meaning it can’t render the full range of 16.7 million colours like an 8-bit display. In day-to-day use, this results in colours that look slightly muted and visible banding in gradients, especially noticeable in things like photo editing or scenic wallpapers. Brightness is average, suitable for indoor environments, but not ideal for bright, outdoor use. Viewing angles are decent, though not as wide or vibrant as a full IPS panel.
The bottom-firing dual stereo speakers follow a similar story. They’re clear enough for casual use but lacking depth. As such, while they’re perfectly fine for calls or YouTube, if you’re watching movies or listening to music, earphones or a Bluetooth speaker will deliver a much better experience.
Ports and Connectivity
The Chuwi CoreBook X Pro does a great job when it comes to connectivity, offering a wide selection of ports that cover nearly every need. On the right side, the laptop includes a Gigabit Ethernet port, an SD card slot, and a USB 2.0 port. These are great for wired internet access, quickly transferring photos from a camera, or plugging in a mouse or keyboard without using up a faster USB slot.
Over on the left side, you get the bulk of the high-speed options. There’s a DC charging port, an HDMI 2.0 output for connecting to external monitors or projectors, two USB 3.0 ports for fast data transfers, and a USB-C port that supports both charging and display output. You’ll also find a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio and a physical camera switch, which is a thoughtful touch for anyone who values privacy during video calls.
Speaking of which, the bundled 720p webcam is quite grainy and noisy, but still, it should suffice for video calls. On the wireless front, the laptop supports Wi-Fi 6, ensuring faster and more reliable internet speeds, especially in crowded networks, and Bluetooth 5.2, which offers improved range and lower latency for wireless peripherals.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Moving on to the keyboard, this is where Chuwi pleasantly surprises once again. The full-sized layout on the CoreBook X Pro is genuinely comfortable to use, especially considering its budget price. The keys are well spaced, offer a soft tactile response, and provide decent travel, making them ideal for long typing sessions. Whether it’s drafting assignments, shooting off emails, or working on lengthy reports, the typing experience holds up impressively well. There’s even white backlighting, which is a rare feature in this price bracket and a real bonus for night owls or those working in dimly lit environments.
There is a bit of flex in the middle of the keyboard deck, but it’s minor and doesn’t affect day-to-day use. The layout is mostly familiar and easy to get used to, with full-sized arrow keys that make scrolling through documents and navigating spreadsheets much easier. That said, there’s no dedicated Print Screen key, which can be a bit annoying. Personally, I used Microsoft PowerToys to remap the Scroll Lock key, though the classic Win + Shift + S shortcut also gets the job done.
Chuwi has also baked in a few custom function shortcuts. For example, Fn + Space lets you switch fan profiles, which is a surprisingly handy feature for balancing noise and performance. However, some shortcuts feel a bit odd; Fn + F4 closes a browser tab, and Fn + F8 opens a new one, mimicking Ctrl+W and Ctrl+T. It’s not necessarily a downside, just a quirk that feels tailored for a different market.
As for the trackpad, it’s fairly large and supports all standard Windows gestures like two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom. While it isn’t the smoothest out there, it’s responsive, reliable, and more than adequate for everyday use.
In real-world terms, you won’t feel the need to plug in an external keyboard or mouse—unless you’re into heavy editing or gaming. For students, writers, and office-goers, this input setup feels well thought-out and refreshingly capable for the price.
Performance, Thermals, and Upgradability
Let’s dive into performance, which is usually the first place budget laptops cut corners. But in the case of the Chuwi CoreBook X Pro, it’s quite the opposite. Powered by the Intel Core i5-12450H, this isn’t your typical low-power chip reserved for entry-level machines. It’s a proper 12th Gen H-series processor, the kind you’ll normally find inside gaming or creator laptops in the ₹50K–₹60K range. Sure, it’s not the latest in 2025, but it’s still a heavy-hitter where it counts.
Our benchmark tests back this up. In Cinebench, Geekbench, and PCMark, the CoreBook X Pro delivers results that are neck-and-neck with entry-level gaming laptops like the Infinix GT Book and Colorful P15, both of which use the same CPU. Those machines edge out slightly ahead due to better cooling setups, but the Chuwi holds its own surprisingly well, especially when compared to typical budget contenders like the Acer Aspire Lite AL15-53, which rocks a much weaker Core i3-1305U.
When it comes to graphics, the onboard Intel UHD GPU isn’t built for gaming marathons. That said, it can still manage GTA V at 30 FPS on High settings, and a much smoother 60 FPS with tweaks. For basic creative tasks like photo editing or Canva projects, it’ll get the job done. The only real bottleneck is the display, which, as discussed earlier, isn’t ideal for colour accuracy. But plug in an external monitor, and the experience improves dramatically. Plus, the presence of a full-sized SD card slot is a nice bonus for creators and photographers.
The 16GB of DDR4 RAM, combined with the H-series chip, also makes for effortless multitasking. Whether you’re juggling Chrome tabs, a video call, and a few productivity apps, the laptop doesn’t stutter. You can switch to Turbo fan mode for maximum performance, though even the Balanced profile is good enough for most daily tasks. The dual-fan setup can get a bit audible under pressure, but it does an excellent job at keeping thermals in check. Storage-wise, the 512GB NVMe SSD from AirDisk isn’t top-tier, but with sequential read speeds over 3000MB/s, it’s fast enough for snappy boot times, quick app launches, and smooth file transfers.
What truly stands out, though, is how refreshingly easy it is to upgrade this laptop. Chuwi’s gone old-school in the best way possible, with dedicated flaps on the bottom for both RAM and SSD access. No prying open the entire chassis. The laptop has a single stick of 16GB RAM, meaning you can bump the RAM up to 32GB. Same for the storage, you can choose to replace it, or better yet, add another SSD in the other slot with one up to 2TB. That’s rare flexibility in this price bracket, and a huge win for buyers who want to extend the life of their machine without replacing it entirely. For context, one of the only other laptops that offer such flexibility is the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16, which costs over 3.8 lakhs.
Battery Life and Charging
Battery life is arguably the most average aspect of the Chuwi CoreBook X Pro, though that’s understandable given the high-performance internals it’s packing. It comes with a 49.08Wh battery, which delivers around 4 to 6 hours of real-world usage, depending on your workload. In the PCMark 10 Video loop test, the laptop managed just under 5 hours—not stellar, but respectable for a machine running a 12th Gen H-series chip.
In daily use, it’ll comfortably get through a few meetings, emails, or a study session before needing to be plugged in. As for charging, the laptop uses a traditional barrel-pin charger. While it does support fast charging, don’t expect modern conveniences like USB Power Delivery here. And honestly, at this price, that’s not a huge surprise. While it would’ve been nice to top up via a Type-C port, it’s not a dealbreaker—just something to be aware of.
Before You Buy…
Before getting to the verdict, there’s one thing worth pointing out: Secure Boot was disabled in the BIOS by default. That’s a bit surprising, especially since Secure Boot is one of Microsoft’s official requirements for Windows 11. The feature helps protect the system by allowing only trusted software to load during startup, and it’s generally expected to be enabled out of the box. The good news is that I was able to manually enable Secure Boot from the BIOS without any issues, and the laptop booted just fine afterwards.
Still, it’s something worth noting, particularly for users who care about system integrity and security. While it may not be a cause for concern, it’s a small detail that raises questions about how the OS was originally configured. For peace of mind, buyers might consider doing a fresh installation of Windows 11 with Secure Boot enabled from the start, just to ensure everything is set up the way it should be.
Verdict
At around ₹30,000, the Chuwi CoreBook X Pro punches far above its weight. It’s a performance-first machine that delivers where it truly matters: CPU power, multitasking ability, upgradeability, and sheer bang for the buck. Sure, there are compromises like the 6-bit display and an average webcam, but at this price, they’re easy to overlook when you consider the features and overall value on offer. The only real concern? The brand itself.
You see, Chuwi is a well-established name in China, but globally, especially in India, it’s still flying under the radar. Most buyers here haven’t heard of it, and there’s very little clarity around after-sales service and long-term support. While the India-facing portal is run by Cavitak Global Commerce (a distributor that also handles known brands like XGIMI, Yale, and OBSBOT), the support structure feels vague. They claim to have over 330 service centres across India, but how that translates to actual service quality remains unclear. And that’s where the usual “brand value” argument kicks in. A well-known brand often brings with it a certain degree of trust and reliability. With Chuwi, there are still some unanswered questions.
That said, if you’re someone who doesn’t mind taking a bit of a gamble, the CoreBook X Pro is an excellent risk to take. It’s not one of those “too good to be true” deals. It’s real, and honestly, kind of impressive. Just go in with open eyes and tempered expectations around support, and this budget laptop might end up surprising you, in a very good way.
Editor’s Rating: 8.5 / 10
Pros:
- Excellent performance
- Upgradeable RAM and SSD
- Backlit keyboard and solid I/O selection
- Good build quality with an aluminium lid
Cons:
- Average 6-bit display
- After-sales support and long-term reliability remain unclear
