We don’t only test smaller slates with 7 or 8 inch screens, or phablets, but also bigger units, like the one pictured below. Dubbed Cube i7 Remix, this is a 11.6 inch tablet with the very interesting Remix OS as the platform of choice. We got this model from GearBest, the same retailer where we got the Chuwi Hi8 model for a very good price.
To get the most important thing out of the way, Remix OS is indeed based on Android and it’s been custom engineered so that it is optimized for a more PC-like experience. That entails optimization for big touchscreens, attached keyboards and a special desktop-like taskbar. The i7 Remix brings an unibody metal case and it weighs 720 grams.
It measures 9.1 mm in thickness and has a very solid build, so we have nothing to object about here. The bezels are kind of big, but that was to be expected from this big unit. The device packs a capacitive Windows button upfront, which I find odd, since there’s no trace of Win on board. Also upfront we find a 2 MP selfie camera, while on the right side there are two stereo speakers, that offer a pretty powerful sound.
At the left you can find all the basic ports: microUSB 2.0 that charges the device at 5V, mini HDMI, audio jack and a secondary microUSB 2.0 for the USB OTG cable that came bundled with the slate. Also on this side there’s the microSD card slot (32 GB tops). At the top you’ll find the physical buttons, the Power and volume ones, while the bottom hosts special docking mechanisms for a keyboard dock, turning this device into a sort of notebook.
The internals of the Cube i7 Remix include an Intel Z3735F quad core 1.8 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB of storage and upfront a Full HD 11.6 inch display. There’s a 5 MP main camera in the mix, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and a 8400 mAh battery, that should offer up to 8 hours of video playback. Remix OS is based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and doesn’t feature an app drawer, so all the apps are placed on the large homescreens.
At the left of the screen we can find the Home and Back buttons, while the right corner is reserved to a RAM manager. Google Play is preinstalled, so you needn’t worry about that. We are also getting a dropdown/Quick Settings area, accessed with a swipe from the top to the bottom. Closing down apps has an interesting mechanism here: you do a long tap on the app open in the taskbar and then a swipe towards the center of the screen.
On the connectivity front, there’s Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, microUSB with two ports, GPS and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/. Graphics are handled with the Intel HD Graphics Gen 7 solution and we also get a light sensor, G Sensor and vibration feedback. Remix OS also brings a multiple window display functionality.
Cube i7 Remix seems to stand out through a pretty bright and crisp screen, with realistic colors and its two loud speakers. The problem is that this quite a massive device, hard to use with a single hand or even two. We’ll be back soon with a full review and obviously an unboxing of the tablet, but I bet you want to know the price right now.
Well, the Cube i7 Remix is priced at $184 on GearBest, with the delivery taking place in 25 days tops, for free.
