Teclast Tbook 10 S, a tablet that needs no tweaking

When choosing a tablet, my main criteria were an aluminum body, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of flash storage, and a high-capacity battery. Based on these requirements, I settled on the Teclast Tbook 10 S.
In this review, I’ll try not to dwell too much on the tests, since the processor (SoC) used here is already fairly well known. I was more interested in the secondary features, flash storage speed, and especially heat.

First, the specs:
Operating systems: Windows 10, Android 5
Processor: Intel Cherry Trail x5-Z8350
Graphics: Intel® Intel® HD Graphics 400
Memory: 4 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM
Slot for a microSD card up to 128 GB.
Display: 10.1-inch IPS
Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Camera: Front: 2 MP
Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth
3.5 mm headphone jack
microUSB port with OTG support
micro HDMI port
Battery: 6000 mAh
10-point multitouch
Dimensions and weight: length x width x height: 246 x 166 x 8 mm
Weight: about 574 grams

The tablet comes in a rather large box. The only useful information on it is the model name and flash storage capacity.


There’s a sheet of foam inside to cushion it against impacts, and the tablet itself lies face down.


When I was choosing the tablet, I immediately noticed the main photo on the product page, which showed it with a keyboard.
That threw me off, because at first I thought the keyboard was included. I later realized that wasn’t the case. The keyboard and active stylus can be purchased as add-ons at a discount, which is also a pretty good deal. And in my opinion, that’s a better option than just getting the tablet, although I was only interested in the tablet myself. Mainly because a keyboard is usually just a set of keys; it would have been nice if it had an extra battery, but unfortunately not.


The package is quite simple and consists of:
1. Teclast Tbook 10 S tablet
2. USB-to-microUSB cable
3. Power cable
4. USB OTG cable
5. Manuals
6. Warranty card.

Yes, you read that right: there’s no charger (power supply) included. The manufacturer recommends a power supply with an output current of at least 2.5 A, and I can confirm that’s for good reason. When charging and in use at the same time, the tablet draws about that much, so I’d recommend a 3 A power supply or higher.
I can partly understand why the manufacturer doesn’t include a power supply. I’ve already had a bad experience with a tablet from this brand that managed to burn out two 2 A power supplies in an hour.


1. There are two manuals in the box, one for Android and one for Windows. Neither is particularly useful.
2. USB-to-microUSB cable, about 70 cm long. It can also be used to connect the tablet to a charger.
3. Power cable. Since the tablet has a separate power jack, the appropriate cable is included.
4. A short OTG cable. Since the tablet doesn’t have full-size USB ports, it’s quite useful.


The tablet is quite large, and at first glance (and even at second glance) it looks a bit angular.
One plus is the protective film. The downside is that it’s glossy, so when the screen is off, you can use it as a mirror. Fortunately, there are no issues when it’s on.


There’s a touch-sensitive Windows button on one of the short sides. The default screen orientation kept throwing me off, though.
The tablet is designed to be used in landscape orientation, which gives you access to the ports and buttons, with the speakers on the left and right.
But when you turn it on, you’ll see that the OS selection menu is displayed vertically, with the Windows button at the top, even though Microsoft’s design puts it at the bottom.
All in all, a bit of a mess...


There’s a front-facing camera at the top, with a resolution of 2 MP. It’s not much good for selfies, but it’s fine for Skype.


There’s a two-color LED next to the camera. It lights up red while charging. I never quite figured out when it turns green: after charging is complete, it simply goes out, but when you turn on the tablet, it can light up either red or green.


When you hold the tablet in landscape orientation, the volume buttons are at the top right, along with the headphone jack and memory card slot. The card slot spring is quite strong and the opening is narrow, so be careful—you don't want to end up searching for your memory card later :)


There are three ports next to the Windows button: power, miniHDMI, and microUSB.
The ports are positioned well and don't get in each other's way.


In the lower-right corner are the openings for one of the speakers. Further to the left, you can see one of the holes for attaching the tablet to a dock—in this case, a keyboard with a touchpad.


Since the tablet is designed to connect to a keyboard, there are matching contacts on the bottom. I don't have the keyboard, so I can only assume that these contacts carry USB signals.


The entire bottom section consists of two mounting holes and a contact group in the center.


On the left, there are only the openings for the left-channel speaker.
The sound is quite loud and clear, but bass is completely absent.


There is also a protective film on the back cover. I eventually had to remove it because it impairs cooling and makes the tablet slippery. The body itself is made of aluminum and has a rough feel, so it won't slip out of your hands. The color is champagne gold, and it really does look neat and attractive.


The bottom is marked with all the ports and controls. The markings also helped me locate the microphone: on the front, next to the memory card slot.


When you turn it on, the operating system manager starts first, letting you choose which OS to boot. I should mention one small but annoying inconvenience: if you shut down the tablet, connecting it to a charger will turn it on automatically and boot the last operating system you used.


If you hold down the Escape key on the keyboard while turning on the tablet, you can open the BIOS settings menu.

First, you'll land not in the BIOS itself, but in a sort of preliminary settings menu.
Both the mouse and touchscreen work here, but the font is tiiiny.


The initial menu lets you view the tablet's boot options. I strongly recommend not changing anything here, as doing so could have unfortunate consequences.


Selecting the bottom option in the first menu takes you to the tablet's actual BIOS.
Basic information.


There are quite a lot of settings, especially compared with the stripped-down options on the latest mini PCs.
There's also a thermal control settings menu.


Settings for the integrated graphics, along with a list of installed hardware.


More settings. I won't go through them all; I'll leave them here just in case.



The menu for choosing which storage device to boot from.



I'll start with Windows, its description and tests, since this is my primary OS.
Of the total 64 GB of flash storage, Windows has 37.1 GB available to the user, with 21.6 GB free. I wouldn't call that a lot. I may end up keeping only Windows, since I don't think I'll need Android.


As is usually the case with dual-OS devices, the partitions are a complete mess. I understand that this is how it has to be, but it looks a bit overwhelming.


Windows was already activated, and no third-party software was found. In any case, since this is a tablet, there shouldn't be any licensing issues with the operating system.


English was enabled by default and was the only language in the system. It's easy to switch the tablet to Russian. First, add Russian and move it to the top of the list.


Then open the advanced settings and find that all you need to do is restart the tablet. :)
Actually, it’s a little more complicated: in the regional settings, you’ll also need to select a country and the default settings for the download. But you’ll do that in the already Russified OS, so I don’t think it’ll be too difficult. I’ve written about this in several of my reviews.


Since the performance of processors in modern “Atom” devices is roughly comparable, I was more interested in tests for overheating and the performance of the built-in eMMC storage.
Unfortunately, its performance is a little below average, but I was more disappointed by the memory card speeds. I installed a fairly fast card rated for read speeds of up to 90 MB/s, but got only about 11 :(


As before, I’m running an additional eMMC speed test using an old version of CrystalDiskMark, so I can add the results to the statistics I’ve been collecting for quite a while.
First, let’s look at the tablet under review.


Then the leader, Voyo V1, which I tested not long ago.


And here are comparison tests from other devices.
CHUWI HiBox
Beelink BT7
Pipo X10
Pipo X9
Pipo X7
Pipo X7S
MeeGoPad T02
Pocket P1
Vensmile W10
Teclast X98 Pro
MeeGoPad T03
Wintel Pro CX-W8
There’s also the Cube iwork8 Ultimate, but it didn’t make it into the group photo.


The next important test is checking Wi-Fi performance.
The tablet detected my access point right away, but unfortunately it only supports the 2.4 GHz band.


The overall connection quality is also pretty poor. And since the case is aluminum, the speed depends heavily on which way the tablet is facing relative to the router.
The screenshot shows tests at:
1. 11 m from the router, with quite a few obstacles
2. About 7 m away, with a couple of interior walls in between
3. The room next to the router
4. About 1.5 m from the router, with a clear line of sight.

Unfortunately, the tablet’s connection speed is nothing to write home about. It’s relatively decent at short range, but at a greater distance the tablet’s orientation starts to make a big difference.
I didn’t test the speed with SpeedTest, since I figured iPerf was more than enough.


The LinX test serves two purposes: first, the benchmark itself, and second, checking for overheating.
If the computer overheats, the results will gradually drop.
In this case, though, the opposite happened: the highest score came last.
Performance is normal for this processor when it isn’t overheating, so far so good.


A couple of Cinebench tests for the statistics. The graphics test scored a little lower than the TV box with the same processor, but that may be due to occasional background load from the operating system itself, since the CPU test produced a normal result.



3DMark was disappointing, though. A typical score for this processor is around 2800, but this one doesn’t even reach 2100. And overheating isn’t the cause; it’s something else.


I don’t have much to compare the result from the newer version of 3DMark with yet, so I’ll keep building up the statistics for now.


Next, I decided to check the battery life. You might ask what a Task Manager screenshot has to do with battery life. The thing is, Windows can keep the processor pretty busy with background tasks, and I’ll demonstrate that again during this review.
I started playing a Full HD movie with a 10 Mbps bitrate. On the left is CPU load at the very start of the test; on the right, at the end.
As you can see, playing the file itself doesn't use many resources, but the system also manages to keep itself busy with background tasks, reducing energy efficiency.


The test started at 15:00 and ended at 18:51, giving 3 hours and 51 minutes of battery life. Brightness was set to 100%, and power saving was disabled.


The final test checks how hot the tablet gets under an extreme load. Since it had performed so well throughout all the tests, I skipped the gradual approach and went straight to the most demanding test.
The highest temperature I got was 69 degrees, which is an excellent result in my opinion.


The back cover felt noticeably warm; the measurement showed about 43 degrees. The photo also shows where the processor is located (the connectors are on the left).


Although I'm not a big fan of Android, the tablet also runs it, so it makes sense to cover and test it here.
Android 5.1 is preinstalled, with only a bare minimum of apps—not even the ubiquitous Kodi.
There are virtual buttons at the bottom, though I couldn't figure out how to hide them. But since the screen resolution is 1920x1200, in landscape mode the visible resolution is close to the familiar 1920x1080.


There's an update app, but it didn't find anything, though I get the feeling it didn't try very hard. :)


I should mention the very convenient file manager, which can display files from a storage device grouped by type.


Android gets 20 GB of the total flash storage, with about 15 GB available to the user.
When scanning for Wi-Fi networks, the tablet found quite a few access points, but I've already tested Wi-Fi and see no point in repeating that test.
The only additional graphics option is image enhancement, which is disabled by default.


Developer menu.


In the Windows section, I didn't include information from CPU-Z, thinking it would be better to do that here.
According to the report, root access is not available.
Don't be surprised that most of the screenshots are in portrait orientation; I thought that would make the test results easier to view in a more compact layout.


AnTuTu tests, versions 5.1, 6.1.3 and 6.2.0
The results are about 10% lower than those of TV boxes (mini PCs) based on the same processor and with the same amount of RAM.


The touchscreen supports the advertised 10 touch points, with no issues here.
The storage and RAM speed test results were a little surprising, though. The built-in flash storage and RAM were as expected, but the microSD card test scored about twice as high as it did in Windows.
A reminder: all screenshots are clickable.


In 3DMark (the first two screenshots) and PCMark, the tablet again scored 10% lower than the TV box I used for comparison.


The Geekbench test showed exactly the same thing: 10% lower. The Compute test returned zero, but that's a fairly common issue with Android and Intel together.


Above, I wrote that Windows likes to keep the processor busy with background tasks. Now I'll try to show just how much battery life can differ under the same conditions.
But first, here's the battery test from Geekbench 3, the first two screenshots.
According to the results, it lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes.


Next was a test playing a Full HD movie—the same one as last time, with the same brightness settings.
The test started at 23:15 and ended at 3:52. Battery life was 4 hours and 37 minutes, noticeably longer than the 3 hours and 51 minutes in the Windows test. So if you want to watch a movie, Android is the better choice.


And of course, the best part: the insides. Whenever possible, I take apart every device that comes my way.
Taking the tablet apart is both difficult and easy. The hardest part is getting started—that is, prying the plastic section away from the metal body. You have to insert the spudger almost parallel to the body. If you manage to lift the frame around the display, the rest is relatively easy: work your way around the perimeter, then carefully pull the "guts" out of the aluminum case by hand.
Don't forget to remove the memory card first. Start removing the electronics assembly from the button side.
The tablet is packed very tightly; nothing is loose or wobbly, and the construction is quite sturdy.


Most of the interior is taken up by the battery pack, and the overall build quality is quite acceptable.


This is the board that holds all the tablet's electronics.


And here's the "secret" behind why the tablet doesn't overheat. The case is made of fairly thick aluminum, and a thin layer of thermally conductive rubber covers a large area of the heat-spreading plate, carrying most of the heat to the back of the case.


The WiFi antenna is in the upper-left corner when you hold the tablet horizontally with the buttons facing up. The antenna itself is quite small, which, combined with the aluminum case, makes WiFi reception problematic.
The speakers have a slightly unusual design, but as I mentioned above, I have no complaints about them.


Most of the components are hidden under the heat-spreading shield. Heat is transferred to it not only from the processor; thermal pads were also fitted over the flash memory and power controller.
Ideally, the rubber (1 mm) + metal + rubber (0.4 mm) arrangement could be replaced with thermal paste + 1 mm copper + thermal paste. But since it all works as is, why make things more complicated?


1. Intel Cherry Trail x5-Z8350 processor (SoC)
2. SKhynix RAM, made up of 8 chips with a total capacity of 4 GB.
3. Flash memory made by Foresee. After checking its speed, I was already almost 100% sure this is what I'd find inside. This is the brand of memory usually used these days. If you got Samsung flash memory, consider yourself lucky, as it's typically about 50% faster. Toshiba memory is also used, but very rarely.
4. A multichannel power controller, very well known and found in the vast majority of tablets and mini PCs with Atom processors.


1. Memory chip for storing the BIOS firmware
2. ES8316 audio chip. I came across one not long ago; it sounds like, well, sound :)
3. WiFi module AP6212; according to the datasheet, it doesn't support the 5 GHz band.
4. Touchscreen controller. I've seen these in PIPO desktop tablets.


Photos of some individual sections, for reference.
1. Presumably the OTG controller. The HDMI output protection is visible on the right.
2,3. PWM controllers for powering various sections.
4. Charger and battery connector.


The tablet has two batteries rated at 3000 mAh each, connected in parallel to form a 6000 mAh battery pack. The voltage is 3.8 V, so the charge termination voltage is about 4.35 V.


I tested the battery capacity using an electronic load with a battery-tester function.
First, I connected the tester to one pair of wires, but then decided the wires were too thin and would introduce extra measurement error, so I ended up testing with a 2+2 configuration. The separate wires at the connector don't run to each individual battery; the batteries are connected in parallel inside the pack.


The test was carried out as follows:
First, I charged the tablet battery to 100% with its original charger. Then there was a pause of about 40–50 minutes while I disassembled and inspected it.
After that, I discharged the battery at 3 A (0.5C) in three stages, down to 3.2 V, 3.0 V, and 2.8 V.
3.2 V — the voltage at which the tablet's electronics cut off the power.
3.0 V — an intermediate checkpoint
2.8 V — the battery's minimum voltage; below this, the battery's own protection should cut off.

The BIOS actually sets the lower limit to 3.3 V, not 3.2 V, but since the discharge current was 3 A rather than 1.5 A as during normal operation, the result was quite reasonable.
The initial discharge voltage was 4.322 V.

The results:
5579 mAh — capacity available to the tablet
161 mAh — capacity between 3.2 V and 3.0 V
66 mAh — remaining capacity between 3.0 V and 2.8 V.
The battery pack's total capacity is at least 5806 mAh, almost matching the claimed 6000 mAh. Also, I have a slight suspicion that the tablet's charger doesn't fully charge the battery, so I'd say the capacity is pretty much as advertised.


The back cover has a small recess, milled out to improve thermal contact—or, more precisely, to make the surface flat, since the cover itself isn't quite flat.


If you think I left the stock cooling system alone without even trying to improve it, you're very much mistaken. There wasn't much to improve, so all I did was replace the thermal pad between the processor and the cover with a better one.
The result was a pleasant surprise: instead of a maximum of 69 degrees, I got just 61—a difference of 8 degrees.



That's it. Let's sum things up.
Pros
Solid construction
Neat appearance
No overheating
A microHDMI port for connecting a second monitor
A dedicated power input
Can be configured with a keyboard and active stylus (at extra cost)
4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash storage
Two operating systems (a relative advantage)

Cons
Weak Wi-Fi performance
Glossy screen
Just one USB port, and it's microUSB
No power supply included
Bug that causes it to start automatically when power is connected
The system clock resets when switching between operating systems.

My take: I'd put this tablet in the rare category of devices that don't need to be "tinkered with" after purchase. In my opinion, that's its main advantage. More specifically, I never managed to make it overheat.
Having a dedicated power input is great: you can use the USB port while charging. But if you have a power supply with the same plug and an output voltage above 5 V, you could run into trouble. I haven't included photos of the display, but I can say it's much like most IPS panels, with adequate brightness and viewing angles. The battery capacity is close to the advertised figure, but I'd rate the battery life as average at best: 4–5 hours isn't much. You can turn down the brightness to get a little more, but I don't think the difference will be significant.

Now for the bad news. The Wi-Fi was disappointing; it's comfortable to use only fairly close to the router. It will stay connected at a greater distance, but the connection speed will be low.
It's also a shame that you'll have to buy the power supply separately. Still, perhaps that's not such a big drawback, since you can buy a decent one right away instead of waiting for the original to fail.
The screen is glossy, so bright ambient light can cause reflections that make it harder to read. There's some brightness headroom, but it doesn't help much in that situation. A matte screen protector might help.
And then there are the usual "growing pains": automatic startup and the clock resetting when switching between operating systems.

The store provided a discount coupon: Tbook10S28 —the price will be $164.99.

That's all for now. As always, I'll be glad to answer your questions. Thanks for stopping by.