Acquaintance of the Russian market of mobile electronics with the TECNO brand began with budget and mid-budget smartphones that qualitatively cover the minimum needs of users due to a very affordable price and good equipment. At the end of 2022, the manufacturer expanded its range not only with the first flagships, but also with the first laptop. Such an expansion of product areas only plays into the hands of the brand in terms of recognition. However, many buyers are wary of low-cost portable computers, because they have to deal with many compromises. Therefore, the manufacturer’s task is to properly balance between inexpensive components and a comfortable user experience. I propose to find out if this was possible in MEGABOOK T1.
Specifications
Version TECNO MEGABOOK T1 (i5 16GB+512GBwin)
- OS: Windows 11 Home, 64-bit.
- Screen: 15.6 inches, 16:9 aspect ratio, IPS, 1920×1080, 141 PPI, 60Hz.
- Processor: Intel Core i5-1035G1, 10 nm.
- Graphics accelerator: Intel UHD Graphics.
- RAM: 16 GB, type LPDDR4, frequency 3200 MHz.
- Built-in memory: 512 GB type M.2 PCIe.
- Camera: 2 MP (1080p).
- Wireless modules: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Bluetooth 5.1.
- Battery: 70Wh (6060Ah), 17 hours run time, 65W adapter output.
- Dimensions: 358.2 × 235.5 × 15.6 mm.
- Weight: 1.48 kg.
- Connectors: HDMI 1.4, 3 × USB-A 3.2 Gen1, 2 × USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, 3.5 mm jack, TPM (data protection) support.
- Additionally: support for microSD memory cards, fingerprint unlock.
Appearance
The use of an all-metal case in laptops has become an integral classic. The aluminum body feels solid and does not suffer from squeaks when twisted. It remains only to praise the device for a trouble-free assembly with good overall structural rigidity. But despite this, the 15.6-inch device has a small mass – only 1.45 kg.
And yet TECNO could not resist the opportunity to show individuality. Without completely abandoning the simple engraving of the brand logo, they additionally applied a pattern in the form of glossy horizontal stripes to the entire upper part of the monitor cover. Among the lines, at a certain angle of light refraction, the letters of the name of the line are barely visible. It looks very organic, and does not violate the overall severity of the design.
The laptop passes the one-handed opening test easily. In the closed position, the hinge is rather tight, but you can still pick up the lid without resorting to a second hand. In the open position, there is no shaking, for which MEGABOOK T1 receives a separate credit. The maximum opening angle allows you to tilt the screen 180°. And although I haven’t resorted to scenarios for using a laptop while lying on the couch for all the time of use, such an opportunity is never superfluous.
There are three slotted areas on the bottom roof: two at the edges for the speakers, and one wide area at the top for venting hot air from the fan. Rubberized legs are located in close proximity to the radiator grids, lift the laptop to the required distance from the table surface and are quite tenacious on slippery surfaces.
Keyboard unit and touchpad
The keyboard block is a full-fledged layout, which includes a digital zone. To work in the dark, a three-level backlight is provided, which can be adjusted by pressing the Fn + F2 keys. We were pleased with the long Shift on the right side and the tactilely predictable soft key travel. Actually, typing this review for about 10,000 characters using the TECNO MEGABOOK T1 keyboard was no problem for me.
Despite the presence of a digital block, the touchpad measuring 120 × 80 mm is located exactly in the center of the topcase. The matte surface makes the finger slip even when the hands are wet. The accuracy of the sensor is above average and is well suited for solving simple tasks of orientation in the interface or surfing the Internet. For more complex tasks, I preferred to connect a mouse. At the bottom of the touchpad, according to the classics, there are two tactile buttons that mimic LMB and RMB. The force applied to read the pressure is quite large.
The power button is combined with a fingerprint scanner. To turn it on, you need to make a certain effort and hold your finger a little to read it, and after 10 seconds the laptop loads the desktop. Unlocking is flawless.
Interfaces
TECNO MEGABOOK T1 has a rich array of interfaces. To the right of the user are: two full-size USB 3.2, a microSD memory card slot and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the left side are: two USB-C 3.2 with support for OTG and charging, one USB-A 3.2 and HDMI. Another very unusual guest for ultrabooks is the TPM connector, or, in the common people, Kensington Castle. In short, it is necessary to counteract theft when working in public places. An appropriate combination lock is inserted into it, and the other end is fixed to some immovable object.
Screen
The IPS matrix has a diagonal of 15.6 inches, focused more on home use, and a standard resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. The screen has a matte anti-reflective coating and is slightly recessed inside the frames. The frame, although it has bulges at the top and bottom, I still call it quite thin.
By the way, the front camera with a resolution of 2 megapixels has a physical shutter to protect privacy.
The manufacturer claims full coverage of the sRGB color space, which is true. Measurement by the Spyder4Elite hardware system showed 100% sRGB, but in all other respects the screen can hardly be called an ideal solution for colorists. For everyday work with text documents, the picture is quite comfortable due to the temperature at the level of 7200-7300 K. But the gamma curve corresponds to a value of 1.5 units and deviates significantly from the reference 2.2 in its central part. As a result, the image does not have the proper weighty black contrast. This is confirmed by the contrast ratio of 660:1. The maximum brightness is 118 cd/m2which may not be fully enough when working in the sun.
The final score on the DataColor scale is 3 points. But from my own impressions, I can only note the insufficient accuracy of the image color reproduction. By the way, the photos of the hero of the review were processed on this laptop.
Performance
The choice of Intel Core i5-1035G1 is due to the manufacturer’s desire to provide an affordable price for their product. However, you should not put an end to it. In benchmarks, the scores are practically not inferior to the more expensive competitor from the red camp in the face of Ryzen 7.
Some laptops show different performance levels when running on battery and when connected to the network. So, according to the classics, the benchmark run was carried out in two scenarios. According to the results obtained, a very strange picture emerges. In some cases, mains power makes adjustments and scores, albeit slightly, but still higher. And in some cases, it’s quite the opposite. Thus, I come to the conclusion that the TECNO MEGABOOK T1 shows approximately identical results when powered from the mains and when running from the battery.
The performance of a laptop fully allows you to solve not only office tasks, but much more. About 20 RAW photos of 45 MB each tossed and turned in Photoshop without any problems. At the same time, I can characterize the volume of the coolers as low and non-irritating, since they turned on occasionally and maintained the temperature at a comfortable 50°C.
The laptop is unlikely to be suitable for the role of a gaming machine. Light 3D projects on MEGABOOK T1 will work confidently, but something bigger and more demanding will no longer give a full-fledged comfortable gaming experience.
On the other side of the coin of a weak graphical component are storage devices with high write and read speeds. Thanks to them, the responsiveness of the system, the operation of programs and surfing the Internet can be called comfortable. To store user data, a 512 GB M.2 PCIe expandable drive is provided, and 16 GB of LPDDR4 type of RAM is available.
autonomy
The battery, with a fairly large capacity of 70 Wh (6060 mAh), for a laptop of this size, has a positive effect on battery life. In my usage scenarios, for 1 hour of watching a video at 100% screen brightness, the battery sat down by 13%, and while solving time-consuming tasks, for example, working in graphic editors or games, by 30%. On average, the battery life can easily approach 7.5 hours, which is an excellent indicator. However, the 17.5 hours claimed by the manufacturer without charging are far from the truth and are possible only under a very limited operating scenario.
The kit includes a compact and lightweight power supply with an output power of 65 watts. In my opinion, this solution is much better than large power supplies. The adapter comes with a 2-meter rubber-sheathed cable with USB-C on both ends. At rest, MEGABOOK T1 charges in a little more than 2 hours, while active use of the laptop (for example, working in Photoshop) and charging reduces the battery replenishment rate by 4 times.
Review after two weeks of use
The expansion of the product range into the laptop area could bring unexpected positive results for the TECNO brand. In many ways, this is due to the fact that the debut product for the Russian market falls into the very demanding price niche of laptops worth up to 60,000 rubles. And most importantly, TECNO MEGABOOK T1 shows itself in it in the best possible way. All the existing roughness can be attributed to a test pen in a new subject.
On my own behalf, I would like to note the excellent assembly and high-quality tight hinge, which allows you to open the lid with one hand up to 180 °. For many, the front camera shutter for physical privacy protection will be an attractive aspect. However, the aspect of not the best factory calibration of the display cannot be left without attention. Of course, high-quality specialized screens for working with photos or videos often make up the lion’s share of the final cost of a laptop, and in MEGABOOK T1 this is a forced and justified compromise. His orientation is aimed primarily at solving other, more everyday tasks, and he copes with this more than successfully.
pros
- Good assembly of noble materials and high-quality hinge.
- Full-size keyboard with three levels of backlighting.
- Physical privacy protection on camera and Kensington lock.
- A scattering of interfaces for all needs and a slot for memory cards.
- Comfortable screen for everyday use.
- Sufficient performance for basic tasks.
- Long autonomy and compact power adapter.
Minuses
- Deviations in the color accuracy of the screen.
- Tactile touchpad buttons.
- Low thermal threshold of the cooling system.
Final grade: 7 out of 10.
Source: Trash Box
I am Joyce Corbett and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. My current role is as an author at World Stock Market, where I focus primarily on the tech section. My specialty is creating engaging content that helps to explain and demystify complex financial topics.
