Spoločnosť Teclast attracts with its portfolio of products, which are characterized by a very low price and good equipment. Today we will introduce a new laptop with the label Teclast F7Swhich contains a 14 ″ IPS display, but also an Intel N3350 processor and a 38 Wh battery.
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We decided to thoroughly test this laptop in the editorial office to find out its advantages and disadvantages. Part of the testing of office work on a laptop was the creation of a just-beginning review.
Teclast F7S: Where to buy?
If you are considering buying a 14 ″ laptop Teclast F7S, we recommend purchasing through a popular e-shop Banggood.com. When shopping, you can also use our advantageous discount coupon.
Buy Teclast F7S at the best price
We ordered a laptop on August 7, 2020 with availability from a European warehouse and the order was delivered to us on August 20, 2020. The whole transport therefore lasted only 13 calendar days.
Packaging: Pleasant practical accessories
The notebook will arrive at your home in a simple cardboard box that corresponds to the dimensions of the computer itself. After opening it, there is a paper box with accessories on the top itself.
In addition to the Chinese Quick Start Guide, a charging cable with a specific round connector is available as an accessory. The mains connection is standard, in our case up to a 230 V socket with a European terminal.
A positive news is also the universal socket end, which we can recognize from several products, especially from Chinese manufacturers. It is thus necessary to click the appropriate reduction on the end into the socket, depending on the country in which you use the device.
The manufacturer chose this method mainly to facilitate distribution from China to virtually all countries of the world. It would not be such an exceptional step if there were no other forks for some other countries directly in the package.
This accessory can thus please especially owners who travel abroad to an increased extent and need to change the suffix according to the respective country in which they are located.
Below, the box contains only the notebook itself, which is wrapped in a protective foil, but also in a soft polystyrene material. It can therefore be said that the packaging is simple, practical, but also safe from the point of view of demanding transport.
Design and layout of equipment elements
At first glance, this is a relatively large 14 ″ laptop. Model Teclast F7S will offer the dimensions 33,40 x 22,40 x 1,17 cm and its weight stopped at 1,57 kg. The vast majority of this scale consists of a metal construction and 5000 mAh batteries.
The notebook comes from the factory with the protective foil installed on the top and bottom of the device. The metal body is smooth and matt gray, with the Teclast manufacturer's logo on the top of the lid.
The underside is also metal and includes screws for access to the inside of the notebook, the manufacturer's logo, recycling information and non-slip rubber feet for comfortable and firm placement on a table or other mat. There is also a pair of holes that serve as speakers.
The left side edge offers a USB 3.0 connector, a dedicated connector for charging, but also an HDMI connector for video output. However, this connector is smaller than standard HDMI connectors, so you will probably need a reduction to connect an external screen.
The right edge contains additional connectors, namely a second USB 3.0 connector, a 3,5 mm audio connector and a microSD memory card slot.
However, let's move on to an open laptop, which has a very firm hinge and is really difficult to open. The hinge cannot be opened with one hand and it is also difficult with both hands due to the absence of any cutout or height difference on the leading edge.
When opened, it is located on the top 14 ″ display with black frames. This screen border is not completely thin, but it is a standard part of affordable laptops that does not cause too much distraction.
Above the display there is a front camera, below it is the manufacturer's logo. The bottom of the notebook is made of metal and contains plastic keys that are not backlit. The keyboard has relatively large keys with a sufficient amount of movement (21 mm).
Above the keyboard there are three LEDs signaling power on and selected device functions. The keyboard has a minimal border (6 mm) along the edges and below it there is a relatively large but plastic capacitive trackpad (125 x 78 mm). Its compression is available especially in the lower half, which also appears more in cheaper models of laptop manufacturers.
Display: 14 ″ IPS with Full HD resolution
When it comes to displaying content, the screen is one of the most important features of any laptop. In this case, the manufacturer received very good technology at a low cost.
There is a 14 ″ IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a 16: 9 aspect ratio. The screen has 2,5D protective glass, very good viewing angles and thin frames on the sides at the level of 8 mm.
The screen offers a standard and it can be said that there is nothing exceptional in color, black is rather gray and what the manufacturer could improve is the brightness of the display. From our point of view, the minimum brightness is fine and work is possible even in a darker room, the weakness is the maximum brightness and almost zero visibility of the texts in direct sunlight.
Performance: Intel Apollo Lake
As for the performance of the device, it is necessary to respect that Teclast F7S is a classic ultrabook designed for work in the office or for a student at high school or university.
This also includes equipment in the form of a dual-core processor Apollo Lake N3350, which is clocked at 1,1 GHz (with the possibility of overclocking up to 2,4 GHz). The processor is made with older 14 nm technology, and is designed especially for simple online tasks with minimal multitasking.
The processor is also complemented by an integrated graphics chip Intel HD Graphics 500. In terms of gaming, the goal is almost exclusively on simple and graphically unpretentious 2D titles from the Microsoft Store.
Memory: Slow eMMC storage
Already at this low price it is available in laptop equipment up to 8 GB RAM. In addition, RAM is of type LPDDR4, which is definitely positive news. However, when it comes to internal storage, it is only 128 GB and quite available slow eMMC storage. Approximately 81 GB of storage is available when first turned on.
This technology was used mainly in older and cheaper laptops, and the manufacturer definitely saved in this case. However, the positive news is at least free slot M.2 2880, which allows the insertion of a modern SSD disk up to a capacity of 1 TB.
A universal solution can also be the use of an external HDD / SSD drive, which you can use with a faster USB 3.0 connector, and you will also appreciate its use when transferring between other computers. However, it is already an accessory that needs to be purchased and is therefore an extra investment, which is a disadvantage in this case.
Keyboard and trackpad
An equally important feature is the keyboard and trackpad, which is usually a thorn in the side of cheap devices. In this case, a keyboard with a relatively high stroke, suitable key size and good spacing is available.
Entering text was trouble-free, it takes a bit of getting used to a smaller enter. Of course, the backlight is missing, as well as the Czech or Slovak diacritics (US layout). However, a welcome element is the non-traditional NumPad, a number block placed vertically on the letter keysnami. This block can be activated with the corresponding Fn key.
The trackpad is also decent. Yes, using a mouse is probably more comfortable, but given the price of the device and the plastic processing of the trackpad, it will offer good responses to occasional use. However, it should be taken into account that the buttons integrated in the trackpad can only be pressed approximately in the lower half.
The comfortable keyboard and large (125 x 78 mm) trackpad are a very good combination for entering characters and controlling the system. The laptop will do its job not only in the office, but also in the school desk.
Windows 10 operating system
In terms of software, the Windows 10 Home (64 bit) operating system is available in its global version. The operating system is pre-installed, it must be activated (license included in the price of the device). It is a full-fledged system, including the Microsoft Store and the ability to install standard .exe files.
Unlike the version of Windows 10S, which does not support .exe files, full-fledged Windows with such a cheap device only underlines its universal use, whether for an employee or a student. This use is also aimed at preinstalled Office package with popular applications such as Word or Excel, there are also updates.
An area in which the manufacturer could work is optimization. The combination of weaker hardware and less optimized software results in slower responses of the notebook itself. The computer is designed especially for online work, web, e-mails and similar so-called office tasks. However, Cortana, an intelligent assistant from Microsoft's workshop who is ready for your orders in English, can make the job more enjoyable.
Even simple multitasking when running multiple applications from the system will cause the laptop to breathe. The manufacturer Teclast worked at least on suitable cooling, as we did not notice extremely hot parts of the laptop even when installing applications and playing simple games from the Microsoft Store.
Connectivity + Audio
In terms of connectivity, the equipment includes dual Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n with support for 2,4 / 5 GHz connections. This is good equipment and practically the only way to connect to the Internet, given that the Ethernet port is not available.
There is also an older one Bluetooth 4.2, which, however, is enough to connect accessories in the form of headphones or mice. For these popular video calls these days, we have one front camera with a basic resolution of 2 MPx.
One speaker and a microphone are also included. However, we recommend using a headset for phone calls, as the quality of these components is rather below average. Other equipment includes a microSD card slot, 2 x USB 3.0, a smaller HDMI connector, 3,5 mm audio connector and a charging connector.
Battery life
According to the manufacturer, there is a battery with a total capacity of 38 Wh resp. 5000 mAh. It is a Li-Ion battery that has a standard power supply to an electrical outlet with a voltage from 100 to 240V. Charging is possible with a charger with a dedicated connector and a power of 4A.
According to paper specifications, the notebook should last approximately one charge when combined 7 hours. However, we were unable to fill in this information. Our stamina was level 4 - 5 hours.
The testing included working online in a browser, including writing this review, watching YouTube videos, emails, playing music through Spotify, and playing games occasionally. We were connected to the internet all the time and used the screen brightness at about 75%.
The endurance set by the manufacturer is thus very optimistic and its achievement requires a rather offline work environment without the burden of several running applications.
Price and availability
Currently with a laptop Teclast F7S located in the offer of international sellers in silver resp. "Silver" color version. Its price is currently around 203 € / 238 USD with availability via EU transport Priority Line. With this transport, you won't have any surprises in the form of taxes or customs fees. Currently, this offer is the most advantageous.
Final evaluation: Teclast F7S
Teclast F7S is a very affordable laptop, but it probably saved too much. A good IPS display is positive, but it discourages a weaker processor, eMMC storage and slow system responses, probably after insufficient optimization.
Nevertheless, we can recommend the notebook to undemanding users, whose main job is simple offline work with documents and online work in a web browser. For those more demanding users, it is necessary to look for stronger equipment, which will of course require a higher price of the device.
