BMAX Y13 13.3 inch (8GB DDR4 RAM + 256GB SSD) Notebook 360 Degrees Laptop Offered for $333.99(Coupon )
New or unknown manufacturers do not necessarily mean bad devices. The 13.3 inch notebook from BMAX with a rotatable 360 ??° display sounds interesting on paper. It is powered by an Intel Celeron N4100 quad-core with 8GB (DDR4) RAM and 256GB SSD hard drive for operation under Windows 10.
Price without coupon: $369.99 on Banggood
Coupon code 1($339.99): BGBXY13S or BGBXY13H
We had already introduced one or the other notebook with a rotatable 360 ° display . Unfortunately, due to the fast pace of Chinese models, some are no longer available. But they all have one thing in common: a slightly higher purchase price than conventional, but identically equipped devices without a rotatable display. For us, BMAX is also initially an unknown manufacturer, but does not mean that their models cannot be solid. Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei also started like this.
The 13.3-inch large IPS display with 1920 × 1080 resolved pixels and also offers a 10 finger touch input to be used thanks to folding display, for example, as a tablet to be able. The frame around the panel itself measures just 5 mm. The keyboard is backlit in two stages, but as usual for imports is only available as a QWERTY US layout.
The Intel Celeron N4100 quad-core with a maximum clock of 2.4 GHz is installed for operation under Windows 10 . The performance is certainly not aimed at gamers and passionate gamers, but is rather intended for everyday tasks including email, office and simple tasks. Image editing and shallow video editing in FHD could also be carried out. For this purpose, which are 8 GB DDR4 RAM and 256 GB large SSD hard drive certainly not wrong. The latter can also expand via a slot on the back ( M.2), However, the RAM cannot be expanded and is very likely to be soldered. The integrated 9th generation Intel HD Graphics 600 with 700MHz clocking is used for the graphic display / processing . In theory, you can play 4K video material (depending on the codec used).
The connectivity is solidly set up with dual-band WiFi 2.4 & 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0 (!), 3.5mm jack, 2x USB Type-C (1x can also be used for charging), micro-SD, and a separate power input , Of course there is also a 1 megapixel webcam . The integrated battery should last for 8 hours. However, there is no precise information about the capacity. The dimensions of the convertible notebook are 30.75 x 20.80 x 1.47 cm and the weight is 1.25kg .
Test reports / experiences / opinions
Processing & display
The Bmax Y13 is absolutely impressive in terms of appearance and workmanship. Aluminum housing on the underside, as well as the back / the lid are neatly processed. The ports on the side are easy to reach, but besides the USB Type-C 3.1 port on the left or the Type-C port 3.0 on the right of the case, another full USB port is missing. There is no HDMI output because the left-hand Type-C port can also output audio and video. On the underside is a maintenance slot that houses a 2280ger SSD and would therefore allow a brisk exchange if the memory under Windows 10 Pro should become too scarce.
The IPS display is fully laminated, offers the usual good viewing angles and accurate color rendering. It is a pity that it is not matted and therefore reflects light or light sources. The touch panel is also excellent and every finger tip is reliably recognized. The hinges are also tight so that the rotated / tilted display remains in the desired position.
The keyboard is large, typed really well, you don’t have to travel a lot to trigger. When the pressure is high, the keyboard bends slightly downwards, but returns to its original position. As usual with imports, the keyboard is only available in the US layout. In the Windows system itself you can of course also switch to the German layout. The labeling of the silver buttons in transparent for the lighting is also meant nicely, but not so practical since the light is often reflected here and the buttons / the imprint is sometimes difficult to read.
Here you should have chosen a darker color for the buttons. The 3 brightness levels of the lighting turn out to be a little too weak. Likewise is the red, distinctive Bmax button, which is not a little unfavorably chosen. The on and off switch is also on the right side. ?
The touchpad is large and works very well with Windows gestures, for most things in everyday life it is enough, but if you need a little more precision you should use a USB (via USB Type-C to USB adapter) or Bluetooth mouse ,
System & Performance
The system itself is quite comfortable to use, bloatware is not available except for the in-house Windows programs. Windows itself is registered with a key and is fully functional. However, the good DDR4 RAM and the SSD hard drive also lead to longer thinking times for the processor. Most programs can be opened very quickly, especially if they have been used in advance. Unfortunately, this does not apply to the Edge browser / browser in general if, for example. Want to use Youtube. here you have a lot of time after entering the YT start page until everything is loaded and displayed. Of course, I can also click on videos beforehand, the change to the single video page is usually a little faster. The clips can also be viewed in 4k without any problems. Dropped frames are rarely seen. 4k coded files / films can also be played back via USB or directly from the hard disk. even without a longer loading time or buffer in playback. This is where the great display really comes into its own.
Not much has changed in performance with the Intel Celeron n4100, but the DDR4 RAM and SSD hard drive help to maintain a reasonably pleasant operation. The YouTube part is actually the “worst case”, the worst case. The performance is good enough for email, office, simple image editing and even older games. It is also sufficient for everyday website browsing or social media platforms. But not for more. If you are looking for more performance, you should use the latest Intel Core i3 or 5 CPUs of the 8th generation.
The bios is still soft and so you could increase the TDP by 6 watts to tickle a little more power from the system, at the cost of the battery life.
The speakers have a pleasant sound, of course you shouldn’t expect much depth here. At full volume, however, they usually play cleanly. The webcam with 1 megapixel resolution is nothing special, but it is still suitable for a spontaneous conference, but it only runs at 15fps.
Fortunately, the WLAN chipset is very good and uses my VDSL line completely, as well as there are no intrusions when you are connected to a playback device via Bluetooth.
battery pack
The battery life can reach 6-7 hours, but use is the key point here. This time is not reached with full capacity. A full load takes about 2: 40h. The left Type-C port also supports power delivery.
Conclusion
Visually damn chic, extremely flexible and practically usable with a limited performance for the more demanding user. The performance of the Celeron n4100 is suitable for simple tasks, productive work under Windows with all the trimmings and the required performance will not be able to deliver the Bmax y13. For normal everyday life or simpler tasks or shallow play of old games or titles like Minecraft, it is enough. In a nutshell, this CPU constellation is just a better typewriter with a great display. However, one must also say that it can get equivalent or partially better devices with Intel Core i3 SOC from Germany for a small surcharge. However, often in 15.6 inches and not as a convertible.
Price without coupon: $369.99 on Banggood
Coupon code 1($339.99): BGBXY13S or BGBXY13H
