Chinese device maker N-one has revised its NBook Fly laptop series with a new Comet Lake-based Xeon processor, but it's arguably not a significant upgrade from earlier specifications, as revealed by Notebookcheck. If you crave more visual workspace for multitasking, this laptop's dual-screen design is sure to appeal. At just $899, it's quite reasonably priced given the features, but the dated processor and lack of a dedicated GPU might be a significant compromise, depending on your workflow. And that's not to mention the potential for duties and tariffs that may drive the price well above $,1000.
N-one is a rather niche Chinese brand that specializes in laptops, tablets, and mini-PCs, with limited distribution and products available globally. Even the laptop in question today is only available from Banggood, which is a Chinese direct-to-consumer online retailer. The brand offers several laptop models, including dual-screen and traditional clamshell designs, to meet the needs of most consumers.
N-one's NBook Fly family is a competitor the Asus Duo product line. So far, the only model in N-one's lineup includes CPUs based on architectures that are half a decade old, which is obviously far from ideal. The NBook Fly originally featured a 14nm fabbed i7-10850H CPU with 6 cores / 12 threads, based on Intel's Comet Lake architecture. The revised model upgrades this to a Xeon W-10885M, wielding 8 cores / 16 threads based on the same design, with faster clock speeds, support for ECC memory, and workstation-optimized iGPU drivers.
The key selling point is the dual-screen design, featuring a primary 16-inch 1920x1200 display atop a secondary 14.1-inch 3840x1110 touchscreen (both IPS) that automatically deploys when you open the laptop. Beneath that is a standard keyboard with a touchpad to the right. The laptop comes configured with 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 1TB SSD, with two SODIMMs and two M.2 2280 SSD slots in total. Connectivity technologies are slightly behind the curve, featuring Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2.
The NBook Fly includes one USB Type-C port, three USB 3.0 ports (likely Type-A), one HDMI port, a 3.5mm jack for audio, and an RJ45 (1,000 Mbps) Ethernet port. Charging is handled by a barrel port, as seen in several user reviews. The battery is rated at 58Wh, which should be enough for at least a few hours of use.
In short, while it's interesting, this laptop doesn't have much going for it apart from the dual-screen display. Giving credit where it's due, the NBook Fly is still significantly more affordable than dual-screen equivalents from Lenovo or Asus. Be aware that not every review of the NBook Fly has been positive, with several users reporting issues related to the screens.
If you subtract the dual-screen design from the equation, there are many better options available locally with modern-day Ryzen AI 300/200 or Core Ultra 200 processors, which are far better in most respects than the Xeon you're getting here. Some laptops in this price range even include a dedicated GPU. If you're after battery life, consider laptops with Intel's Lunar Lake, which are often available under the $1,000 price point, or maybe get a MacBook if that suits your needs.
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