If you were not aware. Tecno makes laptops now. Beginning of this year they released the Megabook T1. It is essentially a mid-tier ultrabook powered by a 10th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU and boasting just over 17 hours of battery life (Perfect for Zimbabwe’s current power crisis).
Yesterday they launched a more premium and more powerful version of this laptop alongside the Phantom X2. The Megabook S1. This one levels things up a bit with the 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, beefier cooling, and quite a number of interesting features.
Megabook T1 vs Megabook S1
| Tecno Megabook T1 | Tecno Megabook S1 | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5 10th Gen CPU | Intel Core i7 12th Gen CPU |
| GPU | Intel intergrated GPU | Intel intergrated GPU |
| RAM | 12/16GB | 16GB |
| Storage | 512GB/1TB m.2 NVMe SSD | 512GB/1TB m.2 NVMe SSD |
| Display | FHD 1920×1080 60Hz 350nits brightness sRGB 100% 15.6 inch | 3.2K 16:10 120Hz 450 nits brightness sRGB 100% 15.6 Inch |
| I/O Ports | 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack 1x HDMI 1.4 3x USB Type-A 2x USB Type-C (One for data only, another for charging) 1x MicroSD card reader | 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack 1x HDMI 1.4 2x USB Type-A 2x USB Type-C 1x MicroSD card reader |
| Speakers | 2 speaker system DTS-X support AI-Noise cancelling | 6 speaker system DTS-X support AI-Noise cancelling |
| Keyboard | Backlit Chiclet Keyboard | Backlit Chiclet Keyboard |
| Wifi | Wifi 6 (802.11ax) | Wifi 6 (802.11ax) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.1 | Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Battery | 70WHr 17.5 hour battery life (Manufacturer claim) | 70WHr |
| Power Supply | 65W USB-C PowerDelivery | 65W USB-C PowerDelivery |
| Webcam | Yes 2MP | Yes 2MP |
| Biometrics | Windows Hello fingerprint scanner | Windows Hello fingerprint scanner |
| Price | US$524 starting | US$1500 (512GB) US$1600 (1TB) |
We recently bid farewell to the CD-Drive on laptops. Now we are going a step further and slowly losing the ethernet port. Both these laptops are designed to be ultra portable meaning they are thin and light. Something that pushes them to lose the ethernet port and commit to wifi unless you are thinking of getting a USB-C hub which comes with such ports.
The Megabook S1 has a MUCH more polished design vs the Megabook T1 which is more targeted towards GenZ. Their words not mine. It’s also got a newer and more powerful processor than the T1 that is a 12th Gen i7 vs a 10th Gen i5. On the S1, the display is much sharper. 3.2k or almost 4K plus 120Hz refresh rate as compared to 1080p and 60Hz found on the T1. They both share the same colour accuracy of 100% sRGB however on the S1, the panel is brighter at 450 nits vs 350 nits on the T1.
It’s all fun and games up until you see they both have the exact same 70WHr battery. Because of the feature diet that the T1 went through, it can squeeze out a claimed 17.5 hours of battery life which the S1 obviously cannot match. There are no official battery life claims on the S1 but I would estimate that conservatively it can manage about 11 hours. A brighter display with over double the pixel count, higher screen refresh rate and more powerful processor paired with beefier cooling are all creature comforts that do nothing for battery life. Oh and did I mention that the S1 has fewer ports?
There is also a one touch NFC file sharing feature on the S1 they are calling OneLeap which allows you to quickly send files on your smartphone to your laptop. Which also coincidentally meant the brand new Tecno Phanom X2 is the first Tecno smartphone to support NFC! The feature can also be used to share your smartphone screen with your laptop and even drag and drop stuff between the 2 devices. Same thing that Huawei does with OneHop. A less fancy version of it is called Tecno Link that the T1 is using. It’s not a one touch solution but it pretty much supports everything else that OneLeap supports.
What they both share in common are a couple of interesting features. There is AI in the webcam that can detect a face peaking from behind you and automatically dim the display. This obviously means the camera is running in the background at all times which I feel is a bit creepy. Also not to mention how that must draw some significant power from the battery. I am sure it’s a feature you can choose to disable if you don’t need it but what a way to ensure you have eyes on the back of your head.
Pricing. It’s trouser troubling
With a starting price of US$1500, it’s one expensive laptop. This is now MacBook Pro and HP Spectre territory and these are ultrabook titans that have been in the game for a while now. Don’t get me wrong. On paper (Still waiting for review units) it looks like it went through the ultrabook checklist and ticked a lot of boxes.
- Design – Clean, sleek, thin and light
- Materials – Aluminium
- Performance – Core i7 12th Gen
- Pin sharp display – 3.2K + 120Hz refresh rate
- Features – One touch NFC file sharing, Peek proof auto dimming, 6 DTS-X tuned speakers, Dual AI noise cancelling mics
- USB-C charging – 65W GaN charger
It’s got the walk to back the talk on paper but I fear it’s coming in a bit too aggressively on price making it easy to ask if it’s worth the same money as the older and more established brands. What do you think about the Megabook S1?
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What’s your take?