Boyue/Meebook P78 Pro

[viceant]

It seems there's a new player in the game.

It's called Meebook P78 Pro and is a brother (in law?) of Boyue 78 with some changes or improvements: 3GB RAM, faster processor, light warm/cold, Wifi 5GHz, USB-C... and that's all, folks!

[menpe]

Not a new player, Boyue just rebranded their company for whatever reason.

[viceant]

Originally Posted by menpe

Not a new player, Boyue just rebranded their company for whatever reason.

People in China complained they didn't get their refunds. Could the company avoid to comply whith its duties by means of rebranding?

[menpe]

Originally Posted by viceant

People in China complained they didn't get their refunds. Could the company avoid to comply whith its duties by means of rebranding?

Might be a part of it. They restructured the manufacturing and the marketing too as I heard. To be honest, as long as they make good devices and provide some degree of competition for Onyx, they could be called anything.

[bazz2004]

Maybe you are misinterpreting the situation. Things were not going well for Boyue and they were taken over last year.

[diegoocampo]

Has anyone had the chance of trying this new P78 pro? I am specially curious about the CPU, I read that the P78 (non pro) has a weak Rockchip CPU, wonder if it is just the same but at 1.8 Ghz instead of 1.5 Ghz. In the AliExpress page they only specify that is a quad core 1.8 Ghz.

[menpe]

Originally Posted by diegoocampo

Has anyone had the chance of trying this new P78 pro? I am specially curious about the CPU, I read that the P78 (non pro) has a weak Rockchip CPU, wonder if it is just the same but at 1.8 Ghz instead of 1.5 Ghz. In the AliExpress page they only specify that is a quad core 1.8 Ghz.

Saw their Facebook ad which only showed 1,5GHz --> 1,8GHz, so don't get your hopes too high.
The RAM increase concerns a very small percentage of the user base.
I'd be surprised if the Android 8.1-->11 would change much.
The only clear upside is the 5GHz Wifi and the stylus support.

More like an incremental increase of specs than a whole step forward.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by menpe

Saw their Facebook ad which only showed 1,5GHz --> 1,8GHz, so don't get your hopes too high.

But Cortex A55!

[menpe]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

But Cortex A55!

The P78 uses A35 cores, which are very slightly behind the A53 cores which are ~18% behind the A55 cores. With the increased clock speeds, the theoretical performance advantage will lie between 25% to 35%.
Seems good on paper but the rest of the internal components will stay the same in terms of speed and responsiveness, creating the already present bottlenecks. My old dual-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A9 powered tablet is more responsive than the P78 with its every single way superior and faster hardware. Even an unresponsive and wasteful power-scaling governor can make or break a normally fine user experience and do not even get me started on the "did the touch layer registered my input or the system just hangs up for no particular reason for seconds" rant.

Don't get me wrong, any progression is good but there are several other parts (hardware and mostly software optimization) where development could reap much more benefit than just slapping a faster processor into the chassis and call it a day. Sadly, a small market like this can't really gather enough world-class developers and engineers to solve these hard problems.
I'd say if somebody wanted to buy the vanilla P78 then go for the P78pro instead (the price is kinda the same anyway) and expect a little better but not world-shattering extra performance if your use-case can take advantages of it.

[diegoocampo]

Thank you for the information @menpe and @ottischwenk, hopefully some brave forum user upgrades from P78 to P78pro and can tell us about the speed improvements. I just watched the video review by Good e-reader and it seems quite responsive, but that review doesn't really focus on testing speed with any demanding app.

Unless there is an upcoming improvement in color screens coming up this year, I might get this P78pro. I am not interested in note taking so not having WACOM layer is mostly an advantage to me since I wouldn't be using it at all.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by diegoocampo

but that review doesn't really focus on testing speed with any demanding app.

If it really is about speed, then the Boox devices are faster (even than the Likebook Mars/Ares)
The P78 is also slower than the Likebook Mars/Ares - I can't say anything about the P78 Pro, I haven't received it yet.

[menpe]

Originally Posted by diegoocampo

Thank you for the information @menpe and @ottischwenk, hopefully some brave forum user upgrades from P78 to P78pro and can tell us about the speed improvements. I just watched the video review by Good e-reader and it seems quite responsive, but that review doesn't really focus on testing speed with any demanding app.

Unless there is an upcoming improvement in color screens coming up this year, I might get this P78pro. I am not interested in note taking so not having WACOM layer is mostly an advantage to me since I wouldn't be using it at all.

Here is a quick video about some more demanding apps which I use in a daily basis: P78 Quick test

Constant blinking: I set the app refresh rate to 1 to combat against ghosting which works very well with only black and white images (seen at the 5th and 6th pages of Ao no Exorcist) but any grey shade between these will produce afterimages (mostly colored images or heavily toned backgrounds). Refreshing the screen again when heavy ghosting is present makes it clean at least.

This speed is more than enough for me to bridge the gap until affordable and usable color devices'll hit the market. Expect at least this or a little better experience in case of the P78pro.

It would be very helpful and informative if ottischwenk could record a little comparison when he'll receive his unit.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by menpe

It would be very helpful and informative if ottischwenk could record a little comparison when he'll receive his unit.

I don't have a camera with which I could record something like that, but I can definitely say that my Likebook Ares does it much faster (same cbr about 250 MB, about twice as fast)

[diegoocampo]

Originally Posted by menpe

Here is a quick video about some more demanding apps which I use in a daily basis: P78 Quick test

Thanks for the video. It seems to struggle a bit opening the apps but the manga reading experience is good enough. In an ereader I am always a bit more patient. Something I would like to be able to do is to use the Kindle app with that functionality that allows you to read and listen (the audiobook version) at the same time. So hopefully it can handle that and a decent experience in manga and that's enough for me.

Didn't know that the Mars/Ares were faster... I have a Boyue T62D and what made it outdated was the Android version (it is also quite slow, but at the end, it is the Android version 4.2 that prevents from using any updated app). So I think I still prefer Android 11 a bit slower over Android 8.1 a bit faster.

[menpe]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

I don't have a camera with which I could record something like that, but I can definitely say that my Likebook Ares does it much faster (same cbr about 250 MB, about twice as fast)

Used my 5 years old phone here, so nothing magical. Of course it's up to you, we believe and appreciate your written info too. Twice the cores, I'd expect noticeable advantage.

Originally Posted by diegoocampo

Thanks for the video. It seems to struggle a bit opening the apps but the manga reading experience is good enough. In an ereader I am always a bit more patient. Something I would like to be able to do is to use the Kindle app with that functionality that allows you to read and listen (the audiobook version) at the same time. So hopefully it can handle that and a decent experience in manga and that's enough for me.

Didn't know that the Mars/Ares were faster... I have a Boyue T62D and what made it outdated was the Android version (it is also quite slow, but at the end, it is the Android version 4.2 that prevents from using any updated app). So I think I still prefer Android 11 a bit slower over Android 8.1 a bit faster.

I used an ancient device too, this feels like a completely different universe. I can finally use my Bluetooth clicker to step back and forward without touching the screen. Also I don't have to use a modified Tachiyomi version anymore to run under its specified minimum SDK level with lower functionality.

Check your local marketplaces, you might find a Mars/Ares in good condition for cheap. For a stopgap solution until the next gen, those should suffice too. My first Nook Simple Touch from 2011 still works and actively used by a family member.