Today the Chinese device maker PiPO have announched their successor to the PiPO X7 known as the PiPO X7B with a new design and hardware.
For those unaware, the PiPO X7 is a very successful Mini PC taking advantage of Intel’s low cost Atom Bay Trail SoC and Microsoft’s cheap Windows 8.1 with Bing licensing. Later on the dual boot X7S featuring Windows 8.1 and Android 4.4 with the same hardware was released.
The X7 helped start the trend of inexpensive Windows mini PCs running on Intel hardware.
Now PiPO have announced the PiPO X7B with a whole new design and hardware. It features a gold coloured square box case with a larger wireless antenna. It’s powered by Intel’s Cherry Trail Z8300 SoC with Gen 8 Graphics. The X7B comes with either 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. The USB 3.0 port is a welcome addition as not many budget mini PCs include one.
PiPO X7B Specifications
- Windows 10 Home
- Intel Quad-Core Cherry Trail Z8300 up to 1.84Ghz
- 2GB/4GB DDR RAM
- 32GB/64GB eMMC Storage
- USB 3.0 x1, USB 2.0 x2
- 802.11b/g/n Wifi
- 100Mbit/s Ethernet
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 5V/3A Power
- Micro SD Slot, LAN Port, Audio Out, HDMI Output
- 400g Weight
PiPO X7B Design
Something you might notice about the design of the X7B is that it has a striking resemblance to the Tronsmart Ara X5 Plus.
They both feature the same case with a large external wifi antenna. The placement of the power button, headphone jack and front USBs are exactly the same. The only visual difference is that the Ara X5 is completely black with a Tronsmart logo of the Intel logo found on the X7B
It’s very likely that PiPO and Tronsmart have both used the same factory for manufacturing of the Mini PC.
Price and Availability
No word yet on when the release date or price, but online stores should be taking preorders very soon.
This post will be updated with links as the PiPO X7B becomes available.