Today I have the privilege of reviewing Freer X9, the first tablet ever on this blog! And it’s a good one!
AlldoCube Freer X9 is a 8.9″ Quad core (by a Mediatek chipset) powerhouse running on a high resolution screen with some great hardware
Freer X9 was sent to me to review courtesy of the good people at AlldoCube (formerly known as Cube)
What do we get in the box?
We get the bare essentials with this tablet, which is to say: X9 Tablet, User Manual, and charging/data USB-C cable
Looks and design
Usage and User Interface
Freer X9 uses a vanilla version of Android 6.0 which suits me just fine. The tablet first arrived with the original Chinese firmware which makes things a bit more tricky since it’s not based on the known and familiar Google ecosphere. That means no Play store, and issues with installation of some applications that rely on google foundations. However, in a few days I received and installed an “Overseas” firmware, which worked much better for my needs.
Mostly the experience with the tablet was pleasant, as the screen is sharp and of high quality. I did notice a small lack of sensitivity to touch that got me tapping more than once to get the desired result. Some small bugs also manifested as mentioned in the Issues and bugs section further ahead.
Bluetooth was tested successfully in both directions and files were sent and received between the tablet and my smart phone.
I’ve also transferred files from the tablet to my PC over the Wi-Fi connection on my local network.
Overall, though, I enjoyed my time with this tablet which surprised me both with it’s long battery life and it’s smooth operation – not to mention (again) the amazing and sharp IPS screen.
Cameras performance and quality
This tablet surprised me as it includes a 5 MP front camera (selfie camera), and a 13 MP back camera. The first set of sample photos are from the back camera, and remember – there is no flash so I didn’t bother taking night shots:
The main (back) camera produces reasonable results with somewhat pale colors, but quite sharp. Auto focus was fast and seems fine. This is not a camera to replace your DSLR, but then again, no mobile device’s camera is.. unless you count hybrids such as Galaxy camera (which has its own drawbacks). All in all, the tablet produces good results with the included (basic) camera app I used for this shoot. It may be improved upon with more feature rich apps such as Snap camera, or others.
Even Samsung took a while to update their tablet cameras and it’s one of the under-looked parts of tablets, for some reason. It’s not just the Megapixel count, but also the actual camera modules which are usually of lower grade than the ones included in most modern smartphones.
Here are a couple of shot from the front facing (“Selfie”) camera:
As can be seen, the colors (again) are a bit pale, but the details and focus are quite sharp. I believe that for skype/video calls this camera is above average and should produce good results.
Technical Specifications
| Chipset / CPU |
64Bit MTK8173 Quad Core |
| GPU | |
| Memory / Storage | 4GB DDR3 / 64GB eMMC |
| Display | IPS, OGS, 10 points touch, 8.9 inch (16:10), 2560*1600 JDI 2K Screen |
| Cameras | Dual cameras, 5.0 MP front camera, 13.0 MP back camera with Auto focus |
| Wireless | 802.11 a/b/g/n, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Audio Output | 3.5 mm headphone jack, Dual Speakers, Type-C USB |
| Battery | 3.8 V / 5500 mAh |
| Net weight | 366 gram |
| Dimension | 228 mm * 144 mm * 8.3 mm |
| Peripheral Interface | 1 x USB 2.0 Type C port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Micro SD / TF card up to 64GB |
| Packing Included | Cube Freer X9, USB-C charging/data cable, User Manual |
Benchmarks and Testing
As usual, all benchmarks have been repeated 3 times and results have been averaged to give a more accurate reading. But this time the testing was not limited to benchmarks alone:
Antutu Benchmark
The Antutu benchmark tests single core performance over multi-core as it is a better indication of the performance of one device over others in most situations. Antutu shows impressive results as the X9 takes the top of the chart as the new top-dog of Antutu in my testings.
GPU Mark Benchmark
GPU Mark tests 3d gaming performance and also provides a normalized score according to the used screen resolution (for a more accurate result). The test is quite short and should be taken as a supporting result to that of the more serious 3D Mark benchmark. X9 shoots to the top with the best results in this benchmark that I’ve seen so far. Both frames per second and standard scores are above all the competition!
A1 SD Benchmark
A1 SD Benchmark tests RAM and flash memory speeds. As can be seen in the provided graphs, RAM is much faster (by a factor of about 40) than flash memory – that is why it’s in smaller amount and is also volatile (does not keep its contents after a reboot). RAM copy speed on the X9 is off the charts. It cannot be explained by the type of RAM since it is DDR3 – same as used in most ARM based devices. I suspect it’s either due to use of a cache process, or another benchmark dedicated optimization technique. The Read/Write speeds for both internal and external storage are nothing special and sit in the bottom third of the comparison chart.
PC Mark Benchmark
PC Mark suite of tests tries to measure performance in day-to-day tasks such as image processing, word processing, video playback and editing and so on. X9 is the new king of PC Mark results. This is impressive, especially after at first PC mark would not even run (until a new firmware was flashed).
3D Mark Benchmark
3D Mark is a labor intensive 3D animation and gaming Benchmark. It runs a series of 3d heavy game and video animations. The GPU shows it’s power and takes the X9 straight to the top of this demanding test.
Video Playback testing (Using KODI/TV Center)
| Resolution | Video Format | Local Playback | Network (Wi-Fi) Playback |
| 720p (1280*720) | AVC (High@L4.1) | Playing correctly | Playing correctly |
| 1080P (1920*1080) | AVC (High@L4) | Playing correctly | Playing correctly |
| 2160P (3840*2160) | HEVC (H.265) / 10Bit | Playing correctly* | Playing correctly* |
| 4K (4096*2304) | AVC (High@L5.1) | Playing correctly | Playing correctly |
| 4K TS HEVC files | HEVC (H.265) | Playing correctly | Playing correctly |
* Video was playing fine in one of two samples locally, but over Wi-Fi (though both samples played fine) loading time was long, a small artifact was noticed at beginning of playback, and skipping ahead was unsuccessful (kodi buffer icon repeatedly filled up again and again without resuming).
The issue was specific to HEVC video and does not affect other codecs and formats tested.
Tablet run warm both during local playback and Wi-Fi playback. That is to be expected, and it did not seem to reach extreme temperatures during these tests.
Network performance
Network performance has been tested using Speedtest.net Internet speed measuring app, in WiFi only mode (no wired option with a tablet). My Internet connection is 500 Mbit Symmetric Fibre connection:
Internet speed testing does not show impressive score, but that may be due to a weaker signal reception. The video over WiFi tests I’ve done were in the same room as the router, and no lag was detected – meaning that distance is a big factor for this tablet. More so than for TV boxes which are stationary and contain more powerful antenna arrays.
Issues and Bugs
- No root solution was available, so detailed game performance was not possible
- X9 Tablet arrives with Chinese firmware which does not include google play store. New overseas firmware that does include google components required flashing via PC which is not a foolproof procedure
- Antutu Video was not able to play all the videos in the sequence
- Lost connection to WiFi network and could not reconnect (being asked for password again, and getting “failed to save network” message when trying) a few times. Resolved only with reboot
- Apps require permissions again even after being given said permissions. For instance: camera app is asking for permission to read/write files and use camera
Gaming performance
As usual, I test three games: Angry Birds 2, Asphalt 8 Airborne, and Walking War Robots. No root solution is available, therefore I could not measure CPU or RAM usage.
Angry Birds 2, a popular 2d game. Worked smoothly and without a hitch. Load times were speedy thanks to the large amount of high-speed RAM, and no issues were detected.
Asphalt 8 Airborne , intense 3d racing game. Game played fine with smooth frame rate and easy control.
Walking War Robots – an online 3d robot battle game. Finally, with a touch device, I was able to play this game fully, maneuver and shoot. The game played smoothly, though the tablet did warm up as it did when testing high definition videos.
Freer X9 Conclusions
Did I like it? Yes. It is the first tablet I tested, but it’s a strong contender in the Arm device power race. The screen is magnificent and razor sharp, and the device is very responsive and stable.
Would I recommend it? Yes! It’s a good product with solid performance 99% of the time.
Like to buy it? Click bellow and get it for a mere 200 USD (great price for what you get, in my humble opinion): (** for the next 3 days, there’s a flash sale and you can get it for just 170 USD!)
ALLDOCUBE Freer X9 Tablet PC
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