Design and Build Quality

With a 4:3 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 (QXGA) display, it’s obvious the Teclast X98 Pro takes its design cues from Apple’s iPad. It measures 239 x 169 x 8mm (9.39 x 6.64 x 0.31 inches) and weighs 526 grams, so it’s not as slim and sleek as the iPad, but it’s not chubby, either.

The chassis is aluminium, although the finish does not match Apple’s in terms of quality. The back is broken up by a piece of plastic trim, which houses antennas and the 5-megapixel camera.

The buttons aren’t aluminium either, they are plastic, and they could have been a bit better.

While the metal finish may not be as good as on iPads, it’s still not bad. It feels quite good and our biggest complaints have nothing to do with the finish or build, but rather with the branding and regulatory stuff at the back. There’s just too much text back there, and it doesn’t look good.

As far as aesthetics go, there is really not a lot we can say. For better or for worse, this is an iPad clone, which may be a good thing among some consumers, and a bad thing among others. This is entirely subjective, although we feel the iPad clone look is played out and using a somewhat different design to differentiate the design from the competition would probably help Teclast in some markets.

It is also important to note that Teclast does not state what sort of glass is used on the screen. It’s obviously not Gorilla Glass, as this would be a good selling point and the company probably wouldn’t forget to mention it. The screen is not laminated, either, and there appears to be no oleophobic coating on the glass. This is more or less the norm when it comes to budget tablets, so we won’t hold it against this particular device. On the upside, Teclast uses an IGZO panel from LG, so display quality is very good.

Micro USB, 3.5mm audio and micro HDMI ports are located at the bottom.

The exposed microSD slot and microphone are on the left.

No ports on buttons on the right, but at least you can check out the viewing angles.