This is shaping up to be a very good year for compact computers, with several new laptops on the way sporting screens ranging in size from 7 inches to 8.9 inches.

Two of the first to launch also happen to be two of the most interesting options, thanks to somewhat larger screens, bigger keyboards, and other usability improvements. They also happen to be the first two models I’ve had a chance to test — so let’s compare the GPD P2 Max and One Mix 3 Yoga.

If you’re hoping for a clear-cut winner… it’s not that simple. Each model has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The GPD P2 Max features an 8.9 inch touchscreen display, a multitouch trackpad, and support for up to an Intel Core m3-8100Y processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of NVMe storage. GPD is taking pre-orders through a crowfunding campaign, with the top-of-the-line model selling for $705 (it’ll eventually have a retail price closer to $840).

Meanwhile the One Mix 3 Yoga is already available for purchase from GeekBuying for $760 and up. The entry-level model features an Intel Core m3-8100Y processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of NVMe storage. It has an 8.4 inch display, and a larger keyboard… but it has a small optical touch sensor instead of a touchpad. And unlike the GPD P2 Max, the One Mix 3 Yoga has a 360-degree hinge, a backlit keyboard, and digital pen support.

There are many similarities between the two devices. They both have aluminum bodies. Both have fingerprint sensors. Neither is fanless.

But there are some differences in port selection and other features. And there are some notable differences in performance, battery life, and the overall experience of using the little laptops.

Before we get to that, let’s take a look at the specs for each of these mini-laptops. Please note that these are the specs for the demo units I have in hand. GPD also offers a lower-specced version of the P2 Max with less memory, storage, and a less powerful processor, and One Mix has higher-specced versions of the One Mix 3 with up to twice as much memory and storage and a higher-performance processor.

GPD P2 MaxOne Mix 3 Yoga
Display8.9 inch, 2560 x 16008.4 inch, 2560 x 1600
PPI339.2359.4
CPUIntel Core m3-8100YIntel Core m3-8100Y
TDP8W7W
RAM16GB8GB
Storage512GB NVMe256GB NVMe
Pen supportN/AMicrosoft Pen Protocol
Webcam2MPN/A
360 degree hingeNoYes
TouchpadMultitouch trackpadOptical touch sensor
Keyboard5 rows, 56 keys6 rows, 67 keys
Fingerprint sensorIn power buttonStandalone button
Battery capacity34.96 Wh33.11 Wh
Battery life (Netflix test)5 hours, 10 minutes4 hours, 50 minutes
Battery charge time~2.5 hours~4.5 hours
Power adapter15V/2A = 30W PD15V/2A = 30W PD
USB-A ports21
USB-C ports11
micro HDMI11
3.5mm audio11
microSD readerN/A1
Speakersstereomono
WiFi802.11ac802.11ac
BluetoothBT 4.1BT 4.0
Dimensions213mm x 149.5mm x 14.2mm204mm x 129mm x 14.9mm
Weight655 grams (1.4 lb)689 grams (1.5 lb)
Price (as of June 25, 2019)$705$760

As the table makes clear, both little laptops have USB-C ports, micro HDMI ports, and 3.5mm audio jacks. But the GPD P2 Max has two USB-A ports and no card reader, while the One Mix 3 Yoga has a microSD card reader, but just a single USB-A port.

The P2 Max has stereo speakers, a bigger battery, and longer battery life (at least while streaming Netflix videos at 50 percent screen brightness with the Windows 10 power setting set to “better battery.”) It also has a webcam and scores higher on benchmarks (more on that below). In a lot of ways it seems like it should be the winner in a head-to-head matchup.

But the One Mix 3 Yoga has a bigger keyboard, backlit keys, support for pen input, and a 360-degree hinge that lets you use the computer in tablet, tent. or stand notes. All of those features make it a more versatile device… albeit one that doesn’t perform quite as well in most performance tests.

Keys, buttons, and touch input

Ultimately, I find it much easier to type on the One Mix 3 Yoga — I do not love the placement of the tab key (it’s above the number 2 instead of next to the letter Q, where it should be). But the number keys are full-sized. There’s an extra row of function keys above it. There are separate Delete and Backspace keys. And the keyboard is backlit, making it much easier to see in the dark… although the white-on-silver color scheme can make the keys a little touch to see when the backlight is off.

On the other hand, it’s easy to see why GPD decided to go with a 5-row keyboard rather than a 6-row version: it makes room for a real touchpad. The One Mix 3 Yoga (like older GPD Pocket devices), has a small optical touch sensor which is better than nothing… but which isn’t large enough to support multi-touch gestures, among other things. The P2 Max has a decent touchpad that supports two-finger scrolling and clicking, among other things, which makes it much easier to navigate Windows (or other operating systems).

Overall, I prefer typing on the One Mix 3 Yoga. But the P2 Max keyboard does have a few advantages — I think the placement of the Tab key is better. And while you have to hit Fn+K or Fn+L for the colon and semi-colon keys, I think that’s better than placing them in the bottom row next to the space bar, which is far from where they’re found on most other keyboards.

I think the One Mix 3 Yoga also has a better power button/fingerprint sensor solution. The top right key on the keyboard is a power button, and while you do have to press and hold it for a moment before the computer boots or resumes from sleep, it’s easy to tell when it’s working because a blue status LED above the keyboard will turn on. Once you’re at the Windows login screen, you can then just place your fingertip on the fingerprint reader to the right of the power button.

The P2 Max has a single power button with an integrated fingerprint reader. It’s a mushy button that doesn’t give you a solid click when you press it, and there’s no LED status light to let you know when the computer is powering up, so I sometimes can’t tell if the computer has noticed I’ve pressed the power button or not. I’ve also found the fingerprint reader to be a bit hit-or-miss. Sometimes I have to put the computer back to sleep and turn it on again before it will recognize my finger. At that point it would probably be faster to just enter a PIN or password.

The One mix 3 Yoga’s convertible tablet-style design and support for an optional pressure-sensitive pen also gives it a bump in the usability space… if you care about tablet functionality. If you don’t, then these are both pretty good little laptops… especially compared with earlier models from these companies which had 7 inch screens and cramped keyboards.

Design

The One Mix 3 Yoga weight a bit more and it’s a tiny bit thicker, but its smaller screen and lack of a physical touchpad means it takes up a little less space when you fold it up.

I can slide it into a pants pocket… it’s not comfortable and I wouldn’t want to walk around with it in my pocket all day. But it fits.

The GPD P2 Max does not fit into the pocket of any pants I own. But it’s got a sleeker-looking design thanks to sloped edges which make the laptop look thinner at the front than the back.

I think the darker color scheme for the P2 Max is also more attractive, but that might be a matter of personal preference. The white-letters-on-black keys on the keyboard are objectively easier to see in a well-lit room than the white-on-silver keys on the One Mix 3… but the lack of backlit keys can make the P2 Max keyboard tougher to see in darker settings.

Both laptops have displays that can get pretty bright, but the P2 Max display can get much dimmer at its lowest setting.

While running my Netflix-streaming battery test, I also noticed that the One Mix 3 Yoga display seems to have more of a blue/purple tint than the P2 Max. I don’t have the tools or expertise to do a detailed screen quality/color test, but I think the P2 Max seems to have a display that looks a little more accurate to my eye… but it’s only something I notice when the two mini laptops are side by side.

One difference that’s more immediately noticeable it the fact that the GPD P2 max has stereo speakers, while the One Mix 3 Yoga has just a single mono speaker. The P2 Max is louder and the sound feels more balanced, since it’s not coming out of one end of the laptop. Bear in mind, neither of these notebooks is much louder than a smartphone or tablet, but stereo speakers do seem to make a difference.

Performance

Neither of these little computers are speed demons. They both have low-power Intel Core m3-8100Y processors, but GPD set its chip to run at 8 watts, versus 7 watts for the One Mix 3 Yoga.

So it should come as no surprise that the P2 Max came out ahead in most benchmarks. The difference wasn’t huge, but it was measurable.

What’s a little more surprising is that despite offering better performance and sporting a slightly larger display, the P2 Max still lasted longer in my battery life test. So if performance is the deciding factor for you, then I think it’s pretty clear that the P2 Max is the mini-laptop to beat.

That said, the fan on the P2 Max seems to run more frequently. In a quiet room you’ll hear it whirring at a gentle speed most of the time that the computer is powered on. Fire up an app or game that requires a little more horsepower, and the fan speed will ramp up and it’ll get louder.

The One Mix 3 Yoga also has a fan, but I didn’t notice it running as much. There’s also an option to press Fn+Fel on the convertible notebook to slow down the fan (it doesn’t turn off, but it gets quieter in this mode… but you should use it judiciously since the computer may take a small performance hit and it may get warmer to the touch).

Speaking of heat, the One Mix 3 does get rather warm after you’ve been using it for a while. The P2 Max stays pretty cool. I guess that’s what happens when the fan doesn’t turn off very often. That’s not to say the P2 Max never warms up, but it doesn’t seem to get as hot as the One Netbook machine, and the heat tends to be localized to the right side of the mini-laptop.

Update: One Netbook says two more reasons the One Mix 3 Yoga gets warmer are the fact that it has a backlit keyboard and a smaller chassis, which means there’s not as much space for heat to dissipate. 

And now… let’s take a look at some benchmarks.

I’m not surprised to see that the GPD P2 Max outperforms the One Mix 3 Yoga in most tests. After all, it has a higher TDP and what I’m guessing may be a better cooling system.

What is a little surprising is that it also outperforms the Acer Swift 7 in many tests, despite that laptop have an Intel Core i7-8500Y processor which should theoretically score higher on these tests. But maybe I should have expected that — the Acer Swift 7 is a fanless laptop, while the GPD P2 has active cooling.

Another surprise? The GPD P2 Max actually scored higher than my HP Spectre x360 in Cinebench’s single-core performance test. The HP laptop has a 15 watt Intel Core i5-8250U quad-core processor, so it does way better in multi-core performance. But still, the Core m3 chip holds its own.

GeekBench, PCMark, and PassMark show similar results (although the Acer Swift 7 does come out ahead in PassMark.

That said… is the One Mix 3 Yoga so much slower that you shouldn’t even consider it? I wouldn’t think so. It still scores much better on benchmarks than computers with Atom, Celeron, or Pentium chips. So if you want a bigger keyboard or tablet functionality, I think it might be worth the tradeoff.

The performance gap this year isn’t nearly as big as it was for the first-gen One Mix Yoga, which had a nifty design but absolutely horrible performance.

I think both the GPD P2 Max and the One Mix 3 Yoga are pretty good options for modern mini computing. I wouldn’t mind lower price tags… but given the hardware in these little PCs, I’m not surprised at the $700-and-up prices.

It’s worth noting that GPD does have a lower-priced option. The company is also taking pre-orders for a model with an Intel Celeron 3965Y processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of RAM. It’s going for $529 during the P2 Max Indiegogo campaign. That price comes a little closer to impulse-buy territory, but the processor is much slower and you can probably expect significantly lower scores on benchmarks and more sluggish real-world performance. On the bright side, you’ll also probably get longer battery life from that model.

Meanwhile, another Chinese device makers is entering the mini-laptop space with a lower-cost option. Chuwi’s 8 inch MiniBook is up for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign, and that model has a starting price of $430 for a model with an Intel Celeron N4100 processor or $550 for a version with an Intel Core m3-8100Y chip. I should have more details about that mini-laptop soon.

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22 replies on “GPD P2 Max vs One Mix 3 Yoga comparison”

  1. It’d be great if you could do a comparison review of the new Magic-Ben MAG1 Pocket Laptop as well. I think I read somewhere online that this MAG1 is manufactured by the same company that makes the One Mix 3 Yoga.

  2. this is a very nice comparison view! thanks for make this.
    i m a huge fan of GPD Pocket 2. because i have one P2 for myself. also i m a big fan of Onemix series too. i have some different idea after i read your comparison. allow me to explain :
    1: those 2 pc is different design, one is YOGA , another is normal mini pc. YOGA design is more expensive , all of us knew that.
    2: MIX3 build in backlit keyboard, P2 didnot. even P2 size is more larger. backlit keyboard design will bring problem about overheat, but MIX3 deisgn a cooler fan module inside, i watch the disassemble video of MIX3, its use the cooler fan to transfer temperature to the shell case for Dissipate heat, it can make sure the motherboard wont get overheat when it working, because the metal shell has dissipated heat, this design more Scientific. lot of product doing in the same way. for example apple product.
    so, i think that MIX3 is more warm when it working. this is incorrect. this is how it design to be. and it more scientific.
    anyway. appreciate for your view. it very useful for me.

  3. I like one mix3 yoga. What should I do to get it. Once I bought how can I get its battery once life time over

    1. From my experience, the most reliable way to get Mix 3 is to order it from Geekbuying. Mix 3 sells quite well: Geekbuying continues taking pre-orders to new batches, and every batch is just enough to ship the previous orders and nothing left for immediate purchase.

      Regarding a battery replacement, my current experience is: there is no source 🙁

  4. It looks like I’m the only here, who actually own One Netbook Mix 2s, soon shall receive Mix 3, backed both Chuwi MiniBook and GPD P2 Max, to choose from lately or to give to my son 🙂 I’ve also backed and am waiting for Cosmo Communicator.

    Even P2 Max should fit the internal pocket of my jeans jacket. It has exactly the same size as my old 8″ Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 tablet. It fits waist or shoulder bag. Such a device is quite useful e.g. travelling in bus/underground between home and office, and this way was taken at least 2 hours for me to one end for years! Bigger notebooks would require a backpack, and hardly can be used in a bus. My youngest son is a student, to be (like me) software developer. He had a 10″ tablet to carry in a shoulder bag. Such a WIndows/Linux subnotebook is much more useful for him now.

    Actually, I hate notebooks, and never had them. But I love these devices!

    The worst thing with P2 Max is its keyboard: I’m still curious would it be any useful for us, being Russians (33 letters) and programmers. It has no enough keys. But 16GB RAM/512GB SSD combo was unique, until today.

    The worst thing with One Netbook devices is total absense of service outside China. Chuwi and GPD are much better here (anything above zero is better, actually!). This is the reason I’m thinking to sell Mix 3 in favor of Chuwi, after I’ve backed 16GB RAM for only $10. Of course, some months later, because I need such a device every day.

    1. Actually, I have the One Mix 2S too….. 🙂
      Enjoy it a lot as it performs quite well for such a small device….dual booting Win 10 and Linux Mint 19.1…..

      Also have several other little devices, including original One Mix, GPD Pocket, Gemini and like you waiting for Cosmo…..

      Realizing I’m accumulating too many little laptops…..need to part with a few to make room for the new ones…..tempted to get a One Mix 3 or 3S now…. 🙂

      Chuwi is cheaper price than One Netbooks, but they are not as good specifications when you carefully compare them, so no surprise that they are cheaper price.

      Will be interesting to hear if you are satisfied with Chuwi after using it…….

      1. Let’s wait for MiniBook vs Mix 3 review on this site 🙂 Meanwhile, note MiniBook 16GB RAM/512GB SSD version for $628, and remember it keeps 128GB eMMC on the board!

        1. Good points….

          Can you use the 512GB SSD for running the OS, or does it need to run from the eMMC?

  5. I like that they are making these, but personally, I never understood the ‘almost pocket size’ devices. I mean, if you have to put it in a bag anyway, why not just spend an extra hundred and get a more powerful machine with a bigger screen?

  6. this is awesome! first post here. new to these little machines. I just backed the Chewi Minibook and as of this morning they bumped the specs to 16gb which seems pretty awesome for $529.

    i do cad design for work and think one of these would be great for travel where Im not designing and then I can really do a high-spec machine for my office. probably a 15″ top of the line surface book or surface laptop. thoughts?

  7. Thanks a ton Brad, was waiting for this. I realize that these keyboards are real deal breakers for some non US languages. In some European languages those keys you need fn to use are extremely frequent keys (letters with accents, apostrophe, !, etc.) so it would be much harder to get used to (I generally put stickers on foreign keyboards). Also a bit disappointed about the mono sound of the onemix, but it’s still a better device because of the pen input / tablet mode… However I think I’ll skip on both and will stick to my ipad mini LTE with brydge keyboard, and will wait for what Microsoft will be doing next (if they go Windows on arm with the surface go, I’ll get it)

  8. It is nice to see this website return to where (I think) it started…testing little laptops. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading the reviews of all kinds of products. Little laptops have a special place in my electronic heart. These new models are so much more capable than the early Eee PCs.

    1. My interest never waned. There just weren’t many interesting developments in this space until the GPD Pocket came along. Now I’m glad I’ve been able to get my hands on some review units, because there are so many options that I’d go broke trying to buy them all for testing 🙂

  9. One Mix has a higher performance i7Y 3S model and a cheaper 1S as well.

    1. We’ll, we know it has an i7-8500Y, but we don’t know if it actually performs better I’m this form factor, since I haven’t been able to run benchmarks on that model. The main goal of this article was to compare and contrast the two devices I have access to at the moment. As for the One Mix 1S, it has a smaller screen and keyboard, which makes it less comparable to these specific devices… Although I know the 7 inch screen is as much a selling point for some people as the lower price. I’ll definitely be writing more about the 1S in the future.

      1. Thanks for this and your other recent reviews/tests. All very helpful and enjoyable to read and watch videos.

        Do you think you’ll be able to a 3S with the i7-8500Y to test out soon?

        I’m sure you’ll see it do better on some benchmarks, but really curious to know if you notice any ‘real world’ performance differences between it and ones with the 8100Y.

      2. I think most buyers of this form factor will also be trying out XTU undervolt settings to increase effective CPU/GPU frequency… granted it depends on luck how many milli-volts you can lower before it blue screens, but if both units can be undervolted by similar amounts, it will be indicative of the thermal design. But these are 1 to 2 year old CPUs with 5 year old 14nm tech… these mini PC companies were no doubt holding out for 10nm Intel Gen 11 and 7nm APUs with Zen 2, which will have to wait until next year. But by then I’d probably get a second generation 15″ Acer Swift 5 (<1kg) or that rumored dual screen Surface.

        1. Hi Brad,
          Maybe you can do an article on how people with actual experience (such as yourself) prefer mini laptops versus large-screen/full keyboard magnesium ultralights. Back in the eeePC days, your only choice for light meant small (screen and kb), but with the LG Gram and Swift 5, is it still worth the squint buying small? With weight being similar, would people still choose small over large? Thanks

          1. It’s not one-size-fits-all. I personally think this is a great form factor for a secondary device, but I wouldn’t want to use a 9 inch or smaller laptop as my primary computer.

            I have a 13.3 inch, 2.8 pound HP Spectre x360 convertible that I use as my primary PC. In the office I connect it to a display, mouse, and keyboard. On the go, I use it as a laptop. And it’s portable enough that I’d probably have a hard time justifying spending $700+ on an 8-9 inch mini-laptop right now since it’d likely duplicate some of the functionality.

            That said, if I were going to buy a mini, I’d probably lean toward a convertible — because the Spectre x360 is a bit large for use as a handheld tablet. I could see myself comfortably reading eBooks or digital magazines or comics on something like the Chuwi MiniBook or One Mix 3 Yoga, but I’d never really want to do that on the Spectre x360.

            Meanwhile, there are plenty of folks who probably wouldn’t want to settle for something like my HP Spectre as their primary computer. It has a 15 watt processor and Intel HD graphics, and the 13.3 inch screen might not be big enough for some people.

            So mini-laptops like those offered by GPD, One Netbook, and Chuwi could be good companion devices for folks who primarily use a desktop or a larger laptop. These smaller models would be great for taking notes at meetings, working remotely, or carrying with you on vacation… or using just about anywhere that you might not want to take a big, bulky computer. Just know that you’re going to sacrifice some performance and ergonomics.

            That said, these little machines have come a long way since the Eee PC and netbook era. You *can* use them as general purpose computers as long as you temper your performance expectations a bit.

          2. Right, I just bought a refurbished Asus E203MA on Amazon for $99, for the purposes you mentioned above, to tide me over until the 7/10nm laptops arrive, so I don’t have to keep 2 devices around and deal with model-specific quirks which PC makers always manage to throw into the bundle for free. I had in the past 9.7″ 2048*1536 iPad-sized tablet PCs from Chuwi and Onda, but they both had nagging quirks died pretty quickly despite all the help they got from Intel engineers, and they don’t make them anymore. The N4000 Atom CPU is surprising good, I suspect due to a more complete GPU acceleration feature set inline with mainstream i3/i5/i7 platforms, and I/O benefits of a better integrated SoC. BOE panels are worst offenders in PWM flicker, so I’ll be replacing its 11.6″ panel with a $25 Chimei Innolux 8-bit 98% sRGB panel. It’s sad that unless devices have metal/glass enclosures and priced into a niche, good products with easy to fix flaws will be neglected by both manufacturer and the marketplace.

            My UX305FA randomly refuses to boot (apparently a common issue), so I just keep it on 24/7 as my primary computer. With XTU at -90mV, it’s still able to sustain 2GHz, unless you tax the GPU, whereupon it drops to 1.5GHz for a moment. None of the 14nm products I’ve tried deliver significant performance/battery life improvement over the fanless UX305, and if I were to drop $1000 on a new device, might as well wait for 7nm. I find 13.3″ (with 100% sRGB and low delta E values) okay for productivity, but 15.6“ just kills the need for my 24″ external monitor. I have the feeling many GPD users would not consider the device if it did not have HDMI out or USB-C alt mode, since they do like the idea of connecting it to a larger monitor, hence my questions in the previous post. In fact, I’d get a Xiaomi Mi 9 for use as a web app engine and primary computing device, if it only had display out. So much CPU/RAM/Storage confined to such a tiny screen. I’d always be able to return to Windows for CorelDraw, Sketchup, and irreplaceable Win32 utilities via remote desktop.

            One important test for these devices is PWM flicker, as it would be hard to determine if eye strain results from the screen size or PWM. In lieu of expensive test equipment as you mentioned, perhaps a phone camera image can reveal low frequency pulsations and warn users (and manufacturers) of this trait.

            But yeah, I admit those mini computers look cool and are a throwback to the VAIO/Fujitsu/EeePC days.

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