Hands-on: Cube Palm Play Mini

Years back, Cube put out an 8-inch tablet called the Palm Play Mini. The whole point was that it was dirt cheap, and it took a SIM card. Only 4GB of RAM, weak CPU, but cheap. At a price that low, every other flaw stops mattering.

Then the product started listening to users. “Upgrade X and I’ll buy one,” they said, so it upgraded, and upgraded, and upgraded. Fewer people bought it, the price climbed, and the series felt like it was on its deathbed. Cube’s He Mengnan disappeared from view, and the thing lost its entire selling point.

So I’m scrolling Pinduoduo and see a tablet, brand new, 350-odd yuan shipped. It arrives and the box says “Suishengting” — sealed, never opened. But apart from the brand name, the specs and a few details told me everything: this is Cube’s 8-inch Palm Play Mini.

As an 8-inch mini tablet that was once all the rage, Cube’s Palm Play Mini has three selling points:

• 8-inch screen, portable
• Good enough specs
• Takes a phone SIM card

That last one matters a lot — it decides what the tablet is even for. Plenty of people used this little Cube as a phone replacement, and there are a bunch of review videos about it online. But actually replacing your phone with this is way too optimistic. 4GB of RAM is brutally tight; open a few messaging and social apps and it’s basically done. It has built-in Swap, but swap isn’t RAM and it performs accordingly.

Anyway, back on track. The “Suishengting” ships with what’s clearly Cube’s modified Android, and you can just flash the international version out of the box — go to Cube’s international page, find the iPlay Mini 50 firmware, download it, flash it.

For accessories, just buy Cube’s official case and screen protector. The case doesn’t seem to have magnetic wake, but at this price, whatever. It comes with a PET film; a tempered glass one is obviously better.

As for using the thing, not much to say. It’s better than I expected — watching videos, listening to ASMR before bed, no problem. It even has a fancy 3.5mm headphone jack, though it’s in an abstract spot, tucked in a corner.

And yes, it does take a phone SIM, though I have no intention of using it as a phone. The biggest issue I’ve hit: after long standby the Wi-Fi vanishes and you have to toggle airplane mode to get it back. Nothing else has annoyed me so far — standby battery life is even impressive.

It’s 350 yuan. What more do you want? Absolute bargain.