Introduction

Ninkear is one of those manufacturers focused primarily on building affordable laptops. If you're hunting for a budget machine amidst fluctuating SSD and RAM prices, these notebooks might be just what you need.

But what if you want something less traditional - a device with more flexibility for your daily or office routine? A 2-in-1 usually comes to mind first, but as you probably know, they rarely come cheap. That said, the Ninkear YBOOK 15 is one of the most affordable contenders in the entry-level market. Naturally, some corners were cut to hit that attractive price point.

The most notable compromise is the CPU platform. It features the AMD Ryzen 3 3200U or 3250U—yes, those "good old" APUs from 2020 with just 2 cores, 4 threads, and modest Radeon RX Vega 3 graphics. It's a true blast from the past. This also means you're looking at DDR4 memory and a slower drive. Actually, I might be being a bit generous, as you're stuck with a SATA SSD rather than a faster NVMe. On the plus side, almost nothing is soldered down except for the Wi-Fi 5 card.

As for the display, you get a 15.6-inch 1080p touch unit. It's pretty basic, lacking any extra bells and whistles. However, it is an IPS panel, so at least you won't have to deal with terrible viewing angles. Colors look decent, and the image is "sharp-ish" enough for the cost.

That dual-core CPU does have one perk: it isn't very thirsty. On paper, that should mean decent battery life. On the flip side, the manufacturer opted for a modest 38Wh battery, which might raise a few eyebrows.

It's time for some positives. The memory operates in dual-channel mode, which positively affects both the CPU and the iGPU. The port selection is also kind of okay for the price, with its four USBs, LAN, and an HDMI. The full-sized keyboard has a backlight, and the trackpad is unexpectedly large.

Specifications