GPD Pocket 4 Mini Laptop

This is a powerful pc in a compact portable size. I bought this for its versatility, I can game when I want to and work when I need to. Its high end but that’s because you’re getting top quality tech.

i love this mini laptop up to this point ive never bought my own laptop so while researching i realized i wanted a very portable experience so mini was the way i wanted to go and im glad i did thank you for the great customer service as well

This device has lived up to most of my expectations, and I’m really happy with it. Quick side note: Droix has been fantastic, and I can’t imagine buying a GPD device any other way now. On to the Pocket 4:

This is a pretty novel little machine. A surprising amount of power in such a compact package, and the price wasn’t bad at all given the horsepower (mine is the HX 370 / 64 GB version).

The screen is excellent, although there’s no getting around the fact that it’s still just 8.8 inches. That means working with two windows side-by-side is rarely viable, and when coworkers share their 4K screens on video calls, it's a bit rough. I can zoom in using our conferencing app, but that was a surprise annoyance I hadn’t fully anticipated. Just one of those small-device tradeoffs that reminds you how important it is to know your needs before diving into something this compact. When I’m working in a planned session I dock it at my desk.

A couple of features I really like: The 4G LTE modem and the surprisingly usable built-in keyboard. It’s a huge upgrade from tapping things out on my phone’s screen when I need to write more than a sentence or two. With a little practice, I’m comfortably typing over 60 WPM. I've used it more for documentation and correspondence than coding, since some of the keys are in odd places.

The trackpad and mouse buttons above the keyboard were easy to get used to. Two minor gripes: the built-in mic isn’t great (but I use a Bluetooth headset anyway), and the fan can be a little annoying. It's not louder than my i9 ThinkPad, but the pitch of the fan can be grating in a quiet room. Sometimes it hits that mosquito-whine territory. If there's any white noise or ambient sound around it fades into the background. You can manage it using the MotionAssist app and TDP settings. It’s manageable.

It’s not super lap-friendly due to its shape and weight, but I do use it that way from time to time. I haven’t made much use of the tablet mode. I would’ve used it more if they had kept the active stylus from the Pocket 3, but they didn’t. The tradeoff is better screen resolution, more power under the hood, and the LTE module option, which the Pocket 3 didn’t offer.

Battery life is just okay. With my usage and screen brightness preferences I usually get 4 to 6 hours. Turning down the TDP helps stretch it, but that bright screen is essential for legibility and can be a battery drain. I carry a beefy power bank just in case. It’s enough for how I use it, but not what I’d call all-day battery.

Build quality feels solid and the keyboard action is satisfying. There haven’t been many surprises or compromises, and for the price I paid, I’m pleased. I’m working toward using this as my everything device with a dual-boot setup and some extra customization.

The stock Windows install was clean, no bloatware or weird surprises. That was refreshing. Depending on your needs you may want to swap the stock SSD. Mine came with a WD Blue drive with no DRAM cache, which shows up in slower sustained reads/writes. It’s fine for most use cases, but worth upgrading if you’re doing heavier workloads. Droix doesn’t void your warranty for that kind of swap, which I appreciated.

Despite the name, this thing does not fit in a pocket. It’s too big and heavy for that. Compared to my old slim 13" laptop, it's not a life-changing boost in portability. That said, the full-size HDMI and Ethernet ports are fantastic, and the modular expansion is a plus. You can find similar ideas from Framework laptops, and I’m curious about their new smaller models, but I don’t regret this choice. Framework didn’t have a comparable product available when I needed one, and the HX 370 processor is excellent.

I recently took a weekend trip and packed the Pocket 4 "just in case." It was *slightly* easier to carry than my 13" laptop. I didn’t end up needing it, but it was nice to have. If I ever need to work more extensively while traveling, I might pair it with my Uperfect-X lapdock for a second screen. That’s a 13" display, but I’m considering getting a 16" one to make full-day work more viable when I’m away from the desk.

I’ve only dabbled in gaming on it so far, but I was impressed. I didn’t run anything bleeding-edge, but 5/YO titles ran well and the integrated graphics held up just fine.

All in all, I hope this lengthy but honest review is helpful. This device isn’t for everyone. But if you know your habits and expectations, you can tell whether this form factor and performance profile will work for you. I’m two months in and still totally happy. It runs flawlessly, and even though the fan pitch bugged me a bit, temps stay cool and performance is excellent.

One last recommendation: get a tempered glass screen protector. I added one right away, and I barely notice it. Still crystal clear and touch-responsive. My last laptop made it nearly seven years without major screen damage, and I’d like this one to do the same.

Go...

First off I'm probably not a typical GPD customer as I am neither a gamer or a fan of Microsoft. That being said, I loaded XUbuntu on my GPD Pocket 4 and it performs outstandingly. I had to rotate the display 90 degrees and shrink it by 50% in the XUbuntu settings, but after that it just works perfectly. Thanks so much.

There were many cool UMPCs in the late 2000s. Vaio UX, Fujitsu Loox U, or OQO, each machine in this category was unique and presented the future of PC computing. However, they failed against smartphones due to their weak tech specs. Twenty-ish years later, a full-spec, or even more strong than major manufacturers' high-end machines, is here... with LTE capability (add-on). I thought 8" could be small, but it is fully usable and better than expected, as I used it on a few flights.

Perfect small factor laptop… fans can get a bit loud but you can tweak the settings. I love it.

I received my GPD Pocket 4 two weeks ago. Since unboxing it, it has been a never-ending diagnostic to figure out why things don't work. Maintaining a reasonable fan level requires additional software. Otherwise, it constantly runs at near full speed and sounds like a turbine. The fan also never shuts down in sleep mode. I've tried using Windows' hibernate feature, but it causes the screen to lock into its last orientation and requires a reboot to correct. I've also had to use Device Manager to delete components to get the system to charge correctly, as well as have a working touchscreen. The system also doesn't come with secure boot or BitLocker enabled. Make sure to enable secure boot in the BIOS (first) and then enable BitLocker before adding fingerprint/pin authentication. This last item would be genuine of any computer, but adds to the overall frustration with the 'Pocket 4'. Lastly, downloading drivers and BIOS updates was a tedious process. They're stored in an overshared Google Drive folder that required multiple attempts to complete successfully. I still haven't been successful in updating the drivers b/c the instructions are in Chinese and the script fails. This is a brand new device; there shouldn't be this many things to correct in order for it to work.

Extremely happy with my GPD Pocket 4, extremely nice little device, so glad that GPD still produces device like this when no one else does. Had problem with KVM module, but customer service was absolutely brilliant and sent me out a replacement module which arrived the next day and now works fine. I highly recommend both the GPD Pocket 4 and Droix, this is my first time using them and I would definitely use them again :)

Before reviewing my Pocket PC 4, I must give DroiX a shout out for their speedy service. I ordered the PC at about 9pm on a Thursday, and I was unboxing it before mid-day on the Saturday!!!!! And that's with the 3-5 working day free delivery!!!!!!

Fantastic!!!!!

I opted for the 32Gb/2TB AI 9 HX370 variant. My intention was that by going for a specification that is higher than I currently need, it would provide some sort of "future proofing" as the demands made on it by Windows and other software increase over time.

I've seen some negative comments in the reviews about noisy fans. Sure, Windows updates and software installation can set it off, but under my normal usage, and although it seems to be constantly running, it's barely audible.

In fairness to others, I'm not taxing the machine by running resource heavy games or videos etc.


I have installed an Android emulator, running apps for which there are no Windows equivalents, but that doesn't seem to put much of a strain on it.

Other than that, it's usual things like word processing and spreadsheets (Libre Office), Python programming, on-line banking and so on.

It's like I've bought a Formula One race car but I only use it for tootling around town at 30mph!!!!!!! Which again was part of my thought train. Less wear and tear by not straining the components.

I have used the touch screen and it seems to work very well with fingers. I have yet to try it with the stylus I bought at the same time as the PC. Although I have briefly tried it, I have not used the "tablet mode" screen rotation for any length of time. This might well be something I do further down the line.

I usually hate track pads on any PC with a passion, but I actually find this one reasonably useful. I'm not sure if that's because of the unusual placement of the pad and buttons as compared to full size laptops, or despite it!!!!!!

At the moment I am busy installing software and getting data across from my Android tablet, so at the moment I find it easier to use a conventional mouse, but I suspect I will dump that when I get into normal day to day usage.

The keyboard doesn't seem to be giving me any problems, I seem to be able to type at the same speed as a full size keyboard. From time to time I do get caught out with the characters on the very top row, {}[] etc, but that will come in time when I remember that's where they are!!!!!!!!

I get battery life ranging from 7hrs to 5hrs depending on what I've been doing, but I don't monitor it that much. While I'm still installing stuff, I tend to be on mains anyway.

I find the screen very legible and I currently have the brightness at 50%.

The sound is pretty good given the speakers must be quite small.

As a very minor point, I do like the way the disk has been partitions into C: and D: drives. This allows software to be on C: and my files to be on D: which appeals to my tidy mind!


Niggles?
Given the power button is also a finger print sensor, I find it pretty impossible to log in to Windows by finger print with the button. I think it would be better if the button were located on the keyboard; there is plenty of room at the top.

The display has some sort of screen protector on it, but I suspect it was only intended to be used for transit. I have deliberately left it in place and it doesn't seem to be affecting the screen legibility or the touch functionality. The "niggle" is that there is a sticky label on it to assist in it's removal ... right where the closing 'X' is in a full screen window!!!!!! The label says it is to "help remove the mask from the screen guard". I am left wondering if the screen already has some sort of protection (if that is what the "screen guard" is) if I were to remove the "mask"? For now, I think I'll leave the mask in place, but (very) carefully remove the sticky label.

Given the small size of the PC, I am surprised there isn't a Kensington Lock slot for some sort of security.

Although the metal case is really sturdy and attractive, it's a finger print magnet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The keyboard keytops are getting polished by my fingers already. I hope the lettering doesn't wear off as fast.

However, these are exactly what I said, niggles.


I agonised for quite a while as to the best way of replacing my aging Windows 7 laptop and aging Android laptop, and when I saw the GPD products they seemed the perfect solution replacing 2 devices with 1 while retaining the portability of the 8" size (the same as my tablet).

In conclusion I have absolutely no regrets about buying the Pocket 4. It is turning out to be more than perfect for my needs and is a sturdy looking device. I am extremely pleased with it.

I only hope the internal build quality (i.e.: the electronics) is as good as the visible external quality so that my "future proof" plans aren't thwarted by low grade electronic component failure. Only time will tell.

I will start by saying that for a such a tiny device the whole thing feels more like a quality laptop than a "toy" that you may expect. This is a serious piece of kit (as it should be at the price!) for getting work done.
The keyboard is very nice, compared to a Macbook Pro, it is like-for-like typing feel if a little constrained by the size which is to be expected.
Performance is exceptional, in fact, I am replacing my desktop Windows PC with it. The built in GPU seems up to the task - I would just say switch off things like FPS counters and benchmarking and just enjoy some games without worrying how many frames per second you are getting - it all feels fine which is the most important thing, many titles that are recent additions to Gamepass work flawlessly on it and you always have that USB 4 port if you want to explore using an eGPU later down the line.
As for the one annoyance, it's the screen, it is lovely to look at BUT they appear to have done something odd with the rotation, in all but Windows the screen is incorrectly rotated. I think they may have used a portrait orientated panel, as it is always 90 degrees counter clockwise rotated outside Windows. It can be corrected with settings, but makes it very hard to navigate things like GRUB bootloaders or the desktop until it is done via commands.