The Intel Compute Stick (Cherry Trail) Review

The success of ultra-compact form factor (UCFF) PCs have made vendors realize that small and power-efficient computing platforms are here to stay. ARM SoC manufacturers, finding that the tablet market had reached practical saturation, kick-started a new product category in the form of 'HDMI sticks'. As a computing platform, they were smaller than the ultra-compact form factor PCs and looked like an oversized USB key. Intel joined the game in CES 2015 with the Bay Trail Compute Stick. The first iteration was, to put it kindly, a bit underwhelming. However, Intel showed its commitment to the form factor by announcing three new Compute Stick models at CES 2016. They included one Cherry Trail (Atom) and two Core M models, all aiming in that 2-4.5 watt SoC space. The Intel Compute Stick we are reviewing today is the Cherry Trail model that comes with Windows 10 Home (32-bit) pre-installed, making it ready to roll right out of the box. Read on for a performance review and our thoughts on the product.