I think that's because they use a standard Chinese laptop enclosure. I have a Chuwi LapBook that's also got the exact same enclosure, screen, keyboard and horrible trackpad as the PineBook Pro but it has an Intel atom board. The battery and PCB are totally different. I know because I was looking to order a Pinebook Pro battery to replace it :) In fact the Chuwi has the USB ports upside-down (really annoying with a yubikey which you have to touch on the top side).
I've also been trying to get the Pinebook Pro's touchpad improvements going on my Chuwi, but it's been tough going because the I2C controller is very different. But it's literally the exact same part.
So it looks like some company makes these enclosures available as a platform that companies can use to make their own laptop without having to worry about the case, keyboard, display etc. The display in this case is actually pretty good (IPS 1080p), it just has some backlight bleeding but that seems to be caused by pressure points from the lid, not the display itself. The keyboard is also decent. The trackpad is awful. Lots of fake touches if you so much as wave your hand over it, and it presents itself as a PS/2 mouse so you can't even use improved drivers.
Of course OEM laptops are already a phenomenon (think Clevo etc) but I've never seen them where the mainboard was not part of the platform.
I've also been trying to get the Pinebook Pro's touchpad improvements going on my Chuwi, but it's been tough going because the I2C controller is very different. But it's literally the exact same part.
So it looks like some company makes these enclosures available as a platform that companies can use to make their own laptop without having to worry about the case, keyboard, display etc. The display in this case is actually pretty good (IPS 1080p), it just has some backlight bleeding but that seems to be caused by pressure points from the lid, not the display itself. The keyboard is also decent. The trackpad is awful. Lots of fake touches if you so much as wave your hand over it, and it presents itself as a PS/2 mouse so you can't even use improved drivers.
Of course OEM laptops are already a phenomenon (think Clevo etc) but I've never seen them where the mainboard was not part of the platform.