The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is certainly among the year’s greatest shocks in the two-in-one laptops industry. While not lacking in the shortcomings, the Duet’s flaws cannot overshadow the utility, mobility, and lifespan that this touch screen hybrid laptop carries into its small shell. If you’re a Chromebook fan, this may be the laptop that drives you away from Chromebook because the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is all a netbook should be.
Our First Thoughts
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is the newest touch and type combo machine to enter the market, yet even though there is a shortage of software compatibility for other laptops, the Duet succeeds well by blending features, mobility, endurance but, most significantly – price.
The Duet is one of the greatest 2-in-1 laptops we have seen so far at this cost, taking the functionality of Google’s Chrome operating system and cramming it into a ten-inch keyboard-supported tablet. It’s even possible to argue that it’s one of the greatest Chromebooks of the year.
Although Chromebooks typically live on a completely charged battery for around ten hours, the Lenovo Duet lasts almost a whole day with looping High Definition video
We are not referring to the nine to five working days along with the commute sort of day when folks claim their battery lasts all day. We are talking about the real thing here, like going all day long with a battery.
We tried, we truly tried to kill it. but, we got seriously drained by the end. So twenty-one hours and twenty-nine minutes after we started our testing, the battery eventually gave up its last charging breath.
All of that battery life allows you to take benefit of the Lenovo Duet’s complete access to the whole Android app environment, in addition to most of the amazing Google apps included with Chrome OS.
This puts the Duet considerably far beyond the rivals, even then it certainly has far more to contribute in terms of functionality. Chromebooks now have a Linux virtual machine which is a downloadable beta version for users to utilize the actual terminal interface and all accessible Linux apps.
To put it simply, you won’t find such a powerful operating system packed onto a tablet – till now.
Finally, for less than $300 bucks, it offers everything. So far as Chromebooks and hybrid laptops are concerned, this is the finest deal that you can get in the modern portable devices market. It is the laptop that the notebooks last decade promised to us – but couldn’t be – when bringing the Chromebook towards the next symbolic level.
Still, nothing is ideal, and in several essential areas, the Lenovo Duet certainly does not work perfectly. The keyboard is an integral part of a tiny virtual keyboard on a touch screen, and so obviously requires some skill to operate it properly.
Sadly, virtually anybody habituated to using traditional keyboards will find this extremely difficult, as well as for some it may be absolutely hard to use it efficiently.
The trackpad, although effective, is also glossy. The speed of the device is far lower than that of a standard laptop touchpad, which is already complicated widgets at the beginning.
The magnetic kickstand covering and keys on the panel is our second significant complaint with the Lenovo Duet. They both rely exclusively on magnets to lock it in place so that when you least expect it, they occasionally break apart.
Aside from these kinds of limitations, similar to the Microsoft Surface Go 2, Lenovo includes the kickstand cover as well as keyboard rather than retailing them separately.
The speakers sound exactly how you should imagine on a tablet, so you will probably require headphones to enjoy music.
The Lenovo Duet only has a single USB-C connector and no other port, so now you will have to use regular headphones with the accompanying USB-C adapter. This entails you cannot recharge the laptop while using headphones at the very same time, which may be a thorny issue for some, but considering the Lenovo Duet’s battery life, this is likely to be an unusual problem.
All in all, these were none of our deal breakers, although certain keyboard, as well as trackpad problems, are unmentionable barriers. Considering we cannot advise everyone on Lenovo Duet, we have to cut a few scores off their total result. Nonetheless, the Lenovo Duet Chromebook cannot be recommended enough to a great majority of buyers in the market for an extremely portable touch and type notebook.
Lenovo Ideapad Chromebook Duet: Price and Availability
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is now available at major outlets for the absurdly cheap rate of $279 bucks. This entry-level device only has 64GigaBytes of memory space so we suggest spending an additional $20 to increase it to 128GigaBytes.
As previously stated, the fold-able panel, as well as a keyboard, are included with the tablet, therefore you would only need to do a single investment to obtain the complete touch and type laptop experience.
Offering a whole system should never be a unique selling element for any gadget, but Microsoft makes a live problem since you must purchase a keyboard separately and cover for the rival known as the Surface Go 2.
We thus applaud Lenovo for its sensibility in doing as little as possible with the packing of a feature-packed laptop with all the required parts to create a two-in-one laptop.
Lenovo Ideapad Chromebook Duet: Design
Before talking about the design let’s see what Lenovo Ideapad Duet Chromebook has to offer in regards to the specs.
- → Battery: 7,180mAh/27.6Wh (max)/7,100mAh/0Wh (min)
- → Camera: 8MP auto-focus (back), 2MP fixed-focus (front)
- → Connectivity: 11 AC (2 x 2) wireless, Bluetooth 4.2
- → CPU: MediaTek P60T 8-core/8-thread 2.0GHz (boostable to 2.80GHz)
- → Display:1-inch, 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen, 400 nits
- → GPU: ARM G72 MP3 800GHz
- → OS: Chrome OS
- → Ports: USB Type-C x 1
- → RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X (Soldered)
- → Size (W x D x H) – Tablet:44 x 6.29 x 0.29 inches (239.8 x 159.8 x 7.35 kilometers);
- → Storage: 128GB Emmc
- → Weight – Tablet:99 pounds (450 grams);
- → With keyboard and cover: 03 pounds (920 grams)
- → With keyboard and cover: 64 x 6.66 x 0.71 inches (244.87 x 199.31 x 18.2 kilometers)
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook’s most serious flaw is its appearance and design.
The magnetized hinged top and the keyboard seemed solidly connected to the tablet when we tried it, however as we tried to expand the kickstand, we were still tugging it freely without wanting to knock it off.
These are no earth-scattering faults and resolving them is as easy as knocking the top of the laptop back on, yet we regularly see some individuals irritated.
Sadly, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook’s major flaw would be a major turnoff for a few, the compact layout of the keyboard as well as to a slightly lesser degree – the speed of the touchpad.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook’s trackpad may be slow and perhaps even sluggish sometimes. Given the little real estate available, the keys on the keyboard are packed in quite tightly.
The keyboard, as well as the trackpad, don’t even have the same tactile sensation as many other laptops. That implies that adjusting to the key spacing via touch-sensing your way through typing may leave you all over the place for a long time
Furthermore, touching a sluggish trackpad may rapidly become annoying for certain users because there is no indication to determine whether a “click” is indeed actually registering or not. The trackpad works perfectly most of the time, however, when it seems to not, we have no idea why.
Accessibility is a far greater problem. These challenges are not simply intensified; they have become impossible to solve for individuals with poorer manual dexterity – such as people with physical disabilities or merely the elderly who are not slick as they were before.
It is the type of manufacturing error that can no longer be ignored. For some time now, accessibility has been a big blind spot in technology, but that is something we understand how to improve. This longtime issue, not just with Lenovo IdeaPad’s Chromebook, but with all the other laptops is being noticed by the industry through substantial steps, which we hope will be able to resolve.
Visually, with its almost complete lack of ports and controls on the sides, the duet has a certain minimalist beauty. The ten-inch Full High Definition (1920×1200) IPS screen is visually stunning and therefore is easy to use through the Chrome OS interface.
The black bezels surrounding the display are approximately half an inch, but not that overwhelming. Games, as well as high definition videos, play effortlessly, text on the screen is sharp and clear, allowing it to be less difficult for long periods while reading or working.
Just like the power button next to it, the actual volume rocker on the side responds actively. There’s a USB Type C connector, which is great to see, but that is all as far as ports and physical inputs are concerned. This makes things uncomplicated, always helpful for efficiency – below the surface.
The two-megapixel front-facing camera is placed on the tablet’s long edge, whilst the 8-megapixel backward-facing camera is in the top left of the tablet. Both give outstanding image quality, plus the front camera outperforms nearly any inbuilt laptop webcam on the market.
The Duet’s kickstand panel also features a nice fabric cover that gives the device a considerably classier look than the normal silicone or faux-leather exteriors of other tablet covers or the harsh plastic or metal finishes of a typical laptop.
Lenovo Ideapad Chromebook Duet: Performance
In theory, Lenovo Duet Chromebook’s performance lies behind its larger and costlier siblings, but no one is attempting to run Metro: Exodus on a hybrid Chromebook. Whenever it refers to regular online surfing, streaming video, as well as simple office usage, the Lenovo Ideapad Duet delivers without a hitch.
In terms of mild to medium mobile gaming, the Lenovo IdeaPad duet delivers an outstanding result. This is not a laptop for gaming, but you can play games just as well with the Duet as you play it on your phone or tablet.
Unless we scream in amusement for the battery life of Lenovo IdeaPad Duet we simply cannot discuss its performance. Our Shop-Carmel film test tested half-brightness and half-volume High definition film on this laptop on a loop till its battery died.
Such laptops usually power down around eight to twelve hours, with roughly ten hours of a standard Chromebook’s average battery life. The Duet blasted out to the point, fully surpassing the total duration of twenty-one hours and twenty-nine minutes. This is simply not the sort of battery life you see daily in your typical laptops.
Obviously, two batteries really aren’t exactly similar and with time, efficiency will decline, so you should not assume the usual battery life of over 22 hours forever. Nevertheless, repeated data and tests show that the lifespan of the Duet is not a coincidence. Although the Lenovo estimate is officially 10 hours of general usage, the Duet lasts far longer than it does out of the bag.
This is probably because the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet’s lightweight components do not consume a great deal of power. The slimmer CPU, as well as GPU, consumes not as much energy as an Intel and AMD processor, therefore the Duet battery power is significantly more powerful than in any other lineup.
However, it loses high-end performance when it saves on battery consumption. Just 4 gigabytes of Ram may easily slow down the performance of Lenovo IdeaPad Duet when playing a game and watching a movie by running dozens of applications behind it.
When you leave the room you have to switch the metaphorical light off with the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet so the things keep running with stability.
Lenovo Ideapad Chromebook Duet: Software
In lightweight 2/1 computers, you can hit or miss accessible software selections, and while subsequently, your choices are more restricted than those on a standard Windows or MacBook notebook. Thankfully, the whole Android app ecosystem is accessed by Chromebooks – the world’s largest digital marketplace.
Compare this with the Surface Go 2, which has somewhat fewer renowned Microsoft Shop with restricted pickings, also, the Duet goes on top just because the software is user-friendly.
In addition, there is just so much software that is easily accessible that you’ll run out of storage pretty rapidly if you don’t realize the size of the programs that you download. Instead of using a small 64 Gigabytes that comes equipped on the basic model, we certainly suggest investing extra money on the greater memory version with 128 Gigabytes of memory. Before long you will use all the space, and trust us, running out of space is the last thing you want in your new laptop.
We are also delighted by the further development of Google’s virtual Chrome OS Linux system nt of Google’s virtual Chrome OS Linux system, which can be accessed from the Beta version on the Lenovo Duet. It is as easy to install as turning on the system settings.
We had a completely functional Linux command line terminal fully operational on the Duet in approximately 5 minutes from start to end. This adds much more software alternatives by including a big portion of the Linux virtualized environment into the equation, which many consider being one of the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet’s greatest aspects.
Final Words
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook hits the right mix between tablet mobility as well as Chromebook usability, while also keeping the cost insanely cheap – and putting in a Lich King-sized battery which keeps ongoing.
For
- Very affordable
- Long battery life
- Lightweight and portable
- Huge library of available software
Against
- Tiny keyboard and finicky trackpad
- Magnetic components can pop off with normal use
- Limited memory and lightweight processors
- Charger and headphones share a single port
Buy It If
You’re looking for an easy-to-carry touch and type laptop. The Duet is amongst the most compact Chromebooks available right presently. Its compact shape and low weight allow it to be the type of two-in-one that you can transport effortlessly under all circumstances.
You have a limited budget. The Lenovo Duet we reviewed costs $299 bucks, making this machine 1 of the best cheap hybrid laptops available.
You desire a stronger system than that offered by Android or iOS. Mobile operating systems are still far more limited than a Windows, macOS, or Linux OS, even though the Android and IOS have gotten so stronger over time. Chrome Operating System is exactly in the center, much beyond a mobile OS, delivering a conventional laptop-tablet experience, while removing the excess resources needed by a big system installer.
Don’t Buy It If
You have far less manual dexterity. For some, it is just not feasible to operate the Duet’s much smaller than Standard keyboard with exact manual dexterity, hence it’s recommended to use a bigger 2-in-1 Laptop or tablet.
You want an efficient system. If you need a 2-in-1 laptop that can perform many tasks or you are the kind of individual that opens hundreds of Google Chrome tabs simply to see the burning of the world, the Lenovo Duet isn’t the Chromebook for you.
You want a standard laptop operating system. Chrome OS is not intended to be as robust as Windows 10 or macOS. If you like the typical laptop experience, a Chromebook can only get you so far, that wouldn’t be enough to meet your requirements.