The Lenovo Chromebook Duet has been one of the most popular Chrome OS tablets since it launched last year, due to a mix of factors including the 10 inch tablet’s relatively low starting price, good-enough specs, and the fact that it comes with a detachable keyboard, making it a versatile device that can be used as a notebook or tablet.
Now Lenovo is introducing a new Duet model that has a bigger, better screen, a faster processor and… a higher price tag. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 will be available starting net month for $430 and up.
The new model has a 13.3 inch full HD OLED display, making it the first detachable Chromebook to sport an OLED screen. It’s also one of the most affordable tablets I’m aware of to feature an OLED display, although with support for only up to 400 nits, it’s not exactly the brightest OLED display around.
Lenovo’s new tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor and supports up to 8GB of LPDDR4x memory and up to 256GB of eMMC storage.
By comparison, the original Duet has a 10 inch display, a MediaTek Helio P60T processor, 4GB of RAM, and up to 128GB of storage. That model, which is often on sale for $249 or less, will continue to be available for the foreseeable future, with Lenovo selling the new Chromebook Duet 5 as a premium model.
Other features for the new version include a 42 Wh battery, two USB 3.0 Type-C ports, a pogo-pin connector for the detachable keyboard, support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 5.1, and support for an optional USI 1.0 stylus for pressure-sensitive input.
The tablet weighs 700 grams, or about 1.5 pounds, and measures just 7.24mm (0.29 inches) at its thinnest point. It has an 8MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing camera, and quad speakers.
Lenovo’s new folio case for the Chromebook Duet 5 includes a kickstand and stylus holder. The tablet comes in two color options: Abyss Blue or Storm Grey.
The Chromebook Duet 5 will be available globally, but it’ll only have that name in North America. In other parts of the world, it will be called the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook.
can i instal mainline linux on this? for example fedora, arch, or HURD+debian, serenityOS, Haiku etc?
Despite the big difference in size and performance, I still think the Asus CM3 is the better buy. It support video out over USB-C (the original Duet does not). It has an internal bay to stow the pen. And the stand supports landscape and portrait orientations.
I know I’m being ultra nerdy pointing this out, but the Duet does support video out via USB-C, it’s just somewhat limited based on the monitor you’re outputting to. Not arguing the point in general though. I’d be a bit happier if the CM3 had bumped up the processor.
Very interesting. This could be a replacement for my Pixelbook go that has developed bad hinges (again). I have the original Duet and like it quite a bit but the screen is too small and the CPU struggles at times.
Love my Duet, the small size and kickstand are the best features. This device is just way to big for a tablet. Should have been called something else like the Duet Pro. Was really hoping for something closer to 11″ to compete with the HP. Price is actually great, shows how much HP is overcharging.
Same here, the size of the original Duet was close to perfect. Honestly, they should have just put Chrome on the P11 Plus, that G90T processor would have been perfect. Could’ve been the Duet Plus! The price of the Plus is also a boon.