The big brother of 2020’s hit Chromebook Duet is just $429, with the first OLED panel in a tablet-style 2-in-1. Check it out!
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– Hi, this is John Burek with PCMag. I’m here with Lenovo today. Now what I have in my hand Here is a product called the
IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook. Now this follows on from
a earlier Duet Chromebook, Which Lenovo came out with about a year Or a bit more than a year ago. That was around the
time the pandemic began And since then, the
Chromebook has sold very well. It was under $250, it was about 10 inches And it sold very well to students And others who needed a small,
very inexpensive machine For day-to-day tasks. So what we have here, in the
Duet 5, is a larger version Meant for a, say, older, clientele, And with a bigger screen and a whole bunch Of other sort of creature comforts. Let’s take a look at it. So the original Duet came
with a MediaTek processor. This unit comes with a Qualcomm
Snapdragon 7C processor, Which is going to be
significantly more robust, And you’ll need it, given that
this is a more premium unit With a bigger screen, a
better typing experience, And you’ll want to do more with it. Now like the original Duet,
this is a two-part cover. So we have the keyboard portion, Which you could pull off, and on the back, You have a cover which also, in this case, Has a bit of storage for the stylus pen. But this also comes off. When you do pull it off,
you can use the Duet Tablet As a tablet that has a nice slim profile Unlike some other units,
which may have a case Around it, which would add to thickness.
This feels like a,
roughly like an iPad Pro, I would say, in terms of size and ability To hold it up. It doesn’t feel like it
will be super fatiguing If you’re watching video on it Or spending a lot of time
holding it in your hand, Say, on the couch. If you take off all the
covers and keyboard, You have a 1.4 pound tablet, Which is comparable to a
mainstream Android or iOS tablet. And one thing that we should note, Compared to the original Duet That Lenovo added here is more ports. If you look at the around the edges Of this machine you’ve got a USB-C On this side and you have
a USB-C on this side. You did not have that on the previous one. It only had one USB, so that’s
actually a big improvement On this machine. And considering that the
original was about $250 Or a little bit less,
depending on where you shop For it, this one is going to be coming in Between $400 and $500 on the market. It’s a understandable
addition, but there’s a lot Of additional stuff that’s been added here To make it worth the extra money. Now you don’t typically see OLED panels In very many laptops,
and especially not ones In the bottom of the sort of price chain. You might see it in a
high-end smart phone, But here you have a very vivid screen, Which is bright and gives
you very deep blacks And seeing it in a
machine that is at $429, That will be the debut
price when this hits,
Is actually quite unusual. But there you have The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook. Again, it’ll be $429.99 when
it comes out in October, And we’re looking
forward to reviewing this When we get the chance.
