Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 is accessible now for $279 at Finest Purchase.
- It is a versatile and highly-portable system that is as helpful at dwelling as within the workplace.
- A number of the most buzzworthy options are tied to subscriptions, and the keyboard and trackpad are very small.
extra shopping for decisions
The ninth-generation Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an 11-inch 2-in-1 laptop computer/pill that mixes a pleasant show, a flexible kind issue, and accessible {hardware} for an aggressive value of $279. It is primarily a pill that comes with a keyboard and a magnetized backing with a foldable kickstand for both panorama or portrait mode (assume a extra reasonably priced Microsoft Surface Pro).
We went hands-on with the previous version of the Duet again in 2022, and though we praised it then for its versatility, this yr’s system is a bit more subtle, partially attributable to upgraded {hardware}, but in addition attributable to enhancements made to ChromeOS. Extra on that in a bit.
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The pill can stand by itself or connect with the keyboard and kickstand, which is a brilliant design that enables for a wide range of angles (though it could possibly’t fairly help a 90-degree angle). The keyboard is small and light-weight and connects to the pill/show with a (surprisingly robust) magnetized pin connector.
After I say this keyboard is small… that is not an overstatement. The keys may be arduous to make use of for anybody with huge arms, and the trackpad is so small it is nearly toylike. I not too long ago went hands-on with the Duet for a couple of week, and I’ve to say that navigating the online or ChromeOS with this trackpad is just too small for me to make use of comfortably, however I am a mouse and keyboard sort of man, anyway.
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The pill weighs 1.12 kilos, however the keyboard and backplate/kickstand brings the overall weight as much as 2.09 kilos. That is nonetheless fairly dang mild, even for a Chromebook.
The magnetized backplate is thick and well-padded, including a level of durability that makes this an amazing system for teenagers or anybody who values sturdiness (whereas additionally offering a house for the stylus).
Talking of, the pen comes with the system (however the AAAA batteries it makes use of don’t). The Lenovo USI Pen 2 is practical, however there’s a little little bit of lag when writing with it on the Duet, though I say that as somebody who’s spoiled by my ReMarkable Paper Pro.
Google is actually leaning into advertising the Duet as a note-taking system, with palm-rejection software program on the display screen to stop false inputs, to a newly-optimized expertise on ChromeOS with the Goodnotes app, which you can get for free for three months with the acquisition of a brand new Chromebook.
So what sort of {hardware} does a Chromebook pill underneath $300 include? Underneath the hood, it is geared up with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, however there’s additionally an 8GB/128GB configuration that brings the value up.
A MediaTek Kompanio 838 (2.60 GHz) chip powers the Duet, which is comparable in efficiency to different similarly-priced Android tablets. In my expertise with the system, it is well-suited for multitasking inside cause, however when you’ve got a handful of various apps open together with a bunch of browsers, you may expertise some slowdown.
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This can be a Chromebook made for ease of use, to play media whereas propped up within the kitchen, on a aircraft, or to carry to a espresso store to get some work performed, and its ultraportable kind issue is what permits you to do all of these issues in settings the place a 16-inch laptop computer can be cumbersome or unimaginable.
When it comes to the system’s bodily ports and options, you get two USB-C ports and a headphone/mic combo port, together with a 5MP entrance digicam with a bodily shutter and an 8MP rear digicam. The pill additionally has two bodily buttons on the aspect that improve or lower quantity, making it straightforward to regulate media with out having to fiddle with the UI.
The Eleventh-generation Duet comes on the scene simply as Google announced a host of new ChromeOS features, all of which combine properly with the Duet, strengthening the argument for this system as a nimble and versatile multitasker that may tackle sensible duties with ease.
For instance, the brand new Fast Insert operate feels proper at dwelling on the Duet (activated by hitting the Launcher key + F) which could be activated anyplace, citing a cellular fast menu with recommended actions. Should you’re in a Google Workspace app, it will counsel current paperwork. Should you’re within the Chrome browser, it will counsel historical past, or recently-visited websites.
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The fantastic thing about Fast Insert is that it is really good at intuiting what you are making an attempt to do, making the ideas helpful and actionable. Ultimately, it means fewer clicks, much less navigation, and extra environment friendly computing.
Whereas the system is in pill mode, it could possibly tackle a brand new set of functionalities due to the gestures supported by ChromeOS. Swiping up from the underside of the display screen, for instance, brings up all of the home windows that you just presently have open.
You may also navigate any component of the OS such as you would a browser, by swiping left to return to the earlier display screen. Activating Break up Display is one other function that Google implemented earlier this year, and I discover it useful when utilizing the pill within the kitchen with a YouTube video on one aspect of the show and a recipe on the opposite.
Lastly, the battery life is sort of good. Lenovo advertises over 12 hours of use, however I bought a bit of over 10 in my testing. The bodily dimension of the system goes to stop the 29WHr battery from going a lot past the 10- to 12-hour mark.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11-inch is a whole bundle: a self-supporting pill in addition to a laptop computer, all with Google’s light-weight working system. I might advocate it to anybody searching for next-level portability and who expects to make use of it in all its completely different configurations: as a pill, as a laptop computer, and as a note-taking system. Many gadgets can do all these issues, however the Duet can go locations a laptop computer cannot, and is well-priced for its vast versatility.
