Lenovo’s IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is the little $279 2-in-1 I’ve been waiting for

Available with Android apps on Chromebooks, Models who like a lightweight tablet with a removable keyboard Lenovo’s IdeaPad Duet Chromebook makes more sense. Google has recently stepped up Chrome OS support for tabletsBy adding new touch gestures and a tablet mode for the Chrome browser, this sleek little two-in-one mode feels more like a mix of the Chrome desktop and the Android tablet side than before Models.

If you’re familiar with other small two-in-one models like the Duet, you might think that this is essentially a Chrome version of the first Microsoft Surface Goand you’re not wrong. Like the Go, the Duet is a 10-inch tablet with a removable keyboard and touchpad. Unlike Microsoft, however, Lenovo includes the keyboard. It also costs a lot less than the Go (including the new Go 2), from $ 279 for 64 GB Version, or $ 299 for one with 128 GB of storage. It’s essentially a smaller, if less powerful, Pixel slate This makes more sense for more people with a price that more meets the expectations of a Chromebook.

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Lenovo’s IdeaPad Duet Chromebook 2-in-1 is a small workhorse …

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The Duet is based on a display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:10, so that you have a bit more working height. It is a beautiful display with a brightness of 400 nit, which helps with the reflections on the glossy screen. The keyboard is connected with pogo pins and magnetically attached with a solid, satisfactory push button. The display supports USI pensalso, but that’s a separate purchase.

The keyboard feels quite good for a tablet cover, but Lenovo has reduced the size of the keys on the right. I found the apostrophe key particularly frustrating: I just couldn’t press it and instead repeatedly pressed Enter. With regular use, I may be able to overcome it, but I’ve spent a lot of time correcting my typos. The keyboard is not backlit, which is not uncommon with cheaper Chromebooks. However, the small clickpad is good if you tend to pull your palms when typing. You can probably look forward to some cursor jumpiness and inadvertent text selection.

The rear cover is a separate piece from the cover, which also just snaps into place. Half of the cover is a folding stand that gives you plenty of scope for positioning. It’s also a tight hinge so you don’t have to worry about it slipping out of position. Since the magnetic keyboard connection is strong and the stand is just wide enough, you can also use it on your lap. In combination with the quick start and instant wireless tethering with a paired phone or hotspot, you can start working almost anywhere.

If you work at home or in the office, you can use the USB-C port and get a dock for connecting an external display, a keyboard and a mouse. Use of this anchor dockI worked side by side with a display (it outputs up to 1080p) as an extended desktop. This gives you a small screen that can be used as a communication device if you want to keep Slack, email, or messages open. Or you can use the Duet as a media player while working on your larger main display.

Inside is a Mediatek Octo-Core Helio P60T processor, 4 GB of storage and either 64 or 128 GB eMMC flash storage. With no card slot for the expansion and only $ 20 between the two, you should probably opt for the 128GB version if you can. I was a little worried about only having 4GB of storage on this. Use of Cog System Viewer appThe duet seemed to use most of his memory most of the time. However, the performance would only drop for a few seconds here and there, both by itself and when connected to an external display. It would snap back and otherwise perform well while playing.

Since you have access to the Google Play Store, I kept to Android games for testing, but the Duet could be paired with Google Stadia controller and service. With its removable keyboard and stand, the Duet is easy to set up for gaming a bluetooth controller. Since it only weighs around 450 grams, it is light and small enough to play handheld games.

The battery life seems to be in the Lenovo range, which is up to 10 hours. I haven’t done any formal testing yet, but based on my usage, I’ve found that it can easily take up to 8 hours, but it all depends on your screen brightness and what you’re doing.

Together with the USB-C port on the right side, you have a volume rocker and a power switch. If you go upstairs, you’ll find far-field microphones and stereo speakers. There are 2 megapixel front cameras and 8 megapixel rear cameras. The webcam and microphone performance is nothing special, but certainly good enough for team video chatting. The microphones can also be used for Google Assistant to do important things like setting reminders, opening Gmail, playing music, answering all your questions, and finding them Cat videos on YouTube. The speakers are not great. They are fine for occasional use, but for anything else, you’ll need Bluetooth headphones or speakers.

I’ve only just started to use it, but this gives you a rough idea of ​​the duet’s functions and some of the possibilities these two currently have in one if you want to buy one this week. Chrome’s capabilities continue to grow, and this two-in-one system will continue to be updated every six weeks for the next eight years. As your main device, performance and size may be somewhat limited. However, if you are looking for something for pure mobility or as a secondary device, this seems to be a smart choice so far. I can see for sure why Chrome users love it, especially at $ 300.