In the wake of the recent work-from-home developments and the rather intransient view towards remote productivity, several high profile OEMs have ideated and launched new laptops to make life easier for the prospective buyers. While Asus has taken the top spot when innovation is concerned, Lenovo doesn’t seem to be lagging far behind, with its new IdeaPad notebooks staged to make Windows 11 a household name, in the next few months.
But, I am not talking about the IdeaPad laptops here! Instead, my focus today is on the new Chromebook Duet 5, which is also Lenovo’s brainchild, aimed at improving online productivity for more internet-dependent users.
How the New Chromebook Fares in the Existing Technological Schema?
As much as I like clamshells, there isn’t a better productivity-focused device than a 2-in-1 Chromebook. While the Chromebook Duet line-up from Lenovo was already quite popular, albeit for similar reasons, the new Duet 5 seems to have taken the prevalence to a whole new level by introducing several inventive and even far-fetched upgrades.
Coming to the specifics, the Duet 5 brings in an OLED screen, which seemed a tad surprising considering the restricted clientele. However, the older variants weren’t beyond reproach, especially when outdoor usage and sunlight visibility were concerned. Lenovo addresses these issues with immediate attention, thereby appropriately making the shift towards a more vibrant and color-accurate display.
Also, this pricey inclusion reveals something far more interesting. As per the newest vigil, Chromebooks are slowly getting the attention that they have deserved for since long. Plus, several professionals are even willing to let go of those high-end laptops only to get a device solely for their online indulgences. Seems progressive, though!
But, does an excellent display offer enough evidence for you to tag this as the best Chromebook around? Certainly not, and it isn’t the screen quality that has me head over heels for now. What’s enticing is the 15-hour battery backup promised by this product, and that too with an OLED screen in play.
That’s some innovation and requires a detailed analysis!
Chromebook Duet 5 in Detail
Before I move ahead with the detailed analysis, it might just be time to talk about how it travels. The Duet 5 is precisely crafted for the globetrotters, showing up as a travel-friendly package. Plus, the additional detachable keyboard and a durable kickstand cover only sweeten the pot from here.
Moving to what’s under the hood, I feel that every content creator who works quite a lot over the cloud, should spare a moment to go through the nitty-gritties of the same. Recommendations aside, the Snapdragon 7c, 2nd generation processor is quite a relevant addition.
For those who aren’t aware of how good a chipset is, this ARM-based SoC must read along, quite carefully. Plus, for the sake of simplicity, it is necessary to understand that this processor comes with 2 high-speed Kryo cores and 6 smaller ones that add to the power efficiency. Hence the outstanding battery life!
What’s interesting is that the Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 agrees to the AI-specific activities, allowing it to understand the complexities of online coding, voices, gaze correction, and other facets better and faster.
Therefore, if you are a programmer(1), video editor(2), or even a content creator, the Duet 5 might just be the machine to get.
As far as other specifications are concerned, you have 8GB RAM to work alongside the Snapdragon 7c. However, the Low-power RAM ensures minimal heating. Storage has never been a Chromebook’s strongest suite but Duet 5 plans on changing this contrarian thought with a fast and snappy, 256GB SSD.
Well it works even faster now that it doesn’t need to boot up something as big as the Windows 10 operating system. However, I wasn’t quite happy about the Wi-Fi 5 standard and expected 802.11AX to feature. Still, I am sure that the internet speeds will be blazing fast.
Moving focus to other connectivity features, the Duet 5 brings in the much-anticipated support for USI stylus, which is a good drawing and designing ally as it is when taking notes are concerned. While I have already touched upon the availability of an OLED screen, the screen size at 13.3 inches gets a nice increment as compared to the 10.1-inch panels offered by the previous iterations.
But then, the display characteristics are way too pronounced on the new variant, boasting 400-nits of brightness and exceptional color accuracy, courtesy of the 100% color gamut for the DCI-P3 palette. The battery life, as mentioned, lets you in on 15 hours of backup, which is a mile ahead as compared to some of the more immediate peers.
How good is the new Duet’s Design?
Well, if you plan on purchasing this inventive 2-in-1 Chromebook, the design better be in line with expectations. At present, I have eyes on a dual-tone layout, preferably in two color variants, i.e. Abyss Blue and Storm Grey. The slimness shouldn’t be a factor as I feel that Lenovo wouldn’t go beyond the 0.28-inch mark with thickness.
At 1.50-pounds, the 13.3-inch Chromebook seems like a pretty exciting bet, more so with a laptop-grade typing interface to work with. Also, I did talk about the kickstand to support multi-mode operability, which seems like quite a reliable inclusion.
Wrap-Up
While there are quite a few Chromebooks in the market, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 is expected to change the way Google Chrome OS is perceived by the common folks. While most of the features are already out in the open, the device itself will be launched in October, with pricing expected to be set at $429.99.
Therefore, if you are planning to be remiss of the Windows 11 OS whilst focusing on the possibilities offered by the Chrome OS, the Chromebook Duet 5 might be the best option to put your money on.
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