The power button is small but nicely placed and works well. The edges of the 13.3-inch Chrome OS slate are metal while the back is a relatively rigid plastic with a nice feel. It looks and feels like a premium device. Just like I was impressed with the HP Chromebook X2 11, the build quality of the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is excellent. High quality hardware out the outside, good enough on the inside Without a microSD card slot on either model though, you may want to spend more for the extra storage space while getting double the RAM at the same time. As you’ll see in the review, that older chip offers a similar, but slightly slower performance. One difference between that and the more expensive model is half of the memory and storage, just 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage come with the less expensive model.Īnd the lower-priced version appears to use the first-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c chipset, not the second-gen CPU. There is a cheaper, $429.99 model that Lenovo sells directly.

I should note that the configuration Lenovo provided me and linked above is available at Best Buy. Additionally, the typing experience is much better on the Duet 5 in general and specifically when you don’t have a flat surface to work on. The Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is a larger and less expensive choice than the $599 HP Chromebook X2 11, although it’s almost a wash when the HP is on sale.

For everyone else? It’s a better laptop than a tablet with enough performance for most people and a gorgeous 1080p OLED display. It’s definitely for mainstream Chrome OS users though: If you’re a “power user” that needs high-end hardware, this is a good secondary device. Overall, I really like what it offers in terms of value, performance, and portability for the price. I’ve been using the $499 Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook loaner device daily for more than a week now.

Stylus for lenovo ideapad duet