The largest Chrome OS tablet with a detachable keyboard is nearly here. Orders for the 13.3-inch Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook have started in the U.S. on Best Buy’s site, with availability for store pickup on October 28. Powered by a second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, this well-equipped Chromebook is priced at $499.99.
I say well equipped to point out the differences between the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook and the smaller HP Chromebook X2 11. Both tablets have 8 GB of memory while the Duet 5 has twice the onboard storage at 128 GB. Aside from that it also has a larger display that uses an OLED panel, although the 1920 x 1080 resolution is less than what you’ll find on the Chromebook X2 11. However, the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook costs $100 less.
Regardless of that, on its own, this Chrome OS tablet is interesting because of that OLED display; a first for Chrome OS tablets.
It’s also the first to have the second-generation Snapdragon inside, although I’m not sure that’s a big deal. The main difference between the first and second-gen Snapdragons is a slightly higher maximum clock speed. Essentially, both are the same chipset.
Like most tablets these days can be used as a laptop with accessories.
The detachable kickstand is Surface-like too with a hinge that can hold the slate in nearly any position. Unfortunately, the magnetic keyboard doesn’t appear to attach to the bottom of the display for a more stable typing experience. Both of these accessories, along with a stylus that magnetically attaches to the kickstand portion are included.
Lenovo announced that the Duet 5 Chromebook would launch at $469.99, so I would guess that at that price, you lose half of your RAM, your storage, or both. Either way, for an extra $30 over whatever the base model provides, I’d say it’s worth the add if you’re interested in this device.
