This Lenovo 2-in-1 Is Made For Students - And It Couldn't Be More Affordable

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 is connected waste now for $269.
• It's a versatile and highly-portable instrumentality that's arsenic useful astatine location arsenic successful nan office.
• Some of nan astir buzzworthy features are tied to subscriptions, and nan keyboard and trackpad are very small.

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 is connected waste astatine Best Buy for $269. That's $130 disconnected nan already-low regular price. 

The ninth-generation Lenovo Chromebook Duet is an 11-inch 2-in-1 laptop/tablet that combines a bully display, a versatile shape factor, and accessible hardware for an agreeable regular value of $359. It's fundamentally a tablet that comes pinch a keyboard and a magnetized backing pinch a foldable kickstand for either scenery aliases image mode (think a much affordable Microsoft Surface Pro). 

We went hands-on pinch nan erstwhile version of nan Duet backmost successful 2022, and moreover though we praised it past for its versatility, this year's instrumentality is simply a small much sophisticated, successful portion owed to upgraded hardware, but besides owed to improvements made to ChromeOS. More connected that successful a bit.

Also: 7 reasons why a Chromebook is nan champion laptop for astir people

The tablet tin guidelines connected its ain aliases link to nan keyboard and kickstand, which is simply a smart creation that allows for a ample scope of angles (although it can't rather support a 90-degree angle). The keyboard is mini and ray and connects to nan tablet/display pinch a (surprisingly strong) magnetized pin connector.

When I opportunity this keyboard is small… that's not an overstatement. The keys mightiness beryllium difficult to usage for anyone pinch large hands, and nan trackpad is truthful mini it's almost toylike. I precocious went hands-on pinch nan Duet for astir a week, and I person to opportunity that navigating nan web aliases ChromeOS pinch this trackpad is excessively mini for maine to usage comfortably, but I'm a rodent and keyboard benignant of guy, anyway.

Also: Google's Chromebook Plus upgrade and nan people's AI sound assistant

The tablet weighs 1.12 pounds, but nan keyboard and backplate/kickstand brings nan full weight up to 2.09 pounds. That's still beautiful dang light, moreover for a Chromebook.

The magnetized backplate is heavy and well-padded, adding a grade of sturdiness that makes this a awesome instrumentality for kids aliases anyone who values durability (while besides providing a location for nan stylus).

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Speaking of, nan pen comes pinch nan instrumentality (but nan AAAA batteries it uses do not). The Lenovo USI Pen 2 is functional, but location is simply a small spot of lag erstwhile penning pinch it connected nan Duet, though I opportunity that arsenic personification who is spoiled by my ReMarkable Paper Pro.

Google is really leaning into trading nan Duet arsenic a note-taking device, pinch palm-rejection package connected nan surface to forestall mendacious inputs, to a newly-optimized acquisition connected ChromeOS pinch nan Goodnotes app, which you tin get for free for 3 months pinch nan acquisition of a caller Chromebook.

So what benignant of hardware does a $359 Chromebook tablet travel with? Under nan hood, it's equipped pinch 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, but there's besides an 8GB/128GB configuration that brings nan value up to $399.

A MediaTek Kompanio 838 (2.60 GHz) spot powers nan Duet, which is comparable successful capacity to different similarly-priced Android tablets. In my acquisition pinch nan device, it's well-suited for multitasking wrong reason, but if you person a fistful of different apps unfastened on pinch a bunch of browsers, you mightiness acquisition immoderate slowdown.

Also: Google's caller Chromebook Plus AI features could springiness Windows Copilot a tally for its money

This is simply a Chromebook made for easiness of use, to play media while propped up successful nan kitchen, connected a plane, aliases to bring to a java shop to get immoderate activity done, and its ultraportable shape facet is what allows you to do each of those things successful settings wherever a 16-inch laptop would beryllium cumbersome aliases impossible.

In position of nan device's beingness ports and features, you get 2 USB-C ports and a headphone/mic combo port, on pinch a 5MP beforehand camera pinch a beingness shutter and an 8MP rear camera. The tablet besides has 2 beingness buttons connected nan broadside that summation aliases alteration volume, making it easy to power media without having to messiness astir pinch nan UI. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The 11th-generation Duet comes connected nan segment conscionable arsenic Google announced a big of caller ChromeOS features, each of which merge nicely pinch nan Duet, strengthening nan statement for this instrumentality arsenic a nimble and versatile multitasker that tin return connected applicable tasks pinch ease.

For example, nan caller Quick Insert usability feels correct astatine location connected nan Duet (activated by hitting nan Launcher cardinal + F) which tin beryllium activated anywhere, bringing up a mobile speedy paper pinch suggested actions. If you're successful a Google Workspace app, it'll propose caller documents. If you're successful nan Chrome browser, it'll propose history, aliases recently-visited sites. 

Also: The champion Chromebooks for students successful 2024: Expert tested and reviewed

The beauty of Quick Insert is that it's really bully astatine intuiting what you're trying to do, making nan suggestions useful and actionable. In nan end, it intends less clicks, little navigation, and much businesslike computing. 

While nan instrumentality is successful tablet mode, it tin return connected a caller group of functionalities acknowledgment to nan gestures supported by ChromeOS. Swiping up from nan bottommost of nan screen, for example, brings up each nan windows that you presently person open.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

You tin besides navigate immoderate constituent of nan OS for illustration you would a browser, by swiping near to spell backmost to nan erstwhile screen. Activating Split Screen is different characteristic that Google implemented earlier this year, and I find it adjuvant erstwhile utilizing nan tablet successful nan room pinch a YouTube video connected 1 broadside of nan show and a look connected nan other. 

Finally, nan artillery life is rather good. Lenovo advertises complete 12 hours of use, but I sewage a small complete 10 successful my testing. The beingness size of nan instrumentality is going to forestall nan 29WHr artillery from going overmuch beyond nan 10- to 12-hour mark. 

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ZDNET's buying advice

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11-inch is simply a complete package: a self-supporting tablet arsenic good arsenic a laptop, each pinch Google's lightweight operating system. I'd urge it to anyone looking for next-level portability and who expects to usage it successful each its different configurations: arsenic a tablet, arsenic a laptop, and arsenic a note-taking device. Many devices tin do each those things, but nan Duet tin spell places a laptop can't, and is well-priced for its wide versatility.