A day with the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3

These days, I’ve been struggling to discover a stable sub-$400 laptop computer to suggest to price-constrained consumers that I truly discover, effectively, usable. So I’ve been pinning a variety of my hope on Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 3, a tiny 11-inch Chromebook with a removable keyboard and a foldable kickstand. I used to be an enormous fan of the unique Duet that was launched in 2020, a speedy 10.1-incher with exceptionally lengthy battery life.

The mannequin I’ve, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, is $369 (the next most expensive option is $379 at Best Buy, with 128GB of storage — I’d in all probability go for that one for $10 additional). The waterproof removable keyboard is included in that low value. But typically, units that appear to be nice offers on paper prove to suck if you truly flip them on.

So I used the Chromebook Duet 3 for a full day, morning to nighttime. While not fairly as much as a full distant workload, it was an ideal machine for leisure and leisure. And whereas it’s not fairly as high-tech because the bigger OLED-equipped Duet 5, I feel it’ll be a extra sensible purchase for the scholar and casual-user class. I’d reasonably be on this than an affordable Windows laptop computer any day.

I first used the Duet 3 at my desk in The Verge’s Manhattan workplace. I needed to write a fast information story, which concerned a variety of quick typing, fast scrolling, and hopping forwards and backwards between an entire bunch of Chrome tabs and paperwork with Slack and Spotify operating over prime. I plugged a mouse in for this half however didn’t use a monitor — every thing was crammed onto the 11-inch display screen.

The very first thing I seen was that the Duet’s keyboard is nice. I usually dread utilizing removable keyboards as a result of keys (significantly these on the outskirts, like Backspace and Tab) typically must be squeezed in so as to obtain their compact measurement.

But this keyboard wasn’t cramped within the least. The keys had nice journey and a snug texture. The measurement of the Backspace and Shift keys made me nervous once I noticed them, however I hit them each time I wanted to. Lenovo actually nailed the keyboard on this one, and I may very well miss typing on it.

The Duet 3’s display screen can also be an actual standout. It’s so brilliant that even 50 p.c was beginning to harm my eyes. Our workplace can also be pretty brilliant, however at 30–40 p.c brightness, I noticed nearly no obstructive glare. Colors are brilliant and vivid — I’d watch a film on this machine over every kind of costlier laptops.

Battery life was not superb however acceptable for this value. I needed to plug the Duet at about six and a half hours in. It was draining a lot sooner once I had a number of apps open than once I was simply in Chrome, nevertheless. I might wager that you simply may get nearer to 9 with a Chrome-only workload.

That stated, whereas I used to be ready to make use of efficiently use this for a piece day, anybody contemplating shopping for it as a main work machine ought to pay attention to its limitations. My workload was primarily cramped by the 11-inch display screen. In order to make use of two home windows facet by facet (which I usually do), I used to be typically zooming out to round 50 p.c so as to see every thing I wanted to.

I may additionally really feel the processor (the identical Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 that powers the Duet 5) chugging a bit beneath this workload. It may deal with Chrome simply wonderful, however as soon as I had 5 to 6 completely different apps open and was making an attempt to swap between them in a short time, I may really feel myself getting a bit impatient. It particularly had bother with Zoom calls. The PWA crashed the primary few occasions I attempted to affix a digital briefing, and even once I was within the name, the shared display screen took some time to load, and different apps had been a bit sluggish within the background.

And the Duet additionally solely has two ports — one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 on both sides. This isn’t uncommon for the pill type issue (or skinny and light-weight laptops basically), and it’s good that there’s one on both sides. However, it did imply that I couldn’t plug each my mouse and separate keyboard into the machine whereas it was additionally plugged into energy. (No headphone jack, both, so your wi-fi headphones must do.)

With all that stated — as quickly as I left the workplace, these complaints all turned non-issues. My night exercise was a espresso store dangle with mates, and this was precisely the machine I wanted for that.

This machine is simply 2.09 kilos with the keyboard and canopy connected, and carrying it round felt very very like carrying a small pill. It match simply in my purse — no backpack wanted. The compact measurement was good for the cafe desk as effectively, the place I wanted to suit my drink and croissant in addition to my laptop. Any bigger machine would’ve been a ache on this state of affairs, however I may squeeze the Duet proper in.

Here I used to be utilizing the touchpad, which has a surprisingly deep and satisfying click on for a removable deck. I didn’t really feel cramped once I scrolled or navigated with gestures (although individuals with bigger fingers may). And it did an honest job of rejecting my fingerprints, remaining fairly clean on the finish of the day.

And for the actions my mates and I had been doing that evening — watching movies, studying articles, and enhancing Google Docs, with out the frantic rush of the workplace workday — the Duet was snappy, with no slowdown in sight. The sturdy keyboard and glorious display screen had been icing on the cake.

All in all, I discover the Duet a wonderful finances buy, supplied that you understand your wants. It’s not for you in the event you want a piece machine for heavy analysis and quick multitasking or if you could plug a variety of issues in (together with wired headphones — there’s no headphone jack). While there are different removable Windows laptops and Chromebooks on the market, you’ll be unlikely to search out this mixture of display screen, fashion, portability, and efficiency wherever else beneath $400.

If you want this package deal however want a much bigger display screen, the $500 Duet 5 affords a really comparable package deal in a 13-inch chassis (and with an OLED panel, extra RAM, and extra storage). For anybody else who could make do with the compact 11-incher, the Duet 3 supplies the identical processor and a comparable construct for a lower cost. If you’re searching for a conveyable finances machine for homework, video watching, espresso store looking, or what have you ever, the Duet 3 must be in your checklist.

Photography by Monica Chin / The Verge