TechComputers & PCsLaptopsLenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: a vision of beautyWith an excellent OLED screen and great battery life, the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is a step above the competitionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Lenovo)T3 VerdictThe Lenovo Duet 5 is an excellent Chromebook, with a very long battery life and a gorgeous screen. Due to the kickstand, it doesn’t really work on the lap, though, and there are better keyboards out there. However, it’s a huge upgrade on the last model and great value for money.Reasons to buy+Gorgeous OLED screen+Excellent battery lifeReasons to avoid-Chrome OS has some limitations-Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lapWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechComputers & PCsLaptopsLenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: a vision of beautyWith an excellent OLED screen and great battery life, the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is a step above the competitionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Lenovo)T3 VerdictThe Lenovo Duet 5 is an excellent Chromebook, with a very long battery life and a gorgeous screen. Due to the kickstand, it doesn’t really work on the lap, though, and there are better keyboards out there. However, it’s a huge upgrade on the last model and great value for money.Reasons to buy+Gorgeous OLED screen+Excellent battery lifeReasons to avoid-Chrome OS has some limitations-Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lapWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
With an excellent OLED screen and great battery life, the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is a step above the competition
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Lenovo)T3 VerdictThe Lenovo Duet 5 is an excellent Chromebook, with a very long battery life and a gorgeous screen. Due to the kickstand, it doesn’t really work on the lap, though, and there are better keyboards out there. However, it’s a huge upgrade on the last model and great value for money.Reasons to buy+Gorgeous OLED screen+Excellent battery lifeReasons to avoid-Chrome OS has some limitations-Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lap
(Image credit: Lenovo)
(Image credit: Lenovo)
T3 VerdictThe Lenovo Duet 5 is an excellent Chromebook, with a very long battery life and a gorgeous screen. Due to the kickstand, it doesn’t really work on the lap, though, and there are better keyboards out there. However, it’s a huge upgrade on the last model and great value for money.Reasons to buy+Gorgeous OLED screen+Excellent battery lifeReasons to avoid-Chrome OS has some limitations-Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lap
T3 VerdictThe Lenovo Duet 5 is an excellent Chromebook, with a very long battery life and a gorgeous screen. Due to the kickstand, it doesn’t really work on the lap, though, and there are better keyboards out there. However, it’s a huge upgrade on the last model and great value for money.
T3 Verdict
The Lenovo Duet 5 is an excellent Chromebook, with a very long battery life and a gorgeous screen. Due to the kickstand, it doesn’t really work on the lap, though, and there are better keyboards out there. However, it’s a huge upgrade on the last model and great value for money.
Reasons to buy+Gorgeous OLED screen+Excellent battery lifeReasons to avoid-Chrome OS has some limitations-Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lap
Reasons to buy+Gorgeous OLED screen+Excellent battery life
Gorgeous OLED screen
Excellent battery life
Reasons to avoid-Chrome OS has some limitations-Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lap
Chrome OS has some limitations
Kickstand doesn’t really work on the lap
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook deals
278 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
278 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆
$429.99$399.99ViewLow Stock$599$456.99View$499View
$429.99$399.99View
$429.99$399.99View
$429.99$399.99View
$429.99$399.99
$399.99
Low Stock$599$456.99View
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
$599$456.99View
$599$456.99View
$599$456.99
$456.99
$499View
$499View
$499View
$499
$499
Show More Deals
Show More Deals
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Weight: 2.22 lbs
CPU: 2.55Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180
Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno Graphics
Storage: 128GB
Camera: 5 megapixel
Ports: Two USB 3.0 (type C)
You’d be forgiven for a slight feeling of deja vu here. We reviewed theLenovo Duetback in 2021, but this new version is a huge upgrade, with a faster processor and a much improved OLED screen, so it’s time for another look at this moderately priced Chromebook.
Your money gets you a lot here: an excellent screen and a very positive Chromebook experience, although the clip-on keyboard design isn’t really good for lap use, and the lack of expansion options is a bit limiting. If you’re looking for thebest Chromebookon the market though, this is worth consideration.
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: price and availability
The Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook is priced at £499 / $499.99 / AU$799 and went on sale at the end of October 2021. Make sure you check ourLenovo discount codesto save on your order.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
(Image credit: Lenovo)
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: design and build
SamsungDisplay, who sent me this review unit, also pointed out that their gorgeous OLED screen emits little of the violet-blue light that can be tiring or damaging to the eye, and sent a fancy bandwidth pass filter to prove the point. Their claims are correct. Compared to my LED screen, this screen seems to emit little or no blue light at around 436nm, the frequency that seems to contribute to macular degeneration.
The Duet 5 is a tablet design, a slab of glass and metal on the back, with an included clip-on keyboard that connects to the bottom of the case. This folds over to form a cover that looks rather like a hardback book cover. Combine this with the fabric-covered back panel that is held on with magnets and you’ve got a package that feels pretty robust, with the more fragile screen protected from impacts.
(Image credit: Richard Baguley)
(Image credit: Richard Baguley)
The bottom half of the back panel also folds out to form a kickstand that allows you to set it on a table or desk. This doesn’t really work on the lap, though, as the lack of a rigid connector between the keyboard and the body means that the keyboard tends to tilt up and not stay in place. So it really needs a flat surface to lay on to be usable, unlike most standard laptops.
The keyboard is also not great. The keys are a decent size but have little travel or positive feel, and the whole keyboard bows when you press down. The touchpad is a decent size, and mouse navigation is baked into the Chrome OS, so you can do more familiar things like right-clicking or drag and drop. No pen is included with this device, but £25/$33 gets you the basic Lenovo stylus that turns it into a pen-driven device.
On each side of the case is a Type C USB 3.0 port, either of which can be used to connect the included 30W charger. That is convenient as it means you don’t have to stretch the power cable behind when you are using it, and you can use the second port for extra storage or other devices while charging. Those are the only wired connections, though. There is no headphone socket, which means you’ll need to use an adapter to use headphones, or use a Bluetooth wireless pair. You also get 802.11ac Wi-Fi, but not the newer and faster 802.11ax standard.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
(Image credit: Lenovo)
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: specs and hardware
The brain (or brains) of the Duet 5 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180 processor, with 6 cores that can run at a speed of up to 1.68GHz and two more that can run at a faster 2.55GHz. That is twinned with 8GB of LDDR4 RAM, and 128GB of EEC storage. This processor is twinned with 8GB of memory and a 128GB SSD for storing data locally. That isn’t a lot, but you do have to remember that Chromebooks rely onGooglefor most things, including storage. This comes with 200GB of online storage for a year with a free Google One account.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
(Image credit: Lenovo)
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: performance
That combination of specs gives the Duet 5 more processing oomph than the model we looked at last year. I used Geekbench 5, a benchmarking program that uses math problems to test performance, and the Duet 5 scored 1677. That’s some way behind the latestAndroiddevices (which routinely score over 3000), but it is comparable with other Chromebooks.
We found that, while it is slower than a Windows laptop, it is more than fine for everyday tasks. It had no issues playing back HD videos from storage or from YouTube, and it handled Chrome OS apps without problems. It can also run most Android apps, although some don’t like the different screen resolution and only work on a portrait mode. Chrome OS is also lacking some popular apps:Microsoftdropped support their Chrome OS versions of Office 365, pushing users towards the online versions instead.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
(Image credit: Lenovo)
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: battery life
(Image credit: Richard Baguley)
(Image credit: Richard Baguley)
Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook review: verdict
The Lenovo Duet 5 is pretty much the perfect Chromebook. It is small and light but has enough processing power to handle most tasks and a gorgeous screen. I do wish it was more usable on the lap, though. The kickstand just doesn’t really work on your lap without a flat surface underneath it.
There are also limitations from the Chrome OS itself: no direct support for popular apps like Word, and sometimes spotty support for Android apps. But Chromebooks remain the cheapest way to get into Google, and the Lenovo Duet 5 is excellent value for money compared to a same-priced Windows laptop.
Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook: Price Comparison
278 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
278 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆
☆☆☆☆☆
$429.99$399.99ViewLow Stock$599$456.99View$499ViewLow Stock$599ViewLow Stock$610.99View
$429.99$399.99View
$429.99$399.99View
$429.99$399.99View
$429.99$399.99
$399.99
Low Stock$599$456.99View
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
$599$456.99View
$599$456.99View
$599$456.99
$456.99
$499View
$499View
$499View
$499
$499
Low Stock$599View
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
$599View
$599View
$599
$599
Low Stock$610.99View
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
Low Stock
$610.99View
$610.99View
$610.99
$610.99
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
This case turns your iPhone or Android phone into an e-reader, but there’s a catchActually, there are a couple…
Actually, there are a couple…
Traeger’s new Woodridge pellet barbecues have got me excited for grilling seasonTraeger debuts three new wood pellet grills
Traeger debuts three new wood pellet grills
How to watch the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct and what to expectWe should get a deep dive and more details on the Switch 2 in April
We should get a deep dive and more details on the Switch 2 in April
