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Should you choose the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 or the Lenovo Flex 5i (2021)?

by GizmoShot | Published On February 5, 2022

bright, shiny, new

Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook

$430 at Amazon (4GB/64GB) $500 at Best Buy (8GB/128GB)

advantage

  • brighter screen
  • Detachable keyboard
  • long battery life
  • better speakers

shortcoming

  • weaker processor
  • less stable on your legs

After fixing the original Duet’s hiccups, the Duet 5 is a Chromebook tablet you can legally use as a full-time computer. The Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 isn’t super powerful, but the 400-nit screen is amazing, the speakers are great, and the 8GB RAM configuration handles casual browsing and normal work just fine.

traditional power

Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook

$479 at Amazon (Intel Core i3, 8GB) Lenovo (Intel Core i3, 4GB) from $460, Best Buy $299 (Pentium, 4GB)

advantage

  • More powerful
  • More familiar 2-in-1 design
  • more durable

shortcoming

  • Dimming screen
  • heavier
  • Battery life is ok

Following on from the excellent Lenovo Flex 5, the Flex 5i ups the power and sports a cooler abyss blue hue on its casing. The extra power means it’ll drain the battery faster, but it’s more work-oriented than the Duet 5 and will be a more practical option for those looking for a workhorse. After seeing the Duet’s 400-nit panel, it’s hard to go back to a 250-nit screen.

Following the success of the Flex 5 Chromebook in 2020, Lenovo decided to double down on its 13-inch winner in 2021, giving it both ways. The Flex 5i Chromebook offers more functionality in a more traditional 2-in-1 laptop form factor, but the detachable Duet 5 Chromebook has a much better screen and far better battery life thanks to less power and greater efficiency Snapdragon 7c Gen 2. Both are the best Chromebooks out there, but it comes down to which one you want more: raw power and lap-friendliness or adaptability and longevity. Here’s everything you need to know when considering the Lenovo Duet 5 vs. the Flex 5i.

Experiment and Tradition: How much fun do you want to have?

Two blue Chromebooks, identical in dignity: Lenovo Duet 5 (left) and Lenovo Flex 5i (right)

After using and looking at the Flex 5i and its detachable sibling twin, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5, I’ve been struggling to get rid of the Duet 5. The 400-nit, 1080p touchscreen is great, great speakers are worthy of a Netflix binge, and its detachable keyboard doesn’t will feel cramped. All in all, the Duet 5 is unbeatable for casual browsing and content consumption.

All Saturday, I’ve been using Duet 5 to play Microsoft Solitaire Collection and e-read some of my favorite stories. The device is casually addictive; the 13.3-inch screen sounds ridiculous, but as long as it’s landscape, the 16:9 form factor is more suitable for movies and the latest season of Demon Slayer than the 4:3 and 3:2 phablets of late computer. Remember that 400 nits of brightness means you can take it to the back porch and keep watching the game (or the increasingly out-of-control Nerf war between siblings) while supervising a smoker.

Few Chromebooks have such a bright display that they need to be replaced, and once you’ve used the screen for a weekend, going back to the 250-nit touchscreen on the Flex 5i feels like a punishment. That said, a touchscreen alone doesn’t make a Chromebook: functionality and practicality also come into play, and that’s where the Flex 5i starts to lay the groundwork.

category Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook
exhibit 13.3-inch OLED touch screen
1920×1080 pixels • 400 nits
13.3-inch OLED display (touch optional)
1920×1080 pixels • 250 nits
processor Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 Computing Platform Intel Celeron 6305
Intel Pentium 7505
Intel Core i3-1115G4
Intel Core i5-11135G7
memory 4-8GB 4-8GB
storage 64GB eMMC, 128-256GB SSD 32-64GB eMMC
128-512GB Solid State Drive
port 2x USB-C (USB 3.0)
pogo pin
2 USB-C
1 USB-A
microSD card slot
audio combo jack
Peripheral function Pre-bundled keyboard and stand
Optional stylus
USI
Backlit keyboard
Optional digital pen
USI Stylus Compatibility
vocal Four speakers Waves Audio Stereo Speakers
Battery 42Whr
up to 15 hours
fast charging
up to 10 hours
AUE date June 2029 June 2029
color Abyss Blue Abyss Blue, Iron Gray

The Duet 5’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 computing platform has a different priority than the mighty Intel Core i3 inside the Flex 5i. In terms of pure power, the Flex 5i trumps the Duet 5, as does storage in higher-end configurations.Both come in 4 GB and 8 GB RAM configurations, no matter which one you buy Get an 8GB RAM. Chrome is naturally RAM-heavy, albeit less on a Chromebook, and while you can work around smaller storage if necessary, you can’t upgrade the RAM, so don’t go cheap on it.

The Flex 5i also handily beats the Duet 5 in port availability: it has USB-A and microSD on top of the two USB-C ports that both machines support. Again, as a tablet, the Duet 5 has a high real estate price tag — and you can always use a good USB-C hub to get extra ports when you need it — while a regular 2-in-1 has more peripherals Space.


Lenovo Duet 5 and Flex 5i: Which is best for you?

The extra space also allows the Flex 5i to have a backlit keyboard, something I miss on the Duet 5, but the core typing experience on the Duet 5 is still the best experience on any Chrome OS tablet to date. So if you’re using your Chromebook on your lap or in the dark in actual laptop mode, the Flex 5i wins out for its stability and reliability, but if you’ve got work done and are ready to ditch the keyboard for some poker or Star Wars binge – look, Duet 5 was made for it.

These laptops are also priced between $400 and $500, so it’s not a question of a huge price hike, but just a question of what role you want to fill. If you want a fun Chromebook on the back porch for weekends, vacations, and afternoons, while still being a full-fledged laptop when you need it, the Duet 5 is worth the money. If you need a workhorse that works from 8 to 7 every day (because really, who stops working at 5 pm these days), or for leisure at the end of the day, you’ll want to stick with the dimmer, but The more powerful Flex 5i .

bright, shiny, new

Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook

$430 at Amazon (4GB/64GB) $500 at Best Buy (8GB/128GB)

Want easy access to Chrome OS? This is your starter drug.

The Lenovo Duet 5 has twice the screen as the Flex 5i, and you can ditch the keyboard when you’re done. It’s not as powerful as the Flex 5i, but it’s more adaptable, and it’s a great content consumption tablet that you can still use when you need it.

traditional power

Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i

$479 at Amazon (Intel Core i3, 8GB) Lenovo (Intel Core i3, 4GB) from $460, Best Buy $299 (Pentium, 4GB)

For you and your work for the rest of the decade, that’s flexibility.

It’s not quite as sexy as the Duet, but if you’re looking for a major laptop, the Flex 5i’s practical form factor and 11th-generation Intel Core processors make it the more obvious (if less interesting) option. It’s easier to use on your lap, more durable, but has a darker screen and has a fan.

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