Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 vs. iPad: another failed attempt

If you’re looking for a very inexpensive tablet, your choices among 2-in-1 laptops is limited. Certainly, you won’t be buying a Windows tablet for under $500, at least not from a name brand. That leaves you with just a few choices, including tablets running Chrome OS and iPadOS.

I recently reviewed the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11, which comes in at $400 or less. That pits it directly against the Apple iPad 10th generation that also starts at under $400. Which is the better affordable tablet for you?

Specs and configurations

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 comes in two configurations. You’ll spend $360 for a MediaTek Kompanio 838, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 10.95-inch FHD+ IPS display. You can upgrade that to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for a price of $400. That includes a detachable keyboard and magnetic cover with built-in kickstand. The active pen is an extra $20.

The iPad (1oth Generation) has been around since 2022 but received a discount in 2024. It’s $349 with an Apple M14 Bionic chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 10.9-inch 2360 x 1640 IPS display. The iPad is $499 with 256GB of storage. If you want the optional 5G cellular connectivity, it’s $499 for 64GB and $649 for 256GB.

The iPad is less expansive with 64GB but more expensive with twice the storage. And 5G connectivity boosts the iPad into much higher prices, although that provides a tablet that can access the internet from just about anywhere.

Design

Before we get to the tablets themselves, let’s talk a little about the operating systems. The Chromebook Duet 11 runs Google’s Chrome OS, which started out as basically a Chrome browser packed into a piece of hardware and has since evolved into a more capable platform. It’s still more limited than Windows or macOS, and you’ll be relying on Android apps for most of its more advanced functionality including gaming. Chrome OS works well enough on a tablet, and it supports Google’s Gemini AI features.

The iPad runs Apple’s iPadOS, naturally, and it, too, has evolved. It remains a mobile-first platform and it’s not as full-featured as Windows or macOS. But it has a huge stable of apps that are optimized for tablet use. It’s fair to say that iPadOS is a more elegant OS that’s roughly as functional as Chrome OS and has a lot more support.

The Chromebook Duet 11 is just fine in terms of its hardware. It’s made of aluminum and is reasonably thin and light, and while its single gray colorway is pretty basic, it looks OK. It comes with a magnetic cover that snaps on the back and provides a handy kickstand. The iPad is equally thin and light but it’s slightly smaller thanks to display bezels that are the tiniest bit thinner. It’s also incredibly well-made and robust, in line with all Apple products, and it comes in four attractive colors. You’ll pay extra for a case, including Apple’s $70 Smart Folio, but there’s a small industry built around iPad accessories so you’ll have plenty of choices.

The Chromebook Duet 11 comes with a detachable keyboard, and so that helps with the price. But it’s just not a good keyboard, with a cramped layout, small keycaps, and uncomfortable switches. Its touchpad is also small, but it works well enough. The keyboard’s only redeeming quality, really, is that it’s included.

You can buy Apple’s Magic Keyboard for $249, and you’ll get a much better experience even while that adds considerably to the price. The keys and layout is a lot more comfortable and the switches are excellent. The touchpad, again, is just OK. The thing is, you can choose from a host of less-expensive keyboards and still get a lot better than you’ll find for the Chromebook Duet 11.

The active pen for the Chromebook Duet 11 costs $20, while the Apple Pencil is $79. Both let you write and draw on the screen, but you’re likely to find more and better options on the iPad.

Connectivity is similar, with both tablets offering a single USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and pins for connecting to their keyboard options. The iPad also offers a nano-SIM and eSIM for 5G cellular, giving it more flexibility for using away from the Wi-Fi 6 that both tablets support.

Finally, both tablets have high-res front- and rear-facing cameras. They’re fine for taking quick pics and video and for videoconferencing.

Performance

Both tablets use reasonably lightweight operating systems, and both run on ARM-based chipsets aimed at least in part at efficiency. The Chromebook Duet 11 has a choice between 4GB and 8GB of RAM while the iPad is limited to 4GB, but theoretically that should be more than enough memory for both platforms.

However, in my testing, the Chromebook Duet 11 was just painful to use. Even simple browsing using Chrome introduced hesitating and lag, and the MediaTek Kompanio 838 chipset didn’t do the tablet any favors. We don’t have many benchmarks to run outside of Windows and macOS, but we can run Geekbench 6 and the results weren’t pretty. The Chromebook Duet 11 scored 743 single-core and 1,690 multi-core, which isn’t very good.

The iPad uses Apple Silicon’s M14 Bionic chipset, which is a couple of years old now. Even so, it scores over 1,500 in Geekbench 6 single-core and over 4,000 in multi-core. And in testing, the iPad is smooth and responsive. Notably, it’s also a better tablet gaming platform.

Display

Both tablets have IPS displays that are within a fraction of an inch the same size. The Chromebook Duet 11’s 10.95-inch display is FHD+ (1920 x 1200) in a wider 16:9 aspect ratio while the iPad’s 10.9-inch 2360 x 1640 is in the more square 4:3 aspect ratio. That makes the iPad’s display sharper and arguably better for inking.

We can’t submit either display to a colorimeter, but my subjective evaluation is that the iPad wins again. Its display is brighter and the colors come across as more dynamic. It also offers Apple’s True Tone feature that adjusts colors for ambient lighting. The Chromebook Duet 11’s display is — once again — OK, but it doesn’t jump out the same way.

Portability

Both tablets are thin and light, and they feel a little different in hand because of the different aspect ratios. But both are easily used in one hand, and both can be used with kickstands to make them easier to use on a desk.

Battery life is likely to be similar. They’re roughly the same capacities, and both use ARM chipset that aim at efficiency. Probably, you’ll get around 10 hours of use from each depending on how you use them.

It’s no contest: The Apple iPad is the low-cost tablet of choice

The good thing is, you can get a really good tablet for under $400. The bad news for Lenovo in this comparison is that only the iPad qualifies. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 is affordable and includes a keyboard and kickstand, but that’s about all it has going for it by comparison.

The iPad’s performance is a so much better and its display is also superior, and the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11’s keyboard is far more cramped and uncomfortable to use. If all you want is a great tablet that doesn’t break the bank, stick with the iPad.