Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
If you ’re expect for a very inexpensive pad of paper , your pick among2 - in-1 laptopsis limit . Certainly , you wo n’t be buy a Windows lozenge for under $ 500 , at least not from a name brand name . That leaves you with just a few choices , including tablets running Chrome oculus sinister and iPadOS .
I recently review the LenovoChromebook Duet 11 , which comes in at $ 400 or less . That stone it directly against theApple iPad10th contemporaries that also depart at under $ 400 . Which is the better affordable tablet for you ?
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Specs and configurations
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 comes in two configurations . You ’ll spend $ 360 for a MediaTek Kompanio 838 , 4 GB of RAM , 64 GB of storage , and a 10.95 - in FHD+ IP showing . you may promote that to 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage for a monetary value of $ 400 . That includes a detachable keyboard and charismatic natural covering with built - in kickstand . The active pen is an special $ 20 .
The iPad ( 1oth Generation ) has been around since 2022 but received a deduction in 2024 . It ’s $ 349 with an Apple M14 Bionic chipset , 4 GB of RAM , 64 GB of storage , and a 10.9 - column inch 2360 x 1640 IPS display . The iPad is $ 499 with 256 GB of storage . If you desire the optional 5 G cellular connectivity , it ’s $ 499 for 64 GB and $ 649 for 256 GB .
The iPad is less grand with 64 gilbert but more expensive with twice the storage . And 5 g-force connectivity advance the iPad into much eminent price , although that provides a tablet that can get to the net from just about anywhere .
Design
Before we get to the tablets themselves , let ’s talk a piffling about the operating scheme . The Chromebook Duet 11 runs Google ’s Chrome OS , which start out as basically a Chrome internet browser packed into a piece of hardware and has since evolve into a more subject platform . It ’s still more limited than Windows or macOS , and you ’ll be swear on Android apps for most of its more advanced functionality including gambling . Chrome OS works well enough on a pad of paper , and it supports Google ’s Gemini AI features .
The iPad run Apple ’s iPadOS , course , and it , too , has evolved . It stay on 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 lozenge use . It ’s fairish to say that iPadOS is a more elegant OS that ’s roughly as functional as Chrome o and has a sight more support .
The Chromebook Duet 11 is just fine in terms of its hardware . It ’s made of aluminum and is reasonably sparse and weak , and while its single gray colorway is pretty introductory , it looks OK . It comes with a magnetic book binding that select the back and provides a ready to hand kickstand . The iPad is equally thin and light but it ’s slightly low thanks to display bezels that are the tiniest bit thinner . It ’s also incredibly well - made and robust , in line with all Apple merchandise , and it come in four attractive colors . You ’ll pay off extra for a case , let in Apple ’s $ 70 Smart Folio , but there ’s a small industry built around iPad accessories so you ’ll have batch of alternative .
The Chromebook Duet 11 come with a detachable keyboard , and so that assist with the price . But it ’s just not a right keyboard , with a cramped layout , lowly keycaps , and uncomfortable switches . Its touchpad is also lowly , but it works well enough . The keyboard ’s only ransom timbre , really , is that it ’s included .
you could grease one’s palms Apple ’s Magic Keyboard for $ 249 , and you ’ll get a much better experience even while that adds well to the price . The keys and layout is a passel more well-off and the switches are excellent . The touchpad , again , is just OK . The matter is , you’re able to pick out from a host of less - expensive keyboard and still get a lot better than you ’ll find for the Chromebook Duet 11 .
The active playpen for the Chromebook Duet 11 costs $ 20 , while the Apple Pencil is $ 79 . Both let you indite and suck on the screen , but you ’re likely to find more and better options on the iPad .
Connectivity is like , with both tablets tender a undivided USB - C larboard , a 3.5 mm audio jack , and pins for tie in to their keyboard options . The iPad also offers a nano - SIM and eSIM for 5 G cellular , yield it more flexibility for using off from the Wi - Fi 6 that both tablets reenforcement .
at long last , both pad of paper have high - Re front- and tush - facing television camera . They ’re fine for engage quick flick and picture and for videoconferencing .
Performance
Both pill use pretty lightweight operating system , and both run on ARM - based chipsets shoot for at least in part at efficiency . The Chromebook Duet 11 has a choice between 4 Gi and 8 GB of RAM while the iPad is restrain to 4 GB , but theoretically that should be more than enough computer storage for both platform .
However , in my testing , the Chromebook Duet 11 was just painful to use . Even uncomplicated browsing using Chrome introduced hesitating and interim , and the MediaTek Kompanio 838 chipset did n’t do the pad of paper any favour . We do n’t have many benchmarks to run outside of Windows and macOS , but we can run Geekbench 6 and the results were n’t pretty . The Chromebook Duet 11 scored 743 exclusive - nub and 1,690 multi - kernel , which is n’t very good .
The iPad uses Apple Silicon ’s M14 Bionic chipset , which is a couple of years quondam now . Even so , it scores over 1,500 in Geekbench 6 exclusive - core and over 4,000 in multi - core . And in testing , the iPad is smooth and antiphonal . Notably , it ’s also a secure tablet gaming platform .
Display
Both tablets have IPS video display that are within a fraction of an in the same size . The Chromebook Duet 11 ’s 10.95 - column inch exhibit is FHD+ ( 1920 x 1200 ) in a wider 16:9 facial expression ratio while the iPad ’s 10.9 - inch 2360 x 1640 is in the more straight 4:3 aspect ratio . That makes the iPad ’s display sharper and arguably better for inking .
We ca n’t submit either display to a colorimeter , but my subjective evaluation is that the iPad acquire again . Its video display is brighter and the colors come across as more dynamic . It also offers Apple ’s True Tone lineament that adjusts color for ambient inflammation . The Chromebook Duet 11 ’s display is — once again — OK , but it does n’t jump out the same manner .
Portability
Both tablets are slender and light , and they feel a little different in hand because of the dissimilar look ratios . But both are easily used in one hired hand , and both can be used with kickstand to make them loose to use on a desk .
barrage sprightliness is potential to be alike . They ’re just about the same capacities , and both use ARM chipset that aim at efficiency . belike , you ’ll get around 10 hr of use from each look on how you utilize them .
It’s no contest: The Apple iPad is the low-cost tablet of choice
The good thing is , you may get a really good tab for under $ 400 . The bad intelligence for Lenovo in this comparison is that only the iPad qualifies . The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 is low-priced and includes a keyboard and kickstand , but that ’s about all it has blend in for it by comparison .
The iPad ’s performance is a so much better and its display is also superscript , and the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 ’s keyboard is far more cramped and uncomfortable to use . If all you want is a great pad of paper that does n’t let out the bank , cling with the iPad .
