Lenovo announces two new tablet laptops with Bluetooth keyboards
by Craig Risi
While some mobile companies are trying to get phones with folding screens to double as a small tablet, the most common approach for many companies looking to fill two spaces in one device has been to make a laptop with either a folding or detachable screen that can serve as both a tablet or a laptop. Microsoft in particular has found success with this through their Surface line which is a tablet at heart with the power and function of a laptop when needed.
Lenovo has also been playing in this space for many years and has announced two new 2-in-1 devices, the Yoga Duet 7i and the IdeaPad Duet 3i, for its Windows 10 lineup. Both devices feature a design similar to Microsoft’s Surface tablets but have the bonus of coming bundled with a keyboard, which this time around, supports Bluetooth for use while detached.
The Yoga Duet 7i is the top-of-the-line of the pair featuring a 10th Gen i7 Intel Core CPU, Intel Iris Plus GPU, infrared camera to provide facial logins and a 13-inch IPS 2K touchscreen display. The company claims the 2-in-1 has up to 10.8 hours of battery life and weighs just 1.15 kilograms. With an active pen included with each purchase, this laptop appears to be targetted at creatives and those professionals in the graphical industry.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3i, however, is equipped with an Intel Pentium CPU, integrated graphics, a 10.3-inch full HD IPS panel display, and two USB-C ports. It’s also pretty light, weighing just 0.86 kilograms. Lenovo claims the battery in the IdeaPad Duet 3i has up to seven hours of life on a single charge. This device is obviously all about portability over power and more for a person looking to travel and keep notes of things rather than the need for any form of serious computing power.
Importantly, Lenovo is including Bluetooth to the detachable keyboards for these devices, making them usable even when separated from the screen and allowing for a user to set up and work in a wider variety of ways. Lenovo has had varying success in this space but hopefully, these two new models will help them establish their hardware brand further in this market.