Dual-OS tablets are a concept that went extinct several years ago. Some manufacturers experimented with tablets that offer both Windows 10 and Android shared by one hardware, and guess what? Those tablets sucked big time in both operating systems. However, it"s 2024, and Lenovo wants to resurrect the idea with a slightly different approach.
Lenovo has now launched the ThinkBook Gen 5 Hybrid in China (via VideoCardz), a laptop-tablet combo that tries to offer two operating systems in one device without major sacrifices or compromises. In fact, the device looks like a Surface Book on steroids: it has Android hardware and software in the display and Windows hardware and software in the base.
The base of the laptop has the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 75Wh battery. The screen and its Android operating system are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 38Wh battery. The screen itself is a 14-inch 2.8K OLED touchscreen with pen support.
You can use the Android part of the computer separate from the keyboard base, connected to it, or side-by-side with Windows 11. Both operating systems can access a pool of shared storage and utilize front and rear cameras. In addition, you can connect the base to a separate display and have two independent devices.
Of course, neither Windows nor Android were made for such whacky devices, so you can rightly guess that the implementation will have a few rough surfaces here and here. Still, it is a very interesting device that may find its dedicated, albeit very niche, fan base. The privilege of owning this quirk of a laptop is not cheap—the Lenovo ThinkBook Gen 5 Hybrid costs about $2,200 in China, so buyers will have to think twice about whether they need a computer that can also work as an Android tablet.
The US version of the Lenovo website claims the ThinkBook Gen 5 Hybrid is coming soon.
Do you think dual-OS computers should make a comeback?