Lenovo combined a Windows laptop and Android tablet into one epic device — and I’ve tested it

What it’s essential knowThe Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is a mixture Windows 11 laptop computer and Android 13 pill. You can swap between the 2 modes with a button press, with every OS utilizing its personal {hardware}.The Android pill has a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 CPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.The Windows laptop computer has an Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and discrete graphics. With CES tech, you by no means know whether or not a cool-sounding prototype will work in the true world. With Lenovo’s new 2-in-1 Windows 11 laptop computer and Android 13 pill hybrid, I had the prospect to place it via its paces at a personal occasion final month. One evident challenge apart, it appeared to totally dwell as much as its potential, and I actually need one for myself.The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid has the shape issue of a Surface Pro or Lenovo’s personal Chromebook Duet, with a removable pill magnetized to the keyboard. The distinction is that it isn’t one system with totally different docked and undocked software program. It’s actually two units in a single: an Intel laptop computer and a 14-inch Snapdragon pill. Why would somebody purchase a hybrid Windows/ Android laptop computer as an alternative of each individually? The Lenovo engineers I spoke to advised that it is tailored for frequent fliers who dislike having to pack each a laptop computer and pill (or having to depart one behind).(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Plus, after all, there’s the good thing about getting each a high-quality laptop computer and an enormous pill for $1,999, when shopping for each individually would possibly find yourself costing way more. You can see within the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid specs pill under how every half of this hybrid capabilities completely by itself. Both the “Hybrid Station” (aka the laptop computer) and Hybrid Tablet have their very own CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, audio system, and battery. And in each circumstances, the {hardware} is fairly darn strong. Swipe to scroll horizontallySpecsWindows laptop computerAndroid tabletCPUIntel Core Ultra 7 ProcessorQualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1OSWindows 11Android 13Reminiscence32GB LPDDR5x12GB LPDDR5xStorage1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD256GB UFS 3.1GraphicsIntel Arc GPUQualcomm Adreno 730Show14-inch 2.8K OLED contact, DCI-P3 100%SameAudio2x 2W Harman Kardon speakers4x 1W super-linear speakersBattery75Whr38WhrSecurityFingerprint reader; Kensington Nano lockCamera (Face Unlock), digital camera shutterConnectivity2 x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4), 3.5mm jack, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.21 x USB-C, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3Dimensions313.5 x 234.5 x 9.4mm; 970g/ 2.14lb.313.5 x 224 x 6.6mm; 785g/ 1.73lb.(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)On the Android facet, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 falls between the Gen 2 discovered within the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra and Gen 1 discovered within the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. A former flagship chip with 12GB of RAM to again it, it is now a few generations behind however nonetheless greater than strong sufficient for many pill software program. For something extra superior, nicely, that is what the Intel facet is for!Compared to one of the best Android tablets, you get a 14-inch, high-res show, Android 13 software program with multitasking tips, and a very good attachable keyboard. Some specs just like the 1W audio system aren’t flagship-level — they match the dimensions of Lenovo’s $400 Tab P11 Pro Gen 2 — however in most respects, you have got little to complain about.The $1,199 Tab S9 Ultra and $349 keyboard cowl add as much as $1,548 whole; you’d save $450 in comparison with the ThinkBook Plus and get higher efficiency and software program help, plus an S Pen. But put it one other manner: if you’d like an enormous productiveness pill, would you spend an additional $500 to make use of Windows 11 as an alternative of Samsung DeX, and get a much better Windows-style keyboard as an alternative of Samsung’s mediocre keyboard? I think loads of individuals would say sure. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Truly, my solely actual criticism is that the ThinkBook in pill mode weighs 1.7 kilos, barely heavier than the Tab S9 Ultra. Just like that pill, the Gen 5 Hybrid is not one thing you are going to wish to maintain for lengthy. I can image watching it in mattress whereas it rests on my abdomen or lap, however in any other case, that is going to want a flat floor and one thing to prop it up. The Lenovo workforce did exhibit an official “Universal Easel Stand,” seen within the first picture above, which you’ll be able to fold right into a journey bag after which unfold out to prop up the ThinkBook. But in a case of refreshing truthfully, the Lenovo reps admitted they are not the most important followers of how huge the easel is. They even claimed a TSA agent thought it regarded like a weapon, making it an adjunct you in all probability will not usher in your carry-on. Since you possibly can’t put a removable pill in a guide cowl keyboard with out interfering with the magnet mechanism, I’m unsure there’s one other good strategy to preserve it propped. It’s one thing to bear in mind. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)As for the Windows facet of issues, I’ll flip to my more-informed colleagues at Windows Central as an alternative. Announced in December 2023, the Intel Core Ultra 7 has six efficiency cores, eight effectivity cores, and two low-power effectivity cores. According to WC’s Daniel Rubino, this CPU places a significant emphasis on robust battery life, a cool-running processor, and a sturdy NPU for AI features. Several well-known laptop computer lineups will use the Intel Core Ultra 7 of their 2024 fashions, just like the Dell XPS 14 and Acer’s Swift collection. So on this case, you are getting a correctly cutting-edge processor, which can in all probability matter greater than a current-gen Snapdragon for severe productiveness customers. Backed by 32GB of reminiscence, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid ought to supply some actual energy. Plus, it provides an Intel Arc GPU; Lenovo would not specify what mannequin, and its reps appeared to recommend that its graphics won’t compete with high-end Windows-only laptops. But I’m nonetheless joyful that it’ll supply discrete graphics, not built-in. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Lenovo’s reps instructed me that its ThinkBook Plus lineup is all about experimentation. The ThinkBook Gen 4 had an e-ink show on the again, seen if you closed the primary OLED show; the Gen 3 had a phone-sized touchscreen constructed into the laptop computer’s backside half, proper subsequent to the touchpad and keyboard. They had been enjoyable and weird ideas, ones that nobody actually requested for. I do not suppose anybody requested for a Windows/Android hybrid laptop computer, however the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid experiment seems to be like a extra severe possibility this time round, one that customers will discover intriguing. And I’m impressed by the execution. Say you are working in Windows and wish to swap to Android. There’s a devoted swap button on the keyboard; press it, and after a brief stylized animation, you are proper into inventory Android 13 view, with a totally separate set of apps and instruments. It’s about as seamless as you possibly can hope for, with minimal lag in my testing. You even know that the Windows facet is ready in stasis, able to wake again up with one other button press. You additionally swap to or from Android mechanically if you happen to yank the show away from the keyboard or reattach it.I did not get lengthy with the ThinkBook Plus, however I discovered the efficiency reliably quick for both working system, and I liked the OLED show. I’d say you need to await a full evaluation to make certain, since it is a distinctive and untested characteristic. But you have got each motive to be optimistic. If you do not care in any respect about Windows, or about Android, then the 2-in-1 ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is not for you. But if you happen to’re the type of particular person that desires flagship-quality specs for each, the ThinkBook Plus skirts the road and may theoretically prevent cash and desk area within the course of. Lenovo says will probably be obtainable in Q2 2024 — between April and June — with “an expected starting price of $1,999.” The Lenovo reps initially instructed me a decrease quantity, which makes me surprise in the event that they realized that they had a winner on their palms and will cost more cash for it. Regardless, I might commerce my present Dell laptop computer for this funky hybrid in a second, for its versatility and the prospect to entry Android on my desk with a correctly tactile keyboard — and no must preserve a number of units charged without delay.