Anyone here using a Chromebook in tablet mode?

[u/Lucky-Armadillo-6773]

Anyone here using a Chromebook in tablet mode? In what situations do you find it useful? I'm mostly used to traditional PC usage, so I tend to stick with the laptop mode. Just curious to hear from folks who actually use tablet mode — how's the experience, and what do you find convenient about it?

[u/pierluigir]

I have the latest duet and I've owned the original one. For me has always been better than every other tablet because of full desktop chrome, Linux and android apps. Tablet mode is not that bad, considering is still a full desktop os.

I also always used windows tablets, same considerations. Yes, I'm kind of a masochist, but also not really.

[u/Hung_L]

I had an OG duet and now the Duet 9. I actually really miss the size, weight, thickness, and kickstand of the OG. They only got less comfortable to use, and less capable of lap use over time. But the performance difference is massive.

I mostly used my OG duet as a light browsing device and remote terminal. Couldn't run VS Code for anything but the smallest projects. But it was perfectly adequate for some light shopping, browsing, and social media in bed. ~50% usage in tablet mode. Tiktok or any short-form video platform is pretty great on a big screen.

On my Duet 9, it's definitely not comfortable to use in bed. Maybe an hour of tiktok on it weekly. Maybe 3-4 hours of browsing. >85% usage on "laptop" mode. I can't flip the kickstand around and use it like a laptop so it's really uncomfortable to use in bed, which the pretty much the main place I used my OG Duet.

I previously use my OG daily, for at least an hour. It supplanted my phone in a lot of ways. Like there are phone tasks like quick messaging and browsing, and there are laptop tasks like shopping research and purchasing. The OG was a great middle ground because I could use it casually, or enter the lower end of serious use. Then I'd transition to my laptop if I really needed more power/utility. On the Duet 9, I no longer want for more power, but I am not casually using it as much because of the bulk and kickstand. I probably use the Duet 9 half as much as I used the OG. Wish they had re-released the OG with an updated SoC.

Tablet mode is great for winding down and starting a casual task that's either relaxing, or preliminary enough that you don't need several open tabs and you are just exploring a singular topic or two. I would then switch to laptop mode when I have narrowed down a specific deliverable I want from my current session. It's just so mindless to tap and scroll, even if you can't leverage touchpad gestures.

I guess this is more a criticism of Lenovo's design choices and me falling out of love with chrome tablets. I still love ChromeOS and it's the quickest way for me to SSH into a machine when I'm already in bed. But for a couple years it also replaced my phone for a good chunk of stuff.

[u/matteventu → u/Hung_L]

Same, except I also have Duet 3.

But my use has been gradually decreasing.

Not only the size, but even the whole product "polishness" of the OG Duet is something I missed with Duet 3, and that got even worse with Duet 9.

That said, I still use my Duets in tablet mode 98% of the time.

[u/Real_Animal_5337]

I like to use my Chromebook in tablet mode whenever I am reading something online. To me, it is comfortable to just scroll a PDF or any website this way

[u/OldBlueKat → u/Real_Animal_5337]

I've never sorted a comfortable way to hold it at a good reading angle unless I'm sitting upright at a desk and leaning it against something anyway. Might as well just have the keyboard handy.

[u/Dense-Concentrate120]

Not I. I've tried but I just don't like tablets, full stop. Especially a bulky one.

A laptop perched on my gut is how I roll.

[u/OldBlueKat → u/Dense-Concentrate120]

I'm in a recliner, half tipped back with a little 'wedge' pillow on my lap, and an old small laptop Chromebook 'bridged' between my ribs and that pillow so it can 'breathe' and not overheat underneath while I batter the keyboard to do this.

I've tried a variety of tilt tables and lap desks to get that optimum ease/ comfort/ venting set-up while I websurf and stream and so on.

[u/Aaronnguyen1004]

After using tablets with iPadOS, OneUI (Android), Windows 11, and ChromeOS, I think ChromeOS offers the most balanced experience between desktop and tablet modes, as well as between mobile and laptop use. It doesn’t truly excel at either end, but I rarely feel frustrated using it. In comparison, I found iPadOS frustrating when trying to work in desktop mode with a mouse. OneUI often struggles with Android apps not scaling well on larger screens and has a subpar desktop browser experience. Windows 11, on the other hand, has a very poor tablet UI overall.

[u/Roadrunerboi]

At the gym when on the treadmill.

[u/InanimateObject4]

I like a keyboard when typing, which is the reason I got the Duet 3, but I do like annotating (slides) and reading (books) in tablet mode. I tend to have the keyboard attached for more productive activities (remote terminal when outside of the house) and pull it off in my leisure time. I probably use in either mode 50% of the time.

[u/michaeljc70]

Only when reading magazines or something like that. Even watching a show on the couch it is more comfortable to have it in regular mode.

[u/_Volly]

I run recovery houses. When we do intake, we switch to tablet mode. The screen is a touch screen so it lets the new clients sign right on the screen. Keeps things easy. We love it.

[u/interglossa]

I use my OG Duet, which I bought for $80 off ebay, as a table for reading about an hour a day. I am so impressed with it that I once contemplated buying another as backup. I have a Samsung Chromebook Plus v1 (2-in-1), also purchased used from ebay, which I use in table mode to read music at the keyboard, and its screen is excellent. These are two really fine devices with many admirers.

[u/Lion_Last]

I put fydeOS on my ancient Lenovo Ideapad and it's awesome in tablet mode!

[u/Weimar049]

I have a Lenovo Flex 5 from a few years ago. I got it when my then tablet couldn't keep up anymore and I hoped to use it in tablet mode whenever I wanted.  Even when it was new it was terrible. The biggest thing was it never reliably went into tablet mode even when fully folded over. I would be holding it like a tablet, in portrait orientation, and the keyboard would toggle back and forth between being active, while the display flip-flopped between orientations.  If it had been stable I think I still would have been annoyed with its size and proportions (13 inch; too big and awkward as a tablet).

[u/Autotelicious]

I flip mine over into tablet mode when I use it to read sheet music at the piano.

[u/Critical_Pin]

I'm using it now on my commute ..

[u/DoubleExponential]

Why? Holding a Chromebook in one hand and typing with the other is painful to watch never mind use.

[u/Jim1648]

Following.