More proof that upcoming Chromebook tablet ‘Ciri’ belongs to Lenovo

We’re getting to the point in the upcoming Chromebook tablet story where ChromeOS fans like myself are thinking about the next wave of detachable devices on a near-daily basis. At this point, I have a hard time considering a reality where we don’t get a new tablet announcement by at least the summer.

With the ‘Geralt’ baseboard being in development since September of 2022, the first device born from this board – ‘Ciri’ – should be nearing completion. With the likely-powerful new MediaTek MT8188 processor inside, this next wave of Chromebook tablets should be pretty compelling as devices that can be both productivity and consumption tools.

Lenovo is clearly making ‘Ciri’

Though we’ve dug up quite a bit of proof already that there will be more than just one of these new Chromebook tablets, ‘Ciri’ is the only one we know about for certain. Though a few details have certainly emerged for ‘Ciri’ over the past months, there are clearly things we don’t know about it. But one thing that has been consistent throughout is the fact that it seems like Lenovo is behind this particular unit. And now we have even more proof of that.

As you can see in this commit from the Chromium Repositories, ‘Ciri’ is having Waves disabled on the DSP (digital signal processor). For those unaware, many Lenovo devices ship with Waves branded audio, including a sticker right on the chassis. We’ve seen Windows laptops and Chromebooks as well with this addition, and though it may be a tiny bummer that ‘Ciri’ won’t be getting this audio attention, it is clear evidence that Lenovo is the driving force behind ‘Ciri’ at this point.

Why ‘Ciri’ is likely a new Duet 3

Overwhelmingly in the Chromium Repositories, we’re seeing displays being tested for ‘Ciri’ that match the size and layout of the existing Duet 3. They are all 11-inches and 16:10, so it is pretty clear that we’re likely going to see this size of device with it eventually launches.

Further than that, the battery being used also points at Lenovo as well. And by default, devices built off of the ‘Geralt’ baseboard are clearly detachable tablets. With the battery, screen size, detachable form factor, and now references to Waves audio, it is abundantly clear that with ‘Ciri’, we’re looking at a new Duet from Lenovo. Will it still be called the Duet 3? We won’t know for a bit, but I’m very hopeful that these questions are answered very soon.