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- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i: Price & Availability
- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i: Should you buy it?
Chromebooks come in all shapes and sizes, and the days of having a Chromebook that’s only capable of utilizing Google Chrome are long gone. The latest-generation Chromebooks are far more capable than laptops a fewer years ago, and the fresh Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is the fresh convertible in the block to show off what’s possible at just $500.
Suppose you’re after a budget Chromebook that feels good, powerful adequate for work and play, not to mention a bit of amusement for consuming content. In that case, that’s where Chromebooks can offer far more than a tablet, or a inexpensive Windows laptop. The IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus – rolls off the tongue – offers precisely that, in a chassis that’s small, compact, with all of the power you request to get work done, survey at college or university, or play a fewer games and watch any movies after a long day.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (2023)
Editor’s Choice
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is simply a well-balanced Chromebook, providing all of the essentials in a compact, light, 2-in-1 form factor. It has plenty of power to run Android apps and games and has Wi-Fi 6, making it large for cloud gaming and consuming content.
- Superb 2-in-1 Chromebook
- Bright and colorful display
- Great overall performance
- Backlit keyboard
- Excellent port selection
- Average battery life
- The plastic build doesn’t feel premium
- No fingerprint reader
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i: Price & Availability
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i was announced on October 2, 2023. The Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is already available, starting at $499.99 in the US. The laptop is widely available in North America, Europe, the mediate East, and Africa.
Selected IdeaPad laptops besides come with 3 months of Photoshop web and Adobe Express Premium plans for free.
What’s in the box
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus comes in a standard box, containing the laptop itself and the charging cable. There’s plenty of padding that protects the laptop during shipping, and if you’ve always bought a laptop, you know precisely what to expect.
Hardware & plan
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (2023) Review / Source: Roland Udvarlaki, Pocketnow
- Compact plan
- Elegant looks
- Comes with all the essentials
The laptop measures 0.8” x 12.4” x 9′ in (19.7mm x 315.5mm x 229mm) and weighs just 3.57 lbs (1.62kg), making it easy and compact to fit in any backpack, without adding a ton of weight. It’s light adequate that you can just choice it up and take it with you anywhere, and the 2-in-1 plan makes it easy to fold the laptop and usage it as a tablet.
Looking at the device, you could easy be fooled into reasoning this is simply a premium device made of premium materials. While the lid is actually made of aluminium with a grey/black finish that Lenovo calls Storm Grey, the chassis and the palm remainder are made of plastic. It’s worth noting that Lenovo managed to color-match the plastic so closely, that without touching the device, you could be fooled into reasoning it’s made of aluminium.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (2023) Review / Source: Roland Udvarlaki, Pocketnow
The aluminium lid and plastic chassis are both this machine’s strengths and weaknesses. The lid makes the device feel premium and elegant, while the chassis itself can flex a small more than I would like and expect. This isn’t a dealbreaker, given that the hinge appears to hold up just fine. Given the flex, the hinge feels sturdy, holding it all together securely. I never thought I could break the laptop, requiring the right force to open or close the device.
With all of that in mind, you might not be amazed that the IdeaPad Flex 5i fails the one-handed beginning test as the chassis lifts up erstwhile beginning the lid.
The IdeaPad Flex 5i features six ports, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, and a Kensington lock on the right side, and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, headphone / mic combo jack, and a microSD card slot on the left side. Additionally, the right side houses a power button and a volume rocker – akin to how it’s frequently placed on smartphones and tablets, and akin devices of this kind. Sadly, this besides means that the device lacks a dedicated fingerprint button, which would’ve made it much easier to log in to the laptop.
The IdeaPad Flex 5i features a 14-inch IPS LCD display with 16:10 aspect ratio and 300 nits of highest brightness. Given the convertible form factor, it’s not amazing to see that it supports contact input, which besides supports the Lenovo USI pen that’s sold separately. The screen features a Full HD display with 1920 x 1200 resolution, and it’s sharp and bright adequate in most cases. I haven’t had any problems with the viewing angles or the colors. It has slim bezels, and it looks modern and stylish.
Specifications
- large selection of ports
- Bright and colorful display with large viewing angles
- Excellent hardware, given the price
The model I’m reviewing (IP Flex 5 Chrome 14IAU7) came equipped with the Intel i3-1315U 1.2GHz chip with integrated graphics. It has 8GB of memory and 128GB of eMMC storage. It has a 14-inch WUXGA display.
Generally speaking, it’s an excellent device for any light gaming, whether that’s Android apps or games optimized to run on Linux or via Stream. Non-professional apps will run perfectly fine without issues, and the device will be more than powerful adequate to tackle all workflows that require a browser only.
There’s besides a large selection of ports, and users will be able to charge their devices utilizing USB-C, mount their microSD cards, and usage USB 3 ports, or the more modern USB Type-C standard. erstwhile it comes to the speaker, the laptop sports a 2x2W stereo speakers with Waves tuning. There’s besides Wi-Fi 6E on board with Bluetooth 5.0, and the web camera has a privacy shutter that lets you hide your video erstwhile you finish the conference call.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (2023)
Performance
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (2023) Review / Source: Roland Udvarlaki, Pocketnow
- Excellent overall performance
- Futureproof connectivity features
- It doesn’t heat up while browsing or playing little intensive games or apps
I’ve utilized the IdeaPad Flex 5i for both work and play, and it proved to be a large choice. The laptop was plenty powerful to tackle my usual workflow of editing and writing posts, editing photos utilizing various online tools, and playing a fewer Android and cloud games.
I’ve utilized the Android version of Minecraft without issues, edited photos utilizing Canva, and edited multiple papers utilizing this machine. I’ve besides spent considerable time watching movies, listening to music, and chatting with friends and family. I did any of my vacation buying and never encountered anything that would’ve stood out as bad.
The Intel i3 in the IdeaPad Flex 5i proved fast and efficient. It was always fast to respond, smooth, and a pleasance to use. Switching between 5-20 Chrome tabs was fluent, and the device only felt warm erstwhile I played games on the device directly.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (2023) Review / Source: Roland Udvarlaki, Pocketnow
Perhaps 1 thing to note is that the Lenovo Chromebook comes with Wi-Fi 6, which improves the coverage, capacity, and bandwidth and lowers the latency This’s especially crucial if you want to stream games from cloud gaming services. While I do not yet have a Wi-Fi 6-enabled router, I haven’t come across any latency issues while playing a fewer games on Amazon Luna.
Generally speaking, the laptop’s performance has been excellent, and I haven’t encountered any hiccups. The web camera is more than usable for video calls, and the talker is large for watching movies, playing games, and listening to music. All in all, it’s an excellent Chromebook with all of the essentials. Another bonus is that the device is part of the fresh update agenda that enables the device to receive updates until at least June 2032, making it an excellent Chromebook for the price that’ll guarantee it’ll proceed receiving fresh features and safety patches until that date.
Battery
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (2023) Review / Source: Roland Udvarlaki, Pocketnow
- Up to 6 hours of battery life with dense usage or up to 10 hours with streaming and watching movies
- Support for USB-C PD and fast charging
The IdeaPad Flex 5i is rated to last for up to 10 hours on a single charge, which should supply you adequate power to last through a full day. During my use, I achieved anywhere between 6-8 hours of usage by utilizing Google Chrome and a fewer Android apps here and there. This included a fewer Android games, writing documents, watching videos, browsing, and any light editing utilizing Canva – an online web-based photograph editing tool.
Watching videos and consuming another forms of content resulted in an 8 to 10 hr battery life, about lining up with Lenovo’s claims. It’s worth noting that your mileage may differ, depending on what another applications you usage on the side, and your settings. In general, you’ll be able to go for a full workday, but only if you make a fewer sacrifices to the brightness levels, and cut down on a fewer CPU-intensive tasks.
If you’re looking for a laptop that can last up to 6 hours without cutting back on anything, the Flex 5i will service you well. Those looking to get even more work done will gotta carry a charger to make it through a full workday, but luckily, the charger doesn’t take up a ton of space in a backpack. You can besides usage a USB-C PD charger to top up – so if you already have a fast charger for your telephone or tablet, you might be able to get any extra juice.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i: Should you buy it?
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus (2023) Review / Source: Roland Udvarlaki, Pocketnow
Buy it if…
- You’re looking for a thin and light device that enables you to study, and get work done
- You want to consume content
- You want to play Android games and apps on a large 2-in-1 Chromebook
- You’re looking for a compact device with a beautiful display that supports contact and pen input
Don’t buy it if…
- You want a Chromebook that feels rugged and more sturdy
- You request a Chromebook that can go all day on a single charge while utilizing more than just a browser
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is simply a very capable laptop, and an excellent Chromebook. It costs little than another competing premium Chromebooks, and it offers a stylish design, plenty of power to work and play any little demanding games, and a large selection of ports, and an appealing display.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (2023)
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is simply a well-balanced Chromebook, providing all of the essentials in a compact, light, 2-in-1 form factor. It has plenty of power to run Android apps and games and has Wi-Fi 6, making it large for cloud gaming and consuming content.
The IdeaPad Flex 5i offers a competitive performance, and while it’s not precisely cheap, it’s on the lower side of things erstwhile it comes to Chromebooks, and it fits right in the midrange category. The build quality leaves a bit to be desired, but it held up well during my usage and looks modern. The 2-in-1 form origin besides makes it a versatile device that’s excellent for students, those looking for a device erstwhile they want to relax, and even those who want to get any work done.
Overall, the IdeaPad Flex 5i offers a well-balanced and large all-around package. It has a beautiful display, plenty of ports, a large backlit keyboard, and just about all the features and performance you request in a budget Chromebook.
