The only i5 competitor here is the Asus VivoBook S14 (S433), with its 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 and 8GB of RAM—all the others have 16GB. These laptops all have Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, so you won’t be using any as a dedicated gaming laptop. Firstly, high-quality gadgets and technology products tend to be more reliable. This means that they are less likely to break down or malfunction. When you’re relying on a product for an important task, such as work or communication, reliability is key. Investing in a high-quality LENOVO IdeaPad 5i Pro 14″ Laptop can give you peace of mind and help you avoid frustrating situations where your device fails you. There is just one problem – the charger uses USB-C, meaning that when you're charging you don’t have an available USB-C port. Charging over USB-C is a good thing, but in this case, we would rather have a traditional charging port — or even better — another USB-C port. Battery: These systems do not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorised. Systems will continue to boot, but may not charge unauthorised batteries. Lenovo has no responsibility for the performance or safety of unauthorised batteries, and provides no warranties for failures or damage arising out of their use. **Battery life is based on the MobileMark® 2014 methodology and is an estimated maximum. Actual battery life may vary based on many factors, including screen brightness, active applications, features, power management settings, battery age and conditioning, and other customer preferences.

Another important factor to consider is longevity. When you buy a high-quality LENOVO IdeaPad 5i Pro 14″ Laptop, you’re making an investment that is likely to last longer. Cheaper products may seem like a good deal at the time, but they are often made with lower-quality materials and are not designed to last as long. This means that you may end up having to replace your device sooner, which can end up costing you more in the long run. In addition, high-quality gadgets and technology products tend to have better performance. This is particularly important for products that are used for tasks such as gaming, video editing, or graphic design. A high-quality LENOVO IdeaPad 5i Pro 14″ Laptop is likely to have better specs and features, which will translate into better performance and a better user experience.This year's Flex 5i 14 is almost physically identical to the model I reviewed a year ago. The top cover, instead of plastic, is now aluminum. It provides better rigidity for the display, important when you're often twisting it around for tent, stand, and tablet modes. The bottom portion of the chassis is still a polycarbonate with glass fiber woven in. There's a bit of flex due to the plastic, but overall the laptop feels rigid. Weighing in at about 3.3 pounds (1.5kg) it is certainly portable. The soft finish has a bit of texture with a nice feel, and you can get it in three different colors: Abyss Blue, Graphite Grey, or Platinum Grey. I have the Graphite model for review. It’s important to note that when shopping for gadgets and technology products, it can be tempting to go for the lowest price possible. However, be wary of retailers that offer prices that seem too good to be true. Some less reputable retailers may sell counterfeit or low-quality products, which can be dangerous and not perform as well as the genuine product.

Despite growing acceptance for 2-in-1 convertibles, the key choice is whether you actually need tablet mode or a touch screen. Since the pen is an optional extra, Lenovo is hedging its bets somewhat. However, that’s also true with Dell’s Inspiron 2-in-1 series and others that don’t include their supported stylus pens, either.The optional digital pen support gives you a new way to record your thoughts and ideas while on the go. Get the most from your PC with the Lenovo Ideapad 5 Series laptops. It will keep up with you all day long with its long battery life of rapid charging, and low thermal design power (TDP) of 30W. We estimate Windows 11 support will end in October 2031. However, this laptop may be compatible with a future version of Windows that gets support beyond this date Results for the 100% brightness test was a bit of an anomaly, since the Flex 5i came in second with 400.8 nits, an impressive score. The Acer Spin 5 was best, with 552.8 nits. The Yoga 7i brought in a respectable 324 nits. In PCMark 10 we get a score of 4811, which is way more than the score Intel Core i7-1065G7 is listed with (3179), and the latter is a chip that is commonly used in laptops in the same price range as Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14”. There is really no doubt that you are getting a lot of performance for your money here. The 12th Generation Core i5-1235U (U for ultraportable) Intel Core i5 CPU is energy efficient, at some cost to performance, compared to Intel P-series CPUs (not to mention even higher-end Core H chips). Like many of the 12th Generation Alder Lake CPUs, the 1235U is a hybrid architecture combining Performance-cores (P-cores) and Efficient-cores (E-cores).

To the question of “needing” a 2-in-1 laptop, I can attest that—although I’m plenty comfortable with non-touch laptops—pressing an onscreen button or link in laptop mode is just plain simpler than with a touchpad or mouse. Likewise, it’s handy to flip into tent or tablet mode when sharing information.

Testing the IdeaPad: Everyday Computing Is a Cinch 

You could make the case that Lenovo might have done better with a larger battery than the 52.5Wh one it used, even at a modest weight gain. The slightly more power-hungry processor in the Acer Spin 5 didn’t prevent the system from scoring right in the middle on battery life, at 12 hours and 38 minutes. On the right edge, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a rarity on ultraportable laptops these days, and handy for connecting one of the vast number of devices that haven't yet moved to USB-C. The right edge also hosts a full-size SD card reader and the Flex 5i's power button. Side-mounted power buttons are easier to use when the laptop is propped up like an easel, but be careful not to accidentally press the button when you grasp the Flex 5i on its sides. There are no Thunderbolt 4 ports, but we don't expect one at this price. (Photo: Molly Flores)

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rain forests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University. Lenovo Voice: Lets you control the laptop by voice and translate speech to another language in real-time. It also has a voice-to-text feature. I've been a computer-tech writer and editor for several decades, and a photographer who writes about photo techniques and equipment for over a decade. My first job in the tech press was as a writer for Compute! magazine, where we used Commodore 64s from Circuit City as word processors. I next became the editor of Computer Dealer, offering advice to computer retailers, then moved on to Personal Computing as an executive editor, where I developed the magazine's benchmark suite. I held several positions at the massive Computer Shopper magazine before becoming editor in chief. While at Computer Shopper (owned by CNET Networks at the time), I edited bi-annual issues of Technology Review as a joint project with Fortune magazine. A convertible PC is often used for media — the stand or tent modes make it quite easy — so the speakers need to be able to keep up. There is a single 2W speaker on either side of the keyboard for unmuffled sound when the PC is on your lap. It's going to face away from you if you're using the Flex 5i as a tablet, but the sound is good enough that it shouldn't matter. The speakers get loud, they remain clear, and there's no buzzing. I listened to music and watched TV without issue. A pair of 2-watt speakers produce typically tinny laptop audio. They have enough muscle to fill a small room, but that room will be devoid of bass. Movies and shows sound passable, but you'll want headphones or an external Bluetooth speaker for listening to music.

Because life happens

Of the comparison convertibles we match against the Flex 5i, three have the Intel Core i7-1255U and one the Intel Core i7-1255P, which outperform the Core i5-1235U on the Flex 5i. The fifth system has an 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1135G7, with only 8GB of RAM. Interestingly, a Flex 5i available from Walmart with the Core i7-1255U likewise comes with only 8GB RAM. Investing in a Lenovo Ideapad 5 Series 11th Generation laptop will be well worth your time and money if you need a long-term computing solution. Any gamer or designer who relies on a rich multimedia experience or requires a large amount of storage and memory will appreciate the peace of mind that comes with having their hardware kept up to date. The Flex 5i 14 measures a compact 0.7 by 12.3 by 8.9 inches, matching the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 (0.7 by 12.4 by 8.9 inches) and a fraction deeper than the Lenovo Yoga 7i 14 (0.68 by 12.5 by 8.7 inches). It also equals the Inspiron's weight at 3.5 pounds, a tad heavier than the 3.2-pound Yoga 7i 14 or the last IdeaPad Flex 5i we tested, which was 3.3 pounds.