The 2-in-1 convertible laptop is no longer automatically considered to be high-end hardware. Similar to budget-friendly original clamshells, you can purchase inexpensive ones. Let’s look at the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i: Its lightweight 3.31-pound design enables switching between touch-tablet and standard laptop modes quick and simple.
With 14 inches being a more and more popular screen size for convertibles, the light weight is paired with new, more durable hinges and a snappy touch screen. The panel brightness and battery life in particular could use improvement, but for $799 in our test unit (models start at $669), this is a good, if not outstanding, choice among widely available 2-in-1s.
We received a platform from Lenovo’s base model after speaking with them. This results in the Intel Core i5-1235U, a hybrid processor with just two performance cores and eight efficiency cores, unlike all other Alder Lake platforms. This CPU has a maximum turbo speed of 4.4GHz at 55w and a total of 12 threads.
This platform is equipped by Lenovo with 16GB of DDR4, soldered, thus there is no room for expansion, however it does operate at 3200MHz. 512GB of Gen4 SSD storage and a 15.6″ 1080p IPS display with touchscreen capability are further features. A single Thunderbolt port, together with HDMI and audio outputs, make up the expansion. An SD card reader and USB 3.2 are also included. We have the Intel AX201 for Wi-Fi 6 inside.
The stand or tent modes of a convertible Computer make it very easy to utilise one for media, therefore the speakers must be able to keep up. While the PC is on your lap, there is a single 2W speaker on either side of the keyboard for clear sound. If you use the Flex 5i as a tablet, it will face away from you, but the sound quality is sufficient enough that it shouldn’t be an issue. There is no buzzing, the speakers go louder, and they remain clear.
Because of its Ryzen 5 4500U processor, we praised the AMD IdeaPad Flex 5 for its performance. That was impressive at the time, but what a difference a year can make. That chip is currently an older model, and the new Ryzen 5000 series processors are much faster. Also, there is less of a difference between the older generation and the current 11th generation Intel chips. The Core i5-1135G7 in my review unit came with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB solid-state drive (SSD), allowing us to compare it not only to the prior AMD model but also to contemporary laptops.