Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 14 Inch Touch FHD Intel Pentium, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, Chromebook – Storm Grey Laptop

Product Information

This is definitely more of a mid-range performer, even with the 4 GB of RAM, that should suit most Chromebook user’s needs. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a definite contender for “Chromebook of the year” based on the price and performance. When it comes to storage performance as measured by PCMark 10's Full System Drive benchmark, the Flex's 512GB SSD easily outclasses the VivoBook's drive. Some systems, including the Pavilion x360 15, fail to complete this wide-ranging set of real-world trace-based tests, which include launching complex apps like Adobe Photoshop and booting up Windows 10. (See more about how we test laptops.)

Chrome OS has grown over the years since its first release. With each update, something new is added to make a feature better or have Chrome OS in general run much smoother. At the time of this review being published, the current OS version was 93.0.4577.107. This update doesn’t compare to new features as Chrome OS 92 does, but some bug fixes and minor additions make the operating system run smoother.

A Moody Gray 2-in-1

The next step in the price analysis was to look at the average price you would typically expect to pay for Laptops and as Currys PC World was selected for this review we’ve used them for gathering our information on the average price of Laptops. 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) 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.

I won’t spend much time discussing the design as I covered much of that in my first impressions earlier this month. If you missed those, here are the main takeaways: Let’s take a look at LENOVO IdeaPad 5i 14″ Laptop in more detail and see what makes it worthwhile of a review score of 9.2 out of 10. There were also a total of 16 products that were more expensive from Lenovo and 17 that were cheaper. Price of Lenovo products in the Laptops category The newest chip is a Pentium processor but handily beats a Core i5 that’s two generations old. And it fares better against last year’s Core i3 mobile CPU as well.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is a solid, affordable school laptop

The webcam has a standard 720p resolution and offers enough clarity for a video call, whether via Zoom or Google Meet. Battery Life We are happy to report that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14-inch feels snappy and handles multitasking very well. Working with 10-15 tabs open in Chrome at the same times proves to be no issue, even when editing spreadsheets at the same time. 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. The sound quality on the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook Gen 6 is decent. It’s not the greatest but does offer plenty no matter what you’re playing. Since the speakers are front-facing, you’re getting the most out of the sound quality versus what you would if the speakers were at the bottom of the laptop.

The new chassis material adds rigidity and having USB Type-C ports on both sides of it is fantastic. Putting all of those on one side should be a criminal offense, in my opinion. I liked the continued inclusion of a physical slider to disable the webcam. The webcam itself is average at best, but serviceable. The laptop reviewed here belongs to a sensible middle ground of Lenovo 2-in-1s that bear the Flex moniker. They're available in multiple screen sizes from 11 to 15 inches, but the 14-inch IdeaPad Flex 5i is arguably the sweetest spot. It's not bulky, which means you can hold the laptop in one hand and rotate the screen or tap on it with your other hand. But it has enough screen real estate to make movie watching and spreadsheet editing possible on a cramped airplane tray table. (Photo: Molly Flores) If you’re in the market for a higher-end Chromebook, want a 2-in-1 device, or desire a touchscreen, this isn’t the Chromebook for you. Anyone else on a limited budget should definitely consider the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Chromebook, although I’d recommend waiting for a sale. This is even more impressive considering our review unit only has 8 GB of RAM, and even Photoshop runs fine as long as you’re working on smaller projects. However, if you're planning on doing more demanding work, you should probably consider getting a model with 16 GB of RAM.

I can genuinely say that the battery life on Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5i Gen 6 is superb and will be able to get you through multiple days of usage from one charge. Keep in mind that everyone’s battery usage will vary depending on what users are doing. Price

If you have your heart set on a particular brand or even a selection of brands then we’d suggest you spend a bit of time writing up a list of the brands that you would happily buy. This can really help you in narrowing down the selection when it comes to choosing a product. For example, over at Currys PC World you can filter products by brand, so you could filter just to show the brands on your list. This is especially useful knowing that there are 155 Laptops to choose from at Currys PC World. Windows 10 SIntel Core i3-1005G1 ProcessorRAM: 8 GB / Storage: 128 GB SSDFull HD screenBattery life: Up to 9 hours An Intel Pentium processor and 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM should be enough for students at school or used in the workplace. If you’re not looking to do some high-end tasks, you’ll be more than happy with the results on performance. If you are, you can also configure this Chromebook with up to an Intel Core i5 processor. Sound As we covered earlier choosing a brand can be really key to getting the right product in the Laptops category. There are loads of great brands out there each offering great products at different levels of quality and price. If brand is important to you, we’re sure you already know that Lenovo is a great choice. With 36 products available from Lenovo there’s plenty of choice too.

Power, Flexibility, and Value

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. I also have to admit: Even though it doesn’t appear on the specs, I really like the LED battery indicator. A portable Pentium powerhouse As for charging, it comes with a 45W AC adapter that can recharge the battery from low battery to full in about two and a half hours. It’s not the longest wait time, but if you’re near an outlet doing work, you won’t even notice a thing. Next up after looking at the category and the average prices, we thought it would be good to take a look at the brand, Lenovo. The speakers are way better than what you would expect from a laptop in this price range. It helps a lot that they are faced upwards, and apart from the fact that they are impressively loud, they also deliver a sound stage that is both wide and fairly balanced with okay bass response, considering their size. They can't compete with a good pair of speakers or headphones, but they will do just fine for watching YouTube videos or a TV show as long as loud and dramatic sound isn't the main focus.