Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (2023) recension: En prisvärd cabriolet till vardags

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is one of the company’s latest endeavors in making an affordable konvertibel bärbar dator, and it checks all the boxes you’d expect. The 13th-generation Intel processors are fast and efficient in delivering great battery life, and the screen is decent, if not overly impressive. It also has a nice design, with an aluminum top shell that makes it feel more premium than it actually is.

För sin MSRP tycker jag dock att Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i har hård konkurrens, även från Lenovo själv. De Lenovo Yoga 6 is one of my favorite convertibles, and it has a leg up on the IdeaPad Flex 5i because it’s significantly cheaper yet has a better display and a more appealing design. Still, the IdeaPad Flex 5i is a bra bärbar dator, särskilt om du kan hitta den till rea, vilket händer ofta med Lenovo.

 

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (2023)

Solid och prisvärd

En bra cabriolet om du kan få den billigt

770 $ 820 $ Spara 50 $

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is a budget convertible that can be used as a laptop or a tablet. You’ll also get solid performance courtesy of 13th-generation Intel Core processors, along with premium design elements.

Färg

Abyss Blue, Arctic Grey

lagring

Upp till 512GB SSD

CPU

Upp till Intel Core i7-1355U

Minne

Upp till 16 GB LPDDR4x

Operativ system

Windows 11

Batteri

52.5Whr batteri

Hamnar

1x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Typ A, 1x HDMI, 3.5 mm hörlursuttag, SD-kortläsare

Kamera

Upp till Full HD 1080p webbkamera

Display (storlek, upplösning)

14-inch IPS or OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 1920×1200, 42% NTSC, touch

Vikt

Börjar på 3.31 pund (1.5 kg)

GPU

Intel Iris Xe-grafik (integrerad)

Form

Cabriolet

Dimensionera

313.1×224.9×17.4mm (12.32×8.85×0.69 inches)

högtalare

2x 2W stereohögtalare med Dolby Audio

Pris

Börjar på $ 819.99

Modell

IdeaPad Flex5i

Adapter och batteri

65W fatladdare

Fördelar

• Metalllock ger den en premiumkänsla
• 13:e generationens Intel-processorer levererar fantastisk prestanda
• Bekvämt tangentbord och pekplatta
• 1080p webbkamera

Nackdelar

• Displayen ser urtvättad ut
• Nej Windows Hej ansiktsigenkänning
• Använder en fatladdare

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i: Pris och tillgänglighet

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is available at various retailers, including Lenovo’s own website and Best Buy. Outside of sales, the cheapest model I could find starts at $820, but you’re bound to find it on sale frequently since Lenovo often has deals.

My review unit is a slight upgrade from the base model, featuring 512GB of SSD storage instead of 256GB. The official MSRP for this model is listed on Lenovo’s website at $850, but it’s currently going for $550. At that price, it’s a fantastic deal.

Designa

Enkelt, men med lite premiumkänsla

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i isn’t exactly an exciting laptop design-wise, but you’d probably expect that from an affordable machine. It does come in an Abyss Blue colorway that’s more appealing than a standard black or silver design. I also like that the lid is made of metal, which gives the laptop a very premium feel. It feels pretty sturdy, and it looks great, too. The base, however, is made of plastic, which is fine for this price range.

One thing it doesn’t excel at is being light. For a 14-inch convertible, its 3.31 pounds aren’t all that impressive, but that makes sense for a billigare bärbar dator. It’s not necessarily heavy, but for reference, the 15-inch MacBook Air weighs the same despite having a larger screen.

Oddly enough, the laptop still comes with a barrel charger, even though it’s the 2023 model. It’s actually kind of confusing because it has a USB-C port and even supports Thunderbolt 4. It’s surprising to me that Lenovo didn’t just opt for a USB-C charger, especially considering this isn’t exactly a bottom-of-the-barrel laptop. Either way, the left side of the laptop also includes an HDMI port and a headphone jack.

On the right side, you’ll find two USB Type-A ports and a full-size SD card reader, making for solid connectivity overall. Considering you have Thunderbolt 4 if you want to connect a dock, it’s hard to complain.

Tangentbord och pekplatta

Att spika grunderna

There’s only so much I can say about the keyboard on the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i, and that’s a good thing. Lenovo has nailed keyboards for a while, and this one is still fairly comfortable, despite being on a cheaper laptop. It’s not outstanding, but it’s about as comfortable as you’d expect from a Lenovo, and that’s a great thing.

As for the touchpad, it’s only your standard affair. The Mylar surface is smooth enough for my fingers to glide across it with ease, and the size is also just right considering how much space is available. I’d expect a laptop at this price to make some sacrifices here, but I couldn’t really ask for much better.

Display och ljud

It’s enough for basic use

Where the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i falls a little flat is the display. In terms of resolution and format, it’s totally fine. It uses the newer 16:10 aspect ratio, which is always nice to see, especially in a more affordable laptop. The WUXGA resolution (1920×1200) is plenty sharp for a display of this size as well.

However, the colors aren’t the best. Lenovo rates this panel for 42% coverage of NTSC, which is dismal. It’s functional for the most part, especially with a job like mine that mostly revolves around writing. But it’s evident that colors are more washed out, and it’s bad enough to be noticeable by anyone. I couldn’t use my colorimeter to see the exact coverage values, but it’s apparent that it’s not amazing.

The media experience continues to be mediocre with the speakers. They’re not particularly loud — so much so that my phone is actually louder. They’re serviceable in a fairly quiet room, but if you’re expecting room-filling sound, this isn’t it.

En rejäl webbkamera, men ingen ansiktsigenkänning

However, the IdeaPad Flex 5i makes up for the bad display with its webcam. It supports Full HD (1080p) video, and it actually looks pretty good for an affordable laptop. It’s not going to blow your mind, but if you want just want to look clear during calls and meetings, it’s solid.

The camera doesn’t have Windows Hello facial recognition, however, which is something I’ve grown accustomed to with the Lenovo Yoga 6. You’ll have to settle for the fingerprint reader with this one.

Prestanda och batterilivslängd

Intel’s 13th-gen processors are pretty good

As you’d probably expect, the 2023 Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is powered by 13th-generation Intel Core processors, and my review unit specifically comes with a mid-range Intel Core i5-1335U. This processor has 10 cores and 12 threads, and it can boost up to 4.6GHz. Despite being a middle-of-the-road model, performance has actually been good for my daily use. Even with just 8GB of RAM, I didn’t find myself wishing for better performance that frequently. Multitasking hasn’t been a problem, and even making some light edits in Photoshop is totally fine. I’m pleasantly surprised with how well everything runs here.

Looking at benchmarks, it’s apparent that there is a noticeable improvement in performance compared to the previous generation’s processors. This Core i5 laptop can nearly match the performance of a high-end 12th-generation Core i7 model, like the one in the HP Dragonfly Folio G3. It’s also well ahead of the Ryzen 5 5500U processor used in the last-gen Lenovo Yoga 6, though it’s important to note that the latest Yoga 6 model has an improved Ryzen 5 7530U processor.

It’s pretty hard to complain about performance like this on a budget laptop. It really is perfectly fine for daily usage.

The processors also helped with battery life, too. I got solid results that spanned between 5 hours and 28 minutes and 7 hours and 22 minutes, which should be good enough for a whole day, assuming you’re not using the laptop the entire time away from an outlet. True all-day battery life is rare in a laptop, so this is excellent. I also ran my usual YouTube playback test at 720p and got 8 hours and 29 minutes out of it.

Ska du köpa Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i?

Du bör köpa Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i om:

• Du vill ha en konvertibel bärbar dator för relativt billigt
• Du bryr dig mer om prestanda än något annat
• Du har Thunderbolt 4-tillbehör som du vill använda med din bärbara dator

You shouldn’t buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i if:

• Du vill ha en bra display
• Du vill Windows Hej ansiktsigenkänning
• Lenovo Yoga 6 är ett alternativ

At the end of the day, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i has a few things going for it. It’s got pretty good performance with 13th-generation Intel processors, and even being limited to 8GB of RAM didn’t seem to have a huge negative impact. What’s more, It’s a fairly affordable laptop that comes with Thunderbolt 4 support, a pretty significant advantage compared to something like the Lenovo Yoga 6.

Den fick dock göra en del uppoffringar, som den dåliga färgåtergivningen på displayen. Det saknas också Windows Hej ansiktsigenkänningsstöd, två områden där Lenovo Yoga 6 har det slå. Dessutom kommer den fortfarande med en proprietär fatladdare, vilket verkar meningslöst för en bärbar dator i denna prisklass. Om du värdesätter prestanda mer än dessa saker är Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i ett bra köp, men det finns bättre alternativ där ute om du har andra prioriteringar.

 

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i (2023)

Solid budget cabriolet

770 $ 820 $ Spara 50 $

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i is a budget convertible that can be used as a laptop or a tablet. You’ll also get solid performance courtesy of 13th-generation Intel Core processors, along with premium design elements.