Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 overview: A convertible PC on a funds (generally)

Greatest Costs At the moment: Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 is a budget-focused 16-inch 2-in-1 PC — no less than that’s the pitch. You get a touchscreen and a 360-degree hinge so you possibly can watch Netflix in mattress, learn on it like a pill, and do different tablet-type duties. It prices round as a lot as a traditional clamshell laptop computer, however provided that it’s presently on sale.

The pricing story is messy. This machine is ok on the $649 sale worth I see it for proper now, however not on the $1,099 retail worth Lenovo suggests. It does usually appear to be on sale, which is how the PC market goes: Retail costs usually really feel like they’re set excessive to supply the looks of additional worth when a laptop computer is ceaselessly discounted.

At a sale worth ($649 as I’m penning this), the IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 delivers stable worth. At full worth, it doesn’t.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Specs

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1’s CPU is its finest {hardware} characteristic. The Intel Core Extremely 7 255U CPU is quick for this class, and mixing it with 16 GB of LPDDR5x-8000 RAM is a brilliant transfer. That is extra CPU and sooner RAM than you’d usually see in a PC on this class.

The remainder of the {hardware} isn’t too spectacular. The Intel graphics listed here are gradual — far behind Intel’s extra spectacular Lunar Lake {hardware} and the graphics you’d discover on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered ARM PC. And the NPU right here is just too gradual for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC options, so all of the speak about it “unlocking the facility of AI” is usually advertising and marketing.

There’s additionally no Thunderbolt or USB4 right here, and the wi-fi {hardware} is proscribed to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. 

• Mannequin quantity: Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16IAL10
• CPU: Intel Core Extremely 7 255U
• Reminiscence: 16 GB LPDDR5x-8000 RAM
• Graphics/GPU: Intel graphics
• NPU: Intel AI Enhance (as much as 12 TOPS)
• Show: 16-inch 1920×1200 IPS show with contact display screen and 60Hz refresh fee
• Storage: 512 GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p webcam
• Connectivity: 2x USB Sort-C (1x USB 5Gbps, 1x USB 10Gbps), 2x USB Sort-A (USB 5Gbps), 1x HDMI 1.4b, 1x combo audio jack, 1x microSD card reader
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: IR digital camera for Home windows Hiya
• Battery capability: 57 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.02 x 10.03 x 0.72 inches
• Weight: 4.41 kilos
• MSRP: $1,099 as examined

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 is a laptop computer that solely is smart when you notice the $1,099 MSRP isn’t its actual worth.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Design and construct high quality

The 16-inch Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 has a plastic backside and an aluminum high cowl. Out there in Luna Gray or Cosmic Blue, it’s a traditional laptop computer design.

The largest drawback is how heavy and chunky this machine is. With a weight of 4.41 kilos and a thickness of 0.72 inches, this isn’t the type of 2-in-1 machine you’d need to stroll round holding. If you happen to’re watching Netflix in mattress and have it resting in your lap, I can see it. You probably have it mendacity flat in your desk, I get it. Nevertheless it’s not a really moveable 2-in-1 expertise.

Other than that, the construct high quality feels effective however not “premium.” The hinge feels stable. Whereas there’s a little bit of flex to the keyboard deck when you press down on it (only a bit), that’s no shock because it’s plastic.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Keyboard and trackpad

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 has a full-size keyboard full with a quantity pad and white backlighting. It’s serviceable, however key journey feels on the shallow aspect for a laptop computer with 0.72 inches of thickness. It jogs my memory of keyboards I’ve used on thinner laptops. I don’t know if I’d name it mushy, precisely, however it’s definitely not snappy. If you happen to do a number of typing and a crisp keyboard expertise is vital to you, this in all probability isn’t the laptop computer I’d suggest.

The trackpad feels slightly on the small aspect for a 16-inch laptop computer with a keyboard deck this huge, however it’s not far off. It’s a reasonably common trackpad. It’s responsive sufficient after I transfer my finger over it, however the click-down motion is on the loud aspect — I feel most individuals would like a quieter click on.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Show and audio system

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 has a 16-inch IPS show with a 1920×1200 decision and a 60Hz refresh fee. For a 16-inch laptop computer that prices $649 on sale, that’s not too unhealthy.

Since this can be a 2-in-1 machine, it has a touchscreen. It additionally helps pen enter, however this machine does not embrace a pen. That’s bought individually.

The show could be very dim at as much as 300 nits of most brightness. That’s an issue because the coating is shiny to allow that contact display screen. This show could be very inclined to reflections, and it doesn’t have sufficient brightness to overpower them. In a brilliant sunlit room (or, even worse, outside), the reflections will likely be an issue. For Netflix in a darkish room, it’s not an issue.

I don’t usually obsess about shade accuracy in shows, however artists usually think about 2-in-1 machines for drawing. It’s price noting that this isn’t the kind of high-end show with rigorously tuned shade accuracy that you simply’d need when you had been doing graphic design.

The audio system are loud sufficient, however there’s practically no bass right here. They don’t sound significantly good. And that’s in clamshell mode! If you happen to put this 2-in-1 PC in tent mode, the audio system will likely be firing away from you. If you happen to put it in face-down mode, the audio system will likely be muffled. They’ll be firing into the floor underneath the PC. This machine looks like a clamshell laptop computer that Lenovo put a 360-degree hinge on. It wasn’t designed as a 2-in-1 for media.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 has a 1080p webcam, and it’s effective. It’s not a premium expertise. In my workplace, on a bright-but-cloudy day, even that pure lighting led to a loud image. The colours don’t look significantly lifelike. It’s higher than the poor-quality 720p webcams I see on some funds laptops, nevertheless. It does have a bodily webcam shutter swap, which is nice to see.

The microphone setup right here is nothing to jot down residence about, both. It really works, and it does job of canceling out background noise. Nevertheless it didn’t decide up my voice with significantly crisp audio high quality. These are serviceable for on-line conferences, however not spectacular.

This machine does have an IR digital camera for Home windows Hiya, so you possibly can sign up together with your face simply by opening the laptop computer. That’s nice to see.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Connectivity

Connectivity-wise, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 looks like a funds laptop computer. This machine has quantity of ports, however they’ve lower-tier specs. You don’t get any Thunderbolt or USB4 ports, and the HDMI port right here is HDMI 1.4b moderately than HDMI 2.1.

On the left aspect, this machine has an HDMI port and two USB Sort-C ports together with a combo audio jack. On the correct aspect, it’s obtained two USB Sort-A ports and a microSD card reader. For the reason that laptop computer prices by way of USB Sort-C, which means you’ll all the time be plugging the charging cable into the left aspect. A USB Sort-C port on all sides would’ve been nicer.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 helps Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, which feels slightly dated. Qualcomm Snapdragon X laptops across the $1,099 worth level (or much less) assist Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, so it might be good to see Lenovo doing extra right here. I’ve observed extra laptops omitting Wi-Fi 6E assist and going for Wi-Fi 6.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Efficiency

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1’s energy is its CPU efficiency. It does really feel like Lenovo splurged on the CPU in comparison with the whole lot else on this machine. Maybe they obtained deal from Intel. In day-to-day desktop utilization, the IdeaPad delivers a quick expertise.

As all the time, we ran the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 by our commonplace benchmarks to see the way it performs.

First, we run PCMark 10 to get an thought of total system efficiency. With an total rating of seven,058, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 machine delivered stable efficiency and didn’t carry out like a funds laptop computer. That’s stable for $649 and table-stakes for $1,099. The pricing recreation makes this machine tough to evaluate.

Subsequent, we run Cinebench R20. This can be a closely multithreaded benchmark that focuses on total CPU efficiency. It’s a fast benchmark, so cooling underneath prolonged workloads isn’t an element. However, because it’s closely multithreaded, CPUs with extra cores have an enormous benefit.

With a Cinebench R20 multi-threaded rating of 4,787, this machine beat Intel Lunar Lake-powered machines just like the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Professional 360 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1. Lunar Lake methods are extra energy environment friendly, have a lot increased efficiency, and so they can truly run Home windows 11’s Copilot+ PC AI options. However they wrestle with multithreaded efficiency attributable to Lunar Lake’s decrease core rely.

We additionally run an encode with Handbrake. That is one other closely multithreaded benchmark, however it runs over an prolonged interval. This calls for the laptop computer’s cooling kick in, and plenty of laptops will throttle and decelerate underneath load.

This machine accomplished the encode course of in 1,348 seconds, which is about 22 and a half minutes. It’s an affordable consequence, however this machine isn’t a velocity demon in comparison with high-end laptops, simply stable for its class.

Subsequent, we run a graphical benchmark. This isn’t a gaming laptop computer, however it’s nonetheless good to verify how the GPU performs. We run 3Dmark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU efficiency.

With a 3DMark Time Spy rating of two,439, the built-in Intel graphics right here didn’t impress. That’s a disgrace, as it might make this machine extra helpful for mild gaming. The spectacular Intel Arc graphics present in Lunar Lake machines haven’t made their method to different Intel methods but.

General, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 delivered stable efficiency for a $649 laptop computer however not what you’d need to see on a $1,099 laptop computer. Whether or not you’ll be pleased with it is determined by how a lot you paid.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Battery life

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 has a 57 Watt-hour battery, which is on the low aspect. Battery life is ok, however not significantly spectacular for a laptop computer in 2025.

To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Metal on repeat on Home windows 11 with airplane mode enabled till the laptop computer suspends itself. We set the display screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks, which meant cranking the brightness approach up. This can be a best-case state of affairs for any laptop computer since native video playback is so environment friendly, and actual battery life in day-to-day use is all the time going to be lower than this.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 lasted for 619 minutes on common earlier than suspending itself. That’s a bit underneath 10 and a half hours. A bigger battery would give this machine extra endurance, however this machine is already so heavy, and a bigger battery would additionally make it heavier — that’s not supreme.

Many 2-in-1s are designed to be light-weight moveable machines with lengthy battery life to allow them to be used as tablets for drawing. This machine delivers affordable battery life, however it’s not going to maintain going and going like fashionable 2-in-1s with Intel Lunar Lake or Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPUs.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1: Conclusion

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 is a laptop computer that solely is smart when you notice the $1,099 MSRP isn’t its actual worth. That full worth is foolish.

At $649, you’re getting a 16-inch 2-in-1 machine with a 360-degree hinge for not far more than a traditional 16-inch clamshell laptop computer. You’ll be able to have the 2-in-1 expertise and even get pleasure from pen enter when you purchase a pen individually.

However the show, weight, battery life, and lack of an included pen imply this isn’t a 2-in-1 expertise supposed for artists who care about severe shade copy. It’s additionally not for staff who desire a pen-friendly gadget they’ll carry round all day.

It’s respectable as an informal 2-in-1 expertise. Nonetheless, the place of the audio system is an actual drawback. This machine could also be good for video streaming in convertible mode, however you’ll need headphones to listen to what you’re watching.