The Flex 5 proves it's possible to offer performance acceptable for light gaming or occasional number-crunching and multimedia editing in a laptop that costs far less than category flagships like the Dell XPS 13 or the Apple MacBook Pro. This will no doubt vary based on what you're using the laptop for, but you should expect to get a full workday out of a charge. Take the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14, for example. An active pen is included with the laptop, making the value climb even higher. I would like to receive news and offers from other Future brands. The touchpad is a bit stiff for my liking, but it still tracks accurately. At least a lot of hubs and docks are including power passthrough these days if you decide to carry a dongle with you. Sign up now to get the latest news, deals & more from Windows Central! And the AMD-powered Flex 5 14 is a performer, both in terms of raw processing and integrated graphics. Image quality appeared quite noisy and occasionally washed out in my testing, although that's par for the course for laptop webcams. In tablet mode that measurement might take a bit of getting used to, especially if you're used to a Surface Pro or iPad with a much thinner body. Most of its similarly priced competitors use Intel Core i3 or Core i5 CPUs, including the Asus VivoBook S15, the Lenovo Yoga C640, and the Lenovo Yoga C740. It's a great leap forward for mobile computing. The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14 punches far above its weight. The backlit keyboard offers remarkably stable key switches, making for a comfortable and satisfying typing experience. The maxed-out Flex 5 configuration still rings up at a reasonable $800. If you drop down to 8GB of RAM for the AMD Ryzen 5 model, that difference shifts to only about $100. The speakers include Dolby Atmos certification to give them a bit of a boost, and for the most part I didn't mind the sound. The Flex 5 lasted for more than 16 hours in our video rundown test, which involves looping a locally stored 720p video at 50 percent screen brightness with airplane mode turned on. Ask a question Sharon, 2020-09-10T02:41:15.000Z 2 … While the Flex 5's 14-inch display could be brighter and it could stand to lose a few ounces, it's nevertheless a screaming-good value and an excellent mainstream laptop. As a hardware analyst, Tom tests and reviews laptops, peripherals, and much more at PC Labs in New York City. All things considered, though, Lenovo has this priced in the budget range and there it excels. $19.99 $ 19. Keep an eye on your inbox! It stresses the CPU, storage subsystem, and RAM, but it can also take advantage of most GPUs to speed up the process of applying filters, so systems with powerful graphics chips or cards may see a boost. An external display will fix the problem — and the Flex has the native ports to handle it — but having a complete package is preferred. The sizable fan kicks on only when needed and doesn't get too loud, and it turns off shortly after the laptop is done being stressed. The SK hynix SSD isn't the fastest stock storage we've seen — the Samsung SSD in the 2019 Flex 14 was considerably faster — but it still puts up decent numbers and can be upgraded after purchase. It’s all here in the Flex 5, a stylish 14” 2-in-1 laptop with powerful processors and long-lasting battery life. Here are the exact specs as found in my review unit of the IdeaPad Flex 5 14. A score of nearly 40 frames per second in the Unigine Superposition test at 720p resolution and low quality settings suggest you can even expect to play intensive 3D games, as long as you turn the quality and resolution settings way down. It's an average camera that is there for video conferencing, but don't expect anything special. Your subscription has been confirmed. When it comes to image editing in Adobe Photoshop, the Flex 5’s advantage isn’t as great. That's clearly not possible with the integrated graphics capabilities of the Core i5 and Core i3 chips represented here. Ultimately, if you're shopping for an affordable convertible and don't mind the underwhelming display or can work around it, the Flex 5 14 is a (mostly) enjoyable device. Unlike the 2019 Flex 14, fan noise is not nearly as loud even at its maximum speed. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14" Convertible Laptop, FHD (1920 x 1080) Touch Display, Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor, 8GB DDR4 Onboard RAM, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics, Win 10, 81X1004RUS, Graphite … They're about what's expected from a laptop this price; loud audio that's a bit tinny and some bass. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14 The Intel-based Yoga C740 14 brings a solid aluminum convertible chassis, excellent touchpad and keyboard, and plenty of configuration options. https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/lenovo-ideapad-flex-5-14, Relatively heavy for a 14-inch ultraportable. If you'd rather stick with a lighter color, the Flex 5 is also available in Platinum Gray. Mobile phone screens are a touch on the small side for capable Project xCloud streaming. Insert has moved to the left and is coupled with a Lenovo Vantage hotkey. Here are our thoughts. Note there's no IR camera option for facial recognition. Some flagship 2-in-1 designs are noticeably smaller and lighter, including the 13.3-inch HP Elite Dragonfly (2.2 pounds) and the 13.4-inch Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2.9 pounds). 4.2 out of 5 stars 15. 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 5 on its sides. For even more power, you can configure a Flex 5 with an eight-core Ryzen 7 4700U. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. There’s nothing specifically eye-catching about it, but the laptop has a simplicity to it that we like a lot. Other than the rather heavy chassis, the Flex 5’s only other noteworthy flaw is its screen, which suffers from a relatively dim backlight rated for just 250 nits of brightness. For the price, though, it might be easy to ignore. The USB-C port can be used to charge the laptop, and Lenovo includes an AC adapter with a USB-C plug, rendering the dedicated power port an anachronism. Integrated pens are much smaller and less comfortable for long sketching sessions, but they're much less likely to be misplaced since they’re stored and recharged in a slot that's built into the notebook. The Graphite Gray color scheme of our review unit is also intriguing, making the laptop darker and moodier-looking than the mostly silver schemes of other Lenovo ultraportables. The Flex 5 14's touch display is undoubtedly its weakest feature. © 1996-2020 Ziff Davis, LLC. This makes it a full-fledged digital stylus, unlike the integrated digital pens included with premium 2-in-1s like the Lenovo Yoga C940 and the Samsung Galaxy Book Flex. The base and lid have some flex to them — if you're used to an aluminum build you will notice it — but nothing that's alarming. Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning. And with various iterations of those CPUs. The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is on sale for $100 off from the Microsoft Store ahead of Black Friday.The IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is a budget-friendly laptop running on AMD's Ryzen 4000 line of … The review unit of ideapad flex 5 14 laptop has a simplicity to it that we like a lot of laptops. Use the USB-C port at the same despite the refresh, though, it might be to! Upgrade option this would ideapad flex 5 14 really matter, but you could eke out play! Deals & more from technology can show how well a laptop deals with and! 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