Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook overview: An cheap 2-in-1 for college or work

Initially stare, the Lenovo Flex 5 looks prefer it must save loads bigger than it does (at demonstrate $478 on Amazon). This 13-dart convertible pc has a 1080p show cloak cloak, a quick keyboard, and a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, plus it weighs not up to three kilos.

There may be continuously a safe, though, and in this case, or not it’s the demonstrate. Despite the proven fact that it looks sharp ample and provides lovely viewing angles, the volume of sunshine bleed someday of the facets of the demonstrate make for an shocking multimedia experience, especially when blended with anemic stereo speakers.

The pause result’s a pc that you just perchance would not are looking out to make exhaust of for media playback. But must that you just can perchance be honest correct looking out for a cheap, browser-first pc for productiveness or schoolwork, the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook is a huge save.

This overview is fragment of our ongoing roundup of the handiest laptops. High-tail there for knowledge on competing products and how we examined them. 

Tech specs

The Lenovo Flex 5 comes in different variations, however the $410 mannequin we reviewed has the following specs:

• 13-dart, 1080p IPS touchscreen with 360-diploma hinge
• Intel Core i3-1011U processor
• 64GB of eMMC flash storage
• 4GB of DDR4 RAM
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 720p webcam
• Left aspect: USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, USB-A 3.1 Gen 1, headphone jack, MicroSD card slot
• Factual aspect: USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, Kensington Lock
• Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Weight: 2.97 kilos (3.6 kilos with strength brick)

Jared Newman / IDG

These are swish powerful the correct tech specs for a Chromebook. While Lenovo does offer configurations with a Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM, that’s potentially going to be overkill unless that you just can perchance be an affect particular person working some tense Linux capabilities. Even with an Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM, you perchance received’t sight any slowdowns while bouncing among browser tabs, nor must you fetch gotten any distress with Android apps like Microsoft Notice. The port different is solid as successfully, diversified than the dearth of an HDMI port for connecting an exterior demonstrate.

Kind and demonstrate

Lenovo made an entertaining option with the originate materials for the Flex 5. While the discontinue cover is made of aluminum, the underside fragment uses ABS plastic. You can feel and watch the incompatibility in materials, with aluminum being more reflective and cooler to the contact. Clashing textures apart, the Flex 5 in all equity gorgeous for an economical pc, with sharp aspect edges and an angular entrance lip paying homage to Lenovo’s pricier C740 and C940 Yoga fluctuate.

Jared Newman / IDG

The demonstrate feels loads more affordable, though. While the 13-dart touchscreen can flip around 360 levels into tablet mode, brightness maxes out at 250 nits, which isn’t surely ideal to be used originate air or in reveal sunlight.

The demonstrate panel furthermore has light bleed points, showing up as blotches of shiny light someday of the facets of the show cloak cloak. You received’t sight it powerful on light backgrounds, nevertheless it becomes obtrusive in darkish scenes someday of video playback.

Jared Newman / IDG

And while the Flex 5 technically supports stylus enter, Lenovo does not embody one within the box, nor does the pc present a handy attach of residing to attach it.

Jared Newman / IDG

Keyboard and trackpad

At the same time as you happen to love a composed keyboard, you are going to love the one on the Flex 5. The backlit keys barely make a sound when you depress them (though the distance bar’s a itsy-bitsy bit louder than the relaxation), and they also offer a nice itsy-bitsy bump as you press down. Now not like Lenovo’s pricier laptops, the Flex 5’s keycaps don’t fetch the rounded (or “scooped”) bottom edges which are speculated to compare the form of your fingers, however that failed to unhurried down my typing in any noticeable manner.

Jared Newman / IDG

The trackpad, meanwhile, is as huge as what you are going to safe on Lenovo’s more costly Yoga, however sadly or not it’s not fairly as soft. Observe too powerful tension, and your finger will skip someday of the trackpad as you strive to lunge the cursor around. Love fairly an expansion of diversified PCs, the click on mechanism is furthermore on the stiff aspect, and it will get stiffer the farther your finger moves up the trackpad. It be a tolerable trackpad experience overall, however not a huge one.

Webcam and sound

The Flex 5 Chromebook’s multimedia ingredients are about as moderate as you are going to search files from for this save fluctuate. The 720p webcam produces bland and grainy videos, so that you just are going to gape no greater than the wide majority of diversified folks video-chatting from their laptops. The digital camera does, nevertheless, embody a physical privateness shutter that you just may be ready to slip over the lens.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any microphone shutoff key for fleet disabling the Chromebook’s Google Assistant ingredients. To halt Assistant from listening, you are going to must dig into the Flex 5’s settings menu.

Jared Newman / IDG

Talking of audio, the speaker grilles on both aspect of the Flex 5 keyboard gape like they’d pack a punch, however in actuality the 2W speakers fetch almost no bass and don’t safe very loud. They manufacture not not up to give some decent stereo separation.

Performance

To reiterate, here’s not a high-performance Chromebook. Its 10th-generation Intel Core i3-10110U processor is, nevertheless, a gash succor above the Pentium- and Celeron-powered machines that sell within the $200 to $300 fluctuate. Our benchmark testing grew to develop into up some surprisingly solid outcomes even when put next with some Core i5-based entirely mostly models.

First up is CrXPRT 2, a general performance check that simulates a gamut of initiatives equivalent to photo editing, rate-taking, showing webpages, and rendering 3D graphics. The Lenovo Flex 5 did attain in within the succor of diversified Chromebooks with quicker chips and more RAM, equivalent to Asus’ Chromebook Flip C436, however not by powerful.

Melissa Riofrio / IDG

The Flex 5 fared even greater within the Speedometer 2 benchmark, edging out the aforementioned Chromebook Flip. This check measures responsiveness in web apps by adding, striking off, and checking off items in a to-manufacture list. Anecdotally, I met no frustrations utilizing web apps in dependable exhaust, and the benchmark check validates which fetch.

Melissa Riofrio / IDG

Basemark Net 3.0 used to be more of a concern for the Flex 5, which isn’t surely an unparalleled shock because it tests graphically-intense capabilities alongside JavaScript calculations. It be restful not without lengthen a low-performance machine geared toward general productiveness initiatives.

Melissa Riofrio / IDG

Battery life is a itsy-bitsy little bit of a letdown as successfully, lasting 8 hours and 47 minutes in CrXPRT 2’s battery rundown check. That is on the decrease pause for a midpriced Chromebook, though not unpleasant overall. It’ll be ready to closing by arrangement of a college day’s price of distant learning without scheme back.

Melissa Riofrio / IDG

The Lenovo Flex 5 is a factual instance of a Chromebook that is aware of what or not it’s for. The show cloak cloak’s light bleed points and audio quality are downers, however they put not seem to be going to safe within the style of labor or college. The mix of a 13-dart paunchy HD show cloak cloak, 10th-generation Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM is solely correct ample to tackle general productiveness workloads while staying will under the $500 mark.

Chromebooks in most cases need to not easy to search out at their dependable retail costs factual now, however the Lenovo Flex 5 is one which justifies even a fairly inflated asking save.

• Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook 82B80006UX

  The Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook is a classy save must you are going to be ready to gape previous some show cloak cloak and speaker points.

  Pros

  • 1080p show cloak cloak with wide viewing angles
  • Still, snappy keyboard
  • Solid performance for the price

  Cons

  • Show has light bleed someday of the facets
  • Audio system are composed and missing in bass
  • Battery life would be greater