Lost in the conversations about ARM-powered laptops and their potential futures is the discussion about what current x86 devices offer and Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 delivers a compelling counter argument to the Qualcomm-craze the industry seems to be engaging with as of late.
Yes, the potential upside of ARM-powered devices offers a new ceiling of performance and efficiencies that current x86 laptops have glacially moved towards, but vast amounts of software in the world have already been engineered for x86 architecture and instead of asking developers to rewrite their codes, AMD and Lenovo are looking to simply offer a bridging experience that’s worth considering.
Starting at just $600, the IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 provides excellent value for money, especially considering its robust hardware configuration of a a 14-inch Full HD+ IPS touchscreen with a 16:10 aspect ratio that offers vibrant visuals and responsive touch capabilities, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a modern chassis design reminiscent of Apple’s MacBook Pro. The IdeaPad 5 is also available in attractive colors like Luna Grey and a distinctive Cosmic Blue that coincidentally matches Samsung’s latest blue colorway for its Galaxy Fold 6, for those who find coordinated aesthetics appealing (aka color coordinating OCD).
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 is an impressive addition to the budget-friendly convertible laptop market, offering a compelling mix of performance and affordability. Powered by the latest AMD Ryzen HS-series processors, including options like the Ryzen 5 8645HS and Ryzen 7 8845HS.
In my week with the Lenovo IdeaPad 5, this device has delivered a smooth multitasking and efficient experience for the everyday tasks I engage with that includes loads of data analysis and processing, intermediate graphics editing, as well as amateur video content creation.
Staring at the 14-inch display on the IdeaPad was aided by the three hundred nits of brightness offered during indoor use, and since I work in an office from 9am to 6pm, that’s more than I needed. For those of you working outdoors, then you probably already know your minimum nits’ requirements and the IdeaPad 5 wasn’t a contender to being with.
In a world of 120Hz, PixelSense, and ProMotion panels, the mid 60Hz panel on the IdeaPad 5 is sufficient for most viewing experiences. Unless compared side by side, to which most people don’t do, because who has more than one personal computer at a time – the IdeaPad does an admirable job of displaying the content needed at the time.
Where AMD pushes itself forward in the performance and efficiency conversation over Intel and among the ranks of the new Qualcomm processors is with its handling on integrated graphics that allow it to straddle the line of battery maintenance during graphically intensive workloads versus price.
The integrated AMD Radeon 700-series graphics further enhance its capabilities, making it suitable for light gaming and multimedia editing all for the low price of $600 USD or $700 USD for the beefier 780M variant. However, for the hundred dollar bump, customers also get a more powerful GPU as well as more storage in a 1TB SSD configuration.
Despite its low price, Lenovo has managed to include a variety of ports, a full-sized keyboard with backlighting, and additional features like a fingerprint reader, making it a well-rounded choice for budget-conscious consumers. Lenovo’s inclusion of a fingerprint reader is a concession customers make in the absence of Windows Hello supported facial recognition, while offering an equally secure bio-authentication solution.
As I mentioned earlier, the design of the IdeaPad 5 is that of the Apple MacBook except for the inclusion of two full sized USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A ports.
Where the penny pinching by Lenovo starts to rear its ugly head is with the trackpad and keyboard experience, I’ve experienced early on. Just a week or so into using the IdeaPad 5 and its double click trackpad feels dated compared to the growing competition of haptic engineered options.
Lenovo has been slow to move away from its mechanical trackpad design that funnel most clickable activities to the bottom two corners of the trackpad which leave gaps for dust, dirt, and liquids to enter as well as manufacturing a loud and plasticky sound with each push. Fortunately, Windows offers trackpad settings to enable single and two finger tapping as click confirmations so customers don’t have to fully push into the designated corners as Lenovo’s trackpad would like to force everyone into.
The keys on the deck of the IdeaPad spaced far enough apart to prevent accidental taps but also far enough for some fast typers coming from a Dell, HP or even a ThinkPad, to relearn their typing timing. The keys on the IdeaPad 5 also feel a bit stiffer and out place on the deck as they feel a bit more raised than other modern keyboard decks.
However, the typing and trackpad experience I would wager are easily adjusted to after a long day of work or a couple of days of light use.
Despite not being telegraphed as the AI-PC savior like Qualcomm’s latest offerings, the IdeaPad 5 is still an AI-enabled PC, equipped with patented Microsoft Copilot button and 16 TOPS of neural processing unit (NPU) support.
Unfortunately, because of Microsoft’s skittishness on releasing its flagship AI-enhanced search platform, it really means the IdeaPad 5 mostly benefits in the conferencing tech upgrades afforded by the additional processing unit. The IdeaPad 5 supports those nifty Windows Studio effects which could save customers a few dollars in buying dedicated microphones and webcams for the next set of office conference calls.
After only a week of use, the battery life on the IdeaPad seems to be on par with other AMD offerings which has me wondering how much of a power tax Microsoft and its PC makers are expecting future AI tools to take on these devices. Part of the pitch is that these AI first PCs would see battery and efficiency improvements never seen on Windows devices, but so far, they are only marginally improved over yester years Intel and AMD efforts.
Perhaps, when AI is enabled, most of these devices would have taken a massive hit in battery performance if not for these dedicated NPUs which only seemed focused on handling the non-existent AI platforms and tools at the moment, otherwise graphic and efficiency gains in these new AI-led devices seem to be evolutionary versus revolutionary.
I say all that, to point out that for almost half the price of a new ARM-powered device, customers can snatch up this IdeaPad 5 and get about 95 percent of the same marketed experiences as the more expensive Qualcomm enabled toys.
I’ve been able to edit hour long video podcast with output rendering times of 30 mins or less with 1080p HD quality, play Palworld on medium settings with nary a hiccup, as well as host Chrome and Edge sessions with over 20 tabs opened while also using Canva and Adobe Photoshop to create custom graphics for social media post, and the device just nails each task.
So far, there hasn’t been a ‘hot bag’ moment with the IdeaPad 5 as well as the absence of Windows locking up for unexplained reasons. Adobe crashed once while doing a Creative Suite update, but it should be noted that my Qualcomm-powered ThinkPad T14s can’t even run Premiere now due to lack of developer support.
The IdeaPad 5 maybe an evolutionary upgrade for AMD users, but it’s one that has a much lower barrier to entry as well as increased ceiling in performance worth exploring while Qualcomm and Microsoft continue to court developers for their ARM dream that may still be years in the making.
