By Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is one of the reasonably priced Snapdragon X Plus PCs starting to appear on store shelves. This $850 2-in-1 has a decent combination of features and performance, but its 3D performance and battery life are not as good as some of its rivals.
Specs and features
One of the many low-cost PCs with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Plus X1P-42-100 is the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. With eight CPU cores (down from the Snapdragon X Elite’s twelve) and a clock speed of 3.4GHz, this is the least powerful Snapdragon X variant.
- CPU: X1P-42-100 Qualcomm Snapdragon Plus
- 16GB LPDDR5x RAM; Qualcomm Adreno for graphics and graphics
- Qualcomm Hexagon (up to 45 TOPs) is the NPU.
- Display: 14-inch OLED touchscreen, 16:10, 1,920 x 1,200
- Storage: 1TB solid-state PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 storage
- 1080p webcam featuring a real privacy shutter
- The connectivity options include HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K@30Hz), two USB-C 3.0 (10Gbps) ports with Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, one headphone/microphone connector, one microSD card reader, and two USB-A 3.0 (5Gbps) ports.
- Networking: Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7.
- Biometrics: facial recognition and fingerprint readers
- Capacity of the battery: 57 watt-hours
- Measurements: 12.32 by 8.94 by 0.68
- 3.28 pounds in weight
- MSRP: $849.99
However, a less spectacular chip is to be expected given the 2-in-1’s $850 MSRP. It has 1TB of solid-state storage and a reasonable 16GB of RAM on either side. It is encouraging to see Lenovo did not cut corners on any of these specifications, even if neither is typical for a low-cost Windows laptop. It is also important to note that if you purchase an IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1, you can only use this configuration, which is the only model Lenovo presently offers for the North American market.
Design and build quality
It is also securely fastened together. When the laptop is handled from an edge or corner, the lower chassis does not wobble and almost little flex is visible when the display lid is opened. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 outperforms its price in this area, matching the build quality of more costly devices like the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 and Acer Swift 14 AI. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1, as the name implies, has a 360-degree hinge that allows you to push the screen back till the laptop turns into a tablet. However, the 2-in-1 is uncomfortable to use as a tablet because it weighs 3.28 pounds and is only 0.68 inches thick.
To be fair, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 weighs no more than rivals like the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, which weighs 3.77 pounds. However, if you drop the IdeaPad on your face while attempting to browse the web in bed, you will still get a black eye. Customers should consider more costly, thinner, and smaller solutions, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro if they truly want to get the most out of their touchscreen.
Connectivity
Lenovo IdeaPad 5x with two-in-one functionality Matthew Smith/IDG One advantage of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is its connection, which offers a fair mix of vintage and new connectivity options. Two USB-C ports on the left side allow you to connect a USB-C monitor via DisplayPort and charge the laptop using Power Delivery (the accompanying 65-watt charger uses USB-C). Two USB-A ports are located on the right, so you can easily connect an older wired keyboard and mouse. The possibilities are completed with a microSD card reader, 3.5mm combo audio connector, and HDMI 2.1 port.
I have a few complaints, even if this is a solid variety of possibilities. To be honest, the HDMI 2.1 is described as supporting only 4K at 30Hz, which is absurd for any laptop that is currently on the market. Low data speeds (10Gbps and 5Gbps, respectively) are also provided using the USB ports. But that also applies to the majority of low-cost Windows laptops. In contrast, wireless connectivity is really good. The laptop is compatible with the most recent iterations of both Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7. Since neither has been widely accepted yet, I anticipate that these wireless standards will continue to be sufficient for at least ten years, if not more.
Performance
Running benchmarks on the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is interesting, not because it is quick, but rather because it is (relatively) slow. The Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 CPU, which has eight cores instead of the 10 or 12 found in the more expensive Snapdragon chips, powers every IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. In addition, the laptop sports a 1TB solid-state drive and 16GB of memory. On paper, none of this is particularly impressive, but keep in mind that this laptop costs $850. It turns out that the slowest Snapdragon X Plus can compete with the AMD Ryzen 7 and mid-range Intel Core Series 5 chips that are commonly offered in this price range.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5X 2-in-1 Copilot+ – Extra-Long Battery Life – 14″ OLED Touch Display
The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 performed well in Cinebench 2024, a CPU benchmark with a moderate length and a high multithreaded workload. Because this benchmark is Arm native, running the application through emulation does not result in a performance penalty.
Here, the IdeaPad trounced the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition with Intel Core Series Ultra 256V and narrowly outperformed other laptops with Snapdragon X Plus CPUs.The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s performance is significantly impacted by Handbrake, a long-duration multithreaded CPU benchmark that is not Arm native. Compared to laptops with comparable hardware, its performance is significantly worse. Given that the software is not utilizing the Qualcomm hardware to its full potential, this is to be expected, but users of apps that have not made the switch to Arm need to be aware of this fact.
Battery life
Given that it uses Qualcomm’s least efficient Snapdragon X Plus CPU, you may anticipate that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 would perform well in battery testing. It still performs adequately, but that is untrue. In our typical test, which loops a 4K video of the short film Tears of Steel, I measured about 14 and a half hours of battery life. This light-load test often demonstrates the laptop’s capabilities under less taxing circumstances.
Do not be misled: In general, users will be pleased with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s endurance, as 14 and a half hours is a long period. Nevertheless, it is evident from the graph that rivals provide better endurance. That most likely has more to do with the laptop’s battery and screen than the Qualcomm CPU. Although many 14-inch devices have batteries in the 65–75-watt-hour range, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s 57-watt-hour battery is not small. Additionally, I have discovered that notebooks with OLED screens appear to require a little more power than those with LCD screens, and the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is no exception.
Conclusion
Do not be misled: In general, users will be pleased with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s endurance, as 14 and a half hours is a long period. Nevertheless, it is evident from the graph that rivals provide better endurance. If you are searching for a reasonably priced 14-inch laptop or 2-in-1 with a captivating OLED screen and strong connectivity, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a fantastic option. At $850, it is easier to overlook its shortcomings in 3D performance and battery life. Customers may choose the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 if they are looking for a Windows computer that is fun to use for everyday tasks and office productivity.
