Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US 2-in-1 Is a Budget Powerhouse

Beijing-based Lenovo has continued to impress users with its range of laptops, AIOs and tablets. The company also manufacturers monitors, smartphones under ‘Motorola’ brand and smart devices among other products. Lenovo’s ‘ThinkPad’ and ‘IdeaPad’ ranges of laptops remain popular among home and professional users alike. With the launch of new Flex 5 81X20005US 2-in-1, Lenovo is taking their trusted ‘IdeaPad’ range one step further.

The new Flex 5 2-in-1 laptop carries exciting tech-specs in a sleek package while still being under $600 price range. For both home and office users, this Lenovo laptop offers latest features for a bargain price tag.

Look and Feel

Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US is a 14-inch 2-in-1 with narrow bezels giving it a de-cluttered look. Its 360-degree hinge allows the 2-in-1 to be used comfortably in laptop, stand, tent or tablet mode.

Lenovo designers have taken good care of how this IdeaPad Flex laptop looks and feels with attention to details. The slightly curved smooth corners, sturdy hinges and pleasant graphite gray color finish – everything makes this Lenovo laptop a pleasure to look at and work with. Although it’s a plastic body, the laptop does not feel less durable.

For those who are conscious about the webcam, Lenovo has given a shutter to let you cover the camera when not in use.

Weighing 3.64 lbs and less than 1-inch thick when closed, this Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 2-in-1 is portable and easy to carry around.

Overall, IdeaPad Flex 5 81X20005US has pleasant look and feel, which, coupled with sturdy body offers portability and ease of use.

Tech Specs and Performance

While Lenovo Flex 5 is a pleasure to look at, it’s the hardware where it truly shines. Powered by a 2.1 GHz AMD Ryzen 5 4500U mobile processor together with huge 16GB 3200MHz dual-channel DDR4 RAM, nothing you will put this laptop will slow it down. For most power-hungry tasks, this laptop carries enough punch. If you plan to increase the RAM, however, you should know that it’s soldered to motherboard, meaning you can’t upgrade it.

Flex 5 81X20005US graphics are powered by integrated AMD Radeon that produces crisp visuals without lag. The 14-inch full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080 pixels), powered by the Radeon Vega 6 graphics, does a wonderful job at showing text, images and videos with sharpness. Although we would have preferred this laptop to carry a matter display because the glossy screen may have issues when looked at from certain angles. This, however, is a wish rather than a drawback. The 10-point touchscreen is smooth and responsive while the narrow bezels help the display offer bigger picture in smaller package.

For storage, this Lenovo IdeaPad Flex model has a 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD that provides superb data transfer speeds. While 256GB may not be a lot of storage for some, you can use a micro SD card or an external hard drive to expand it.

Running Windows 10, Flex 5 81X20005US offers smooth operation. The OS boots quickly, file operations are breeze for the most part, along with OS-related tasks. With given hardware, Windows 10 provides lag-free performance.

With powerful hardware and lag-free software, this Flex 5 model provides around 9 hours of usage on full charge. This performance is of course dependent the usage but for most day to day tasks like music, word processing, movies, social media etc. the battery does a good job at consistent backup. The battery supports quick charge with a 65W adapter and Lenovo claims that one hour of charge gives you 80% power.

Ports and Connectivity

While some companies are shying away from putting multiple ports on their laptops, it’s good to see Lenovo offering enough ports on this Flex 5 2-in-1. On left, it has one USB-C and an HDMI port along with charging and headphone jacks. Two USB-A ports sit on the right with the card slot and power button.

For wireless connectivity, Flex 5 81X20005US carries 2×2 802.11ac (WiFi 5) and Bluetooth 4.2. The latest standard in WiFi offers great speeds and uninterrupted connectivity while Bluetooth helps connecting with compatible devices at moderate range.

Other features include 2 x 2W speakers with Dolby Audio, a 720p HD webcam and a backlit keyboard.

Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US Review: Overall Impressions

A 6-core AMD processor, huge 16GB DDR4 RAM, fast SSD storage, lag-free Windows 10 performance and an all-day battery backup coupled with pleasant look and feel – this Lenovo offers excellent performance in a pretty package. With IdeaPad Flex 5 81X20005US, Lenovo has struck a great balance between price and performance.

Priced at $599.99, Flex 5 combines performance with great value for money – making it a budget powerhouse. Both home and office users will love this Lenovo 2-in-1 for it’s pleasant look and feel, overall performance and value for money.

If you are looking for an ideal Windows 10 upgrade for moderate day to day usage, Lenovo Flex 5 81X20005US is for you. You should have a look at Lenovo Flex 3 81W0003QUS if you would rather settle for less power in exchange of a lower price tag of $449.99.