Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 14" Grey 2021

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 is a budget-friendly 14-inch convertible with a solid Core Ultra 5 chip and a nice 16:10 touchscreen. At under $550, it's a steal for students and casual users, but the 8GB of soldered RAM is a real limitation. Skip it if you need to game or run heavy apps, but for everyday productivity and streaming, it's one of the best values out there.

The Core Ultra 5 225U lands in the 62nd percentile for CPU performance across our database, which puts it in solid, dependable territory. In real-world terms, that means you can keep 20 Chrome tabs open, stream Spotify, and work on a Google Doc without the fan spinning up like a jet engine. The 2 P-cores handle bursty tasks like launching apps, while the 8 E-cores soak up background processes. It's not going to crush a Cinebench run against an H-series chip, but for an ultraportable convertible, it's more than capable. The integrated graphics sit at the 56th percentile, which is about what you'd expect. You can play older titles or indie games at low settings, but this is not a gaming machine. Our gaming score of 15.8 out of 100 tells the story pretty clearly.

The 8GB of DDR5 RAM is the bottleneck here. At the 23rd percentile, it's one of the lowest scores we see in this category, and it's soldered, so you can't upgrade it later. For basic multitasking, it's fine. But if you're the type who keeps 50 tabs open while running Slack, Zoom, and a few Excel sheets, you'll feel the pinch. The 512GB SSD sits at the 40th percentile, which is adequate but not generous. You'll want to lean on cloud storage or an external drive if you have a large media library. The 14-inch 1920x1200 IPS display is a highlight, hitting the 57th percentile with good color and brightness for indoor use. The 16:10 aspect ratio gives you more vertical space for documents and web pages, which is a genuine productivity boost.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Air M5, the IdeaPad loses on raw performance, battery life, and build quality. The M5 is in a different league, but it also costs nearly twice as much. If you're in the Apple ecosystem and have the budget, the Air is the better machine. But if you need Windows and a touchscreen, the Lenovo makes a strong case. The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 is a closer competitor, with a similar 2-in-1 design and often a better OLED display option, but it typically runs $700 and up. You're paying for that screen and a bit more polish.

The MSI Prestige 13 Evo is lighter and more portable, but it gives up the convertible hinge and often costs more. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro has a stunning AMOLED screen and better battery life, but again, you're looking at a significantly higher price. The ASUS Zenbook S is probably the most direct rival in terms of build and features, but ASUS tends to spec theirs with 16GB of RAM and faster storage, which explains the price gap. If you can stretch your budget, the Zenbook S is worth a look. If you can't, the IdeaPad 5i holds its own surprisingly well.

At $490 to $550, this IdeaPad 5i is priced aggressively against the competition. You're getting a current-gen Intel chip, a touchscreen, and a convertible design for less than most mid-range smartphones. The closest competitors like the HP OmniBook X Flip or the ASUS Zenbook S typically start several hundred dollars higher, and while they offer better build quality or OLED screens, they don't double the performance. For a student or someone who needs a reliable daily driver for Office, web browsing, and streaming, this is one of the better deals we've seen.

That said, the 8GB of RAM is the elephant in the room. If you can find a 16GB config for not much more, jump on it. But at this price, you're essentially trading future-proofing for immediate savings. Given that Windows 11 and modern web apps are only getting hungrier, this laptop will feel its age faster than something with more memory. Still, for the money, it's hard to argue with what Lenovo's packed in here.

Lenovo's IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 is one of those laptops that makes you wonder why you'd spend more. For somewhere between $490 and $550, you're getting a 14-inch convertible with a solid aluminum feel, a 16:10 touchscreen, and Intel's new Core Ultra 5 225U processor. It's aimed squarely at students, remote workers, and anyone who wants a flexible machine for browsing, streaming, and light productivity without taking out a small loan. The 2-in-1 hinge means you can flip it into a tent for watching Netflix or fold it flat for taking notes, and at 1.6kg, it won't wreck your shoulder on a commute.

What makes this particular config interesting is that Meteor Lake chip. Intel's finally moved to a tile-based design, and the 225U packs 12 cores split between 2 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores. That's a lot of threads for a budget laptop, and it means multitasking feels snappier than you'd expect from the price tag. The integrated Intel Graphics won't set any records, but they handle 4K video decode and light creative work without breaking a sweat. Just don't ask it to run Cyberpunk.

There are some trade-offs, and we'll get into those. 8GB of RAM in 2025 feels tight, and the 512GB SSD is about average for this class. But if your workflow lives in a browser and you're not editing 4K video, this machine hits a sweet spot that's hard to ignore. It's not trying to be a MacBook Air killer. It's trying to be the laptop you actually buy when you check your bank account, and on that front, it makes a pretty compelling case.

If you're a gamer, just move along. The integrated graphics here score a 15.8 for gaming, and that's not an exaggeration. Even older AAA titles will struggle. Look at something with a dedicated RTX 3050 or better, or consider a gaming-focused laptop like the Acer Nitro series. Creative professionals who work with large Photoshop files, video editing, or 3D modeling should also steer clear. The 8GB of RAM and integrated GPU will bottleneck your workflow immediately. An ASUS Zenbook S with 16GB of RAM or a MacBook Air M5 would be a much better fit, though they cost more.

Also, if you're the type who never closes a browser tab and runs Slack, Discord, Spotify, and three Office apps simultaneously, this machine will feel cramped. The soldered 8GB of RAM is the main culprit. You'd be better served by a laptop with 16GB of RAM, even if it means going with a slightly older processor or a less premium brand. The HP OmniBook X Flip or a refurbished Dell XPS with more memory would give you more breathing room for heavy multitasking.

For students and casual users, this IdeaPad 5i is a no-brainer. The 2-in-1 design means you can take handwritten notes in class, prop it up for a movie in a dorm room, and still have a proper laptop for writing papers. The Core Ultra 5 chip is efficient and capable, and the 16:10 screen makes long reading sessions more comfortable. Just be realistic about the RAM. If your workload is browser-based and you're not a tab hoarder, 8GB will serve you fine for a few years.

If you're a power user who needs to run virtual machines, edit video, or keep dozens of apps open simultaneously, look elsewhere. This machine will frustrate you within months. The same goes for gamers. The integrated graphics are fine for Solitaire and 2D indie games, but anything 3D from the last five years will be a slideshow. For everyone else, this is a well-built, affordable convertible that punches above its weight class where it counts.