Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 review: Snapdragon CPU delivers on value

Budget Snapdragon X Plus PCs are here, and Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is among the affordable options landing on store shelves. Priced at $850, this 2-in-1 provides a good mix of features and performance but falls behind some competitors in 3D performance and battery life. 

Further reading: Best laptops 2024: Premium, budget, gaming, 2-in-1s, and more

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Specs and features

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is one of several budget PCs to equip Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Plus X1P-42-100. This is the least powerful version of Snapdragon X, with 8 processor cores (down from up to 12 in Snapdragon X Elite) and a clock speed of 3.4GHz. 

• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon Plus X1P-42-100
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x
• Graphics/GPU: Qualcomm Adreno
• NPU: Qualcomm Hexagon (up to 45 TOPs)
• Display: 14-inch 16:10 1,920 x 1,200 OLED touchscreen
• Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 solid state storage
• Webcam: 1080p with physical privacy shutter
• Connectivity: HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K@30Hz), 2x USB-C 3.0 (10Gbps) with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, 1x headphone/microphone jack, 1x microSD card reader, 2x USB-A 3.0 (5Gbps)
• Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Fingerprint reader, facial recognition 
• Battery capacity: 57 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 12.32 x 8.94 x 0.68
• Weight: 3.28 pounds
• MSRP: $849.99 MSRP 

Given the 2-in-1’s $850 MSRP, though, a less impressive chip is to be expected. It’s flanked by a respectable 16GB of RAM and 1TB of solid-state storage. While neither specification is unusual for a budget Windows laptop, it’s still good to see Lenovo did not skimp on either.

It’s also worth knowing that this configuration is the only model Lenovo currently has listed for the North American market—is what you’re going to get if you buy an IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1.

The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is just $850, but the quality of the display nearly rivals the most expensive laptops on the planet. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Design and build quality

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a subdued, workmanlike PC. Its only notable design quirk is Lenovo’s camera hump at the top of the display. Though it might look a bit odd, provides an easy way to open the display lid. Otherwise, there’s not much to make the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 stand out from the competition.

There’s nothing that will offend, either. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 isn’t a “professional” machine, exactly, but its dark gray exterior and beveled edges come together for a handsome, cohesive design. 

It’s screwed together tight, too. Opening the display lid reveals close to zero flex and the lower chassis doesn’t wobble when the laptop is handled from an edge or corner. In this respect the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 punches above its weight, as it rivals the build quality of more expensive machines like the Acer Swift 14 AI and HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14. 

As its name suggests, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 has a 360-degree hinge that lets you push the display back until the laptop becomes a tablet. However, the 2-in-1 weighs in at 3.28 pounds and measures about 0.68 inches thick, which means it’s not comfortable to use as a tablet. 

To be fair, the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is not heavier than competitors like the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, which weighs 3.77 pounds—but that won’t save you from a black eye if you accidentally drop the IdeaPad on your face while trying to surf the web in bed. Shoppers who really want to get the most out of a touchscreen need to look at smaller, thinner, more expensive options like the Microsoft Surface Pro. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Keyboard, trackpad

Lenovo keeps up its reputation for good keyboards with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. It has a spacious layout and most keys are large, with only the arrow keys noticeably downsized compared to a conventional desktop keyboard. 

Key feel is a bit muted, however. While key travel is respectable, each key activates with a soft, easy action. I prefer a keyboard with a more definitive tactile click and some audible feedback. Still, it’s pleasant enough for a budget 2-in-1, and I had no problem with typing speed or accuracy. 

The touchpad is fine. It measures roughly five inches wide and three inches deep, which is typical for a 14-inch machine in this price bracket. The touchpad surface feels responsive and is large enough for most situations, but some multi-touch gestures can feel a bit cramped. 

Of course, the 2-in-1 has a touchscreen, and it provides added flexibility. The touchscreen is useful when using the 2-in-1 in as a tablet, of course, but also handy in cramped or awkward situations. For example, I like using “tent mode,” which uses the keyboard like a kickstand, when I watch YouTube videos over breakfast. I can still move between videos with the touchscreen but don’t have to worry about dropping crumbs on the keyboard. 

Silly as it might sound, that sort of practical flexibility will come in handy if the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 will be your only computer. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Display, audio

Every Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 has a 1920×1200 OLED touchscreen with a 16:10 aspect ratio. This turns out to be among the machine’s best features.

OLED has a great reputation, for good reason. It provides a richer, deeper, more immersive image than a typical LCD display. Colors look incredibly vibrant and dark scenes look outstanding.

That’s good news for any laptop but especially excellent for a budget machine like the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1. Why? Because all OLED panels for laptops come from a handful of suppliers and deliver similar image quality. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is just $850, but the quality of the display nearly rivals the most expensive laptops on the planet. 

I say “nearly” for two reasons: resolution and refresh rate. 1920×1200 resolution looks plenty sharp on a 14-inch display, but it’s not going to beat competitors with 2880×1800 resolution (which are common). The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 also sticks with a 60Hz refresh rate, while more expensive OLED displays tend to offer a smoother 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate. 

Yet neither is really a problem. It’s just the reality of budget hardware. Overall, the OLED display gives the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 a big advantage against competitors that stick with LCD (and many do). 

The 2-in-1’s audio performance is less impressive, though still alright. Lenovo provides upward-firing speakers that provide reasonable volume and clarity but lack the low end required to make music and movies sound great. They also frame the keyboard, which is great when using the machine as a laptop but makes the audio experience more muted when using it as a tablet (as, in that situation, the keyboard is pointed away from you).  

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 offers a decent 1080p webcam and dual-array microphone. They capture acceptable video and listenable audio that’s well-suited to video calls on Zoom or Google Chat. A physical privacy shutter is included to cover the camera, as well. All of this is good but typical for a budget Windows laptop. 

Biometric login is available with a fingerprint reader on the lower right side of the laptop. This is less common, though not unique, for a budget 2-in-1. The fingerprint reader has the same strengths and weaknesses as those on competitive laptops. It works well in most situations, but a thin layer of dust or a slightly damp fingertip can fool it—so don’t take a swig of your Mountain Dew before you log in. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Connectivity

Connectivity is a perk for the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1, as it provides a good range of modern and legacy connectivity. 

On the left side you’ll find two USB-C ports, both of which support DisplayPort for connecting a USB-C monitor and Power Delivery for charging the laptop (the included 65-watt charger uses USB-C). On the right you’ll see two USB-A ports, so you can add an older wired keyboard and mouse without issue. An HDMI 2.1 port, 3.5mm combo audio port, and microSD card reader round out the options.

While this is a good set of options, I have a few nitpicks. The HDMI 2.1 is listed to support only 4K at 30Hz which, frankly, is ridiculous for any laptop sold today. The USB ports also deliver low data speeds (10Gbps and 5Gbps respectively). However, that is also true of most budget Windows laptops. 

Wireless connectivity, meanwhile, is excellent. The laptop supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4; both are the latest versions of each wireless standard. Neither is broadly adopted yet, so I expect these wireless standards will remain adequate for a good decade, or more. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Performance

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is intriguing to run through benchmarks, though not because it’s fast but, rather, because it’s (relatively) slow. Every IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 has Snapdragon’s X Plus X1P-42-100 chip, which has eight cores (down from 10 or 12 in the high-end Snapdragon chips). The laptop also has 16GB of memory and a 1TB solid state drive. None of this looks amazing on paper—but remember, this is an $850 laptop. And it turns out that slowest Snapdragon X Plus is competitive with the mid-range Intel Core Series 5 and AMD Ryzen 7 chips typically available in this price bracket. 

The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 got off to a good start in Cinebench 2024, a moderate duration, heavily multithreaded CPU benchmark. This benchmark is Arm native, so it doesn’t encounter a performance penalty from running the app through emulation.

Here, the IdeaPad managed to beat other laptops with Snapdragon X Plus chips by a hair and defeated the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition with Intel Core Series Ultra 256V.

Handbrake, on the other hand, is a long-duration multithreaded CPU benchmark that is not Arm native, which has a stark effect on what the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 can achieve. Its performance falls far short of laptops with similar hardware. This is to be expected, given that the app is not making the best use of the Qualcomm hardware—but it’s a reality people who rely on apps that haven’t made the leap to Arm must consider.  

The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 can perform well in Arm native apps that rely heavily on the CPU. The integrated GPU, on the other hand, is underwhelming.

3DMark Night Raid, an Arm-native 3D benchmark, spat out a score of just 16,399. While that puts the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 ahead of other Snapdragon X Plus devices PC World has reviewed, it’s way behind the Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics in Intel’s Core Ultra 256V. There’s also a severe lack of Arm-native games on Windows. When those factors are combined, it’s clear that gamers should avoid the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 like the plague. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Battery life

You might expect, given its use of Qualcomm’s least performant Snapdragon X Plus chip, that the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 will ace battery tests. That’s not the case, though it still does well enough. 

I measured roughly 14 and a half hours of battery life in our standard test, which loops a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel. This is a light-load test that generally shows what the laptop can reach in less demanding situations. 

Make no mistake: 14 and a half hours is a long time, and in general owners will be happy with the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s endurance. Still, the graph makes it clear that competitors offer superior endurance. 

That probably has less to do with the Qualcomm chip than the laptop’s battery and display. The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1’s 57 watt-hour battery isn’t tiny, but many 14-inch machines have a battery in the 65 to 75 watt-hour range. I’ve also found that laptops with OLED displays seem to need a bit more power than those with LCD displays, and that’s certainly true for the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Conclusion

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a fine choice if you’re looking for an affordable 14-inch laptop or 2-in-1 that has an alluring OLED touchscreen and good connectivity. It falls behind in 3D performance and battery life, but those downsides are easier to overlook at $850. Shoppers who want a Windows machine that’s enjoyable for basic day-to-day tasks and office productivity should give the IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 a look.