Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14 review: Attractive convertible at an affordable price

Lenovo's IdeaPad lineup encompasses quite a range of devices, from the top-tier IdeaPad S940 that we recently reviewed, downward to more affordable options like the Flex devices. I have here the Flex xiv (Flex-14IWL if you're looking for a part number), a convertible laptop that starts at a very low toll and comes with both AMD and Intel hardware options. I used it for nearly a week to run into what information technology's all virtually and whether or not it'due south worth your time.

14-inch budget convertible

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14

$550

Lesser line: Battery life and brandish take a hit to keep the toll downward, merely otherwise the IdeaPad Flex xiv is a good looking laptop with stiff performance, and it can be had with AMD or Intel hardware.

Pros

• Sizeable Precision touchpad
• Webcam shutter
• Comfortable backlit keyboard
• Thin chassis
• Respectable operation

Cons

• Underwhelming display
• Battery lasts betwixt four and v hours
• Fan runs loud

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14 tech specs

Lenovo supplied Windows Central with a review unit of measurement of the IdeaPad Flex 14. This item model is packed with Intel hardware, including an eighth Gen Intel Core i5-8265U processor (CPU), 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 256GB K.2 PCIe solid-land drive (SSD). Lenovo doesn't currently offering this verbal configuration, just information technology can exist had for about $800 at Best Buy.

Configurations with lesser hardware tin be plant at Lenovo starting at almost $450, and you tin can also find a model with new AMD Ryzen 5 3500U CPU at Amazon for nearly $550.

Hither is a detailed breakdown of the exact specs in the review unit we used for well-nigh a calendar week.

Category	Spec
Processor	8th Gen Intel Core i5-8265U Up to 3.9GHz Four cores
RAM	16GB DDR4-2400MHz
Graphics	Intel UHD 620
Storage	Samsung PM981 256GB M.2 PCIe SSD
Display	xiv inches 1920x1080 (FHD) IPS, touch, glossy
Ports	Two USB-A iii.1 USB-C 3.ane HDMI 1.4 three.5mm audio SD bill of fare reader
Audio	Dual 2W speakers Dolby Audio
Wireless	Intel Wireless-Air-conditioning 9560 802.11ac (2 x ii) Bluetooth 4.i
Camera	Front-facing 720p Webcam shutter
Biometrics	Fingerprint reader (optional)
Keyboard	Backlit (optional)
Touchpad	Precision
Bombardment	45Wh
Dimensions	12.91 inches x ix.01 inches x 0.seven inches (328mm x 229mm x 17.9mm)
Weight	three.64 pounds (1.65kg)

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex xiv design and features

The Flex fourteen blurs the line between budget and premium devices with its design. It's relatively slim for a convertible, coming in at just 0.7 inches thin, with a wedge design on the bottom that makes it expect thinner and as well keeps the down-firing speakers from beingness muffled past a desk-bound or your lap. Sound is average for an Ultrabook, with proficient volume but a bit of a hollow experience. The laptop looks great sitting on a desk-bound — the onyx black color also does a good job of hiding fingerprints — and the chassis, made primarily of a polycarbonate blend, seems durable and reasonably rigid.

Port selection is generous, and you shouldn't have a problem connecting most accessories and external displays. It's all the same using a barrel-way charger on the left side, which is accompanied by HDMI, USB-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right are 2 USB-A, an SD card reader, and the power button, which is set into the chassis to avoid accidental presses better when the laptop is in tablet style. The dual hinges, which rotate around to tent, stand, and tablet modes, are tight enough to keep the lid from fluctuant around only are smoothen when converting.

The Flex 14 cuts some corners to go on costs downwardly, merely information technology's ultimately an bonny laptop with solid performance.

For those who need a laptop for productivity purposes, the Flex 14 keyboard should not disappoint. The large keys are slightly cupped and take the right amount of travel for a comfy typing feel, and a backlight (which is optional) helps with working in depression-light situations.

A big Precision touchpad complements the keys, and though it tracks well and has enough of space for multi-finger gestures, the clicks experience hollow, and you might notice a bit of a rattle. Set into the right palm residuum for some added security through Windows Howdy is a fingerprint reader. It logged me in quickly each time I used it, so yous shouldn't accept any bug.

At that place is no IR photographic camera for facial recognition, just there is a front-facing 720p camera that offers an average picture for stills or video conferencing. My favorite characteristic is the webcam shutter, which tin be closed when not in apply.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex fourteen display

As with most budget laptops, the display in the Flex xiv takes a hitting to brightness and color reproduction to keep the cost down. While yous can get used to the poor color — it hit 66 pct sRGB and 50 percent AdobeRGB in my testing — it'due south the maximum 250-nit effulgence that is aggravating, especially because of the glossy finish. Working in a brilliant room tin be a pain, and you lot can forget nearly using the laptop outdoors if information technology's not completely clouded.

Information technology does, however, have relatively sparse bezel for a mod await, and an agile pen can be added (if not already included with some models) for Windows Ink. The touch function does work well, which is specially important in a convertible laptop, and the FHD resolution is a huge footstep upwards over the HD models also available. Unless you're stuck to a tight budget, nosotros recommend avoiding 768p.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14 performance and bombardment

The eighth Gen Core i5 CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and 256GB PCIe SSD together delivered respectable performance, and you shouldn't take problems cutting through a standard solar day's work. To save some coin you could drop down to a Pentium Gold 5405U CPU with 4GB of RAM, but that would only exist suitable for light productivity tasks, and it would also come with the lower-res Hard disk brandish.

If the $800 price of this model is a bit steep, your best bet is to check out the AMD models bachelor at Amazon. A configuration with FHD display, active pen, AMD Ryzen 5 3500U CPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and 256GB PCIe SSD costs about $550. You're going to get almost the same operation as with our review model, nevertheless you'll save more than $200.

In any case, battery life will still be an event. With brightness at about threescore percent (which is quite dim considering information technology only hits 250 nits full) and bombardment on a counterbalanced programme, I got between four and v hours earlier a charge was needed. That's non enough to become through a workday without packing your Air-conditioning adapter, but at least rapid charge tech gets the battery back up to about eighty percentage in an hour or and then.

The other thing I noticed was fan noise. The single fan seems to run frequently, even when spider web browsing or video watching (and peculiarly if the laptop is plugged in), and it's relatively loud. You'll exist able to drown it out with the speakers, but go on in mind this isn't a silent device.

I ran some synthetic benchmarks to see how well the hardware within stacks up confronting other laptops we've recently reviewed. If you're interested in keeping your device up to date in the future, know that the unmarried RAM slot and 1000.2 PCIe SSD can both exist accessed with relative ease for DIY upgrades.

CPU PCMark SSD

CPU

Geekbench 4.0 Benchmarks (Higher is better)

Device	CPU	Single core	Multi core
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14	i5-8265U	4,485	xiii,279
Dell Latitude 7400 two-in-1	i7-8665U	five,469	fifteen,800
Lenovo IdeaPad S940	i7-8565U	five,101	14,089
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	i7-8565U	5,431	xv,608
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	i7-8565U	v,472	18,059
MSI PS63 Modernistic	i7-8565U	4,909	14,466
Huawei MateBook X Pro	i7-8565U	5,192	16,757
HP Spectre x360 13t	i7-8565U	v,056	14,767
Surface Laptop 2	i5-8250U	4,203	13,233
LG gram 14 2-in-i	i7-8565U	4,829	thirteen,889

PCMark

PCMark Dwelling Conventional 3.0

Device	Score
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex fourteen	3,202
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	3,620
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	iii,934
LG gram 14 2-in-i	3,452
Lenovo Yoga C930	iii,506

SSD

CrystalDiskMark (College is better)

Device	Read	Write
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex fourteen	3,405 MB/south	1,512 MB/s
Dell Breadth 7400 2-in-i	3,110 MB/south	2,825 MB/s
Lenovo IdeaPad S940	3,383 MB/s	i,979 MB/s
Lenovo ThinkPad T490	3,254.8 MB/s	2,954.9 MB/southward
Lenovo ThinkPad X390	3,024 MB/s	ane,563.two MB/south
Huawei MateBook 10 Pro	three,0416 MB/s	2,779 MB/s
HP Spectre x360 13t	three,085 MB/s	ane,182 MB/due south
LG gram 14 2-in-1	558.one MB/s	523.1 MB/s
Lenovo Yoga C930	2,596.2 MB/southward	806 MB/due south

The Samsung PM981 M.2 PCIe SSD offers excellent read and write speeds, and it can exist upgraded at any time for something larger or faster.

Should you buy Lenovo's IdeaPad Flex xiv?

The IdeaPad Flex 14, everything considered, is a worthwhile budget convertible. Its slim chassis looks keen, information technology's built well, and there'due south a generous option of ports for connecting all your peripherals. As someone who types a lot every day, I loved the feel of the keyboard, and the Precision touchpad, though at that place was a bit of a hollow experience to it, tracked smoothly and had plenty of infinite for gestures.

The brandish didn't wow me due to poor color reproduction and dim brightness, but the touch on role worked as it should, and the option to add an agile pen into the mix is an attractive feature for anyone who likes sketching or jotting down notes while in tablet mode. There'south too the battery life that hovers around five hours from a charge, which is disappointing but not entirely unexpected at this price.

If you aren't entirely partial to Intel hardware, we recommend checking out AMD configurations available from Amazon. Though y'all will get 8GB of RAM rather than 16GB, you will exist able to relieve a considerable corporeality of money compared to the review model. The Ryzen five 3500U configuration costs nigh $550, while a configuration with Ryzen 7 3700U CPU costs about $570.

14-inch budget convertible

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex xiv

A solid laptop with some cutting corners

The IdeaPad Flex xiv has plenty of hardware configuration options available, meaning you should exist able to find a model that fits your needs and budget.

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Larn more.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lenovo-ideapad-flex-14-review

Posted by: morristhoures.blogspot.com

Share this post