Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 review: Mediocre performance meets high price

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Lenovo’s IdeaPad family is a broad one, with all sorts of devices from traditional clamshells, Chromebooks, and 2-in-1s like the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 here. But its diversity also makes it hard to anticipate. Some of its laptops can be impressive, but you can’t count on that to mean they all are.

Lenovo suggests this IdeaPad is intended to bring premium features to a more affordable price, but the laptop instead follows in the footsteps of the disappointing IdeaPad Slim 3, offering very little to get excited for and a rather basic all-around experience that begs for the $1,099 list price to get a severe discount. 

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10: Specs and features

• Model number: F0J20012US  
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 255U
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x-8000
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Graphics
• Display: 16-inch 1200p IPS Touchscreen, glossy
• Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p + IR
• Connectivity: 2x USB-C 10Gbps with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4 Alternate Mode, 1 HDMI 1.4b, 2x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x microSD card reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition
• Battery capacity: 57 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.02 x 10.03 x 0.72 inches
• Weight: 4.59 pounds measured
• MSRP: $1,099 as-tested ($679 base)

The configuration of the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 that was sent over for review is specific to B&H Photo, and it comes with a $1,099 price tag and Intel Core Ultra 7 255U processor, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. This is a pretty sour deal when Lenovo offers the same configuration but with double the storage for an “estimated value” of $1,079, which naturally gets some sort of discount, lowering the price to $829 at the time of writing.

Lenovo offers a lower base configuration that drops the CPU to an Intel Core Ultra 5 225U but leaves everything else unchanged. This lowers the price to an “Est Value” of $919, which had a discount to $689 at the time of writing. Lenovo also offers a configuration that doubles the storage to 1TB while only increasing the “Est Value” by $10, and that model is confusingly just $679 at the time of writing. 

You can create a custom configuration, but the options are exceedingly limited. You get to choose from the two CPUs mentioned, 512GB or 1TB of storage, Windows 11 Home or Pro versions, and a Luna Grey or Cosmic Blue color.

While these are the options at the time of writing, it’s possible Lenovo will be expanding them. In its product specifications reference, it mentions the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H and 7 255H CPUs with Intel Arc 130T and Arc 140T graphics, respectively, as well as 32GB of possible memory.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10: Design and build quality

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 is about as boring as it gets. The whole thing is a large slab of gray, and even the keyboard is a bland gray. Lenovo opted for a pleasant, aluminum lid, but as large as it is, it certainly could have used some adornment other than Lenovo’s branding. Beyond that lid, the rest of the build is just plastic, and not a particularly impressive-feeling plastic either.

As a 2-in-1, the IdeaPad has Lenovo’s typical hinge design, but it looks awkward in the thick base of the laptop. The hinge is pretty firm, avoiding too much wiggle, but this can make it a little effortful to fold the laptop around into different poses. It’s also so firm that it will lift the bottom of the laptop up when moving it, so no easy one-handed opening. 

At a hair over 14 inches wide and 10 inches long, it’s a big machine, and it’s bigger than it needed to be as the 2-in-1 design always seems to entail extra chin bezels below the display. At 4.59 pounds, it’s a hefty machine as well. Lenovo states it is 0.72 inches thick (though I measured it at 0.78 inches and the rubber feet add another tenth of an inch to that), so at least it’s not too big in every dimension.

But still, the system is also simply too large and heavy to use practically as a tablet. I’ve seen HP integrate magnets into its 2-in-1 laptops to keep them folded open in their tablet mode, but the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 hasn’t done this, and this sees the two halves flop around a bit in tablet mode.

Lenovo took some, but not full, advantage of the extra space it had. It squeezed a traditional number pad next to the keyboard, albeit with slightly narrow keys. The number pad gets dedicated audio playback controls above it as well. There’s a ton of space above the keyboard as well, and Lenovo has put its speakers there behind a wide grille. Below the keyboard, Lenovo hasn’t been as ambitious. The trackpad is quite small for a machine this size, and it’s centered below the alphanumerics, so it sits very far to the left. 

Above the display, Lenovo’s webcam fits into a small extra section of bezel that also houses a physical privacy shutter. When closed, this little lip also makes opening the laptop easier, though still doesn’t sort out the need for a second hand. 

Underneath, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 sits on two small rubber feet at the front and a wide foot at the rear. These hold it almost astoundingly securely in place on tables and desks and provide room for air to get in. There’s a wide grille underneath for air intake, though only one fan actually pulls air in. This exhausts out the back edge of the base.  

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 keyboard is a serious mixed bag. It’s far enough up the laptop to be uncomfortable to reach, with my wrists resting uncomfortably on the front edge. The feel of each key is also very inconsistent. Some feel reasonably well stabilized while others don’t. Some have more of a tactile pop to them as they depress and others just mush down. Those dynamics also shift depending on where on the key you press. The keys aren’t very contoured either.

It’s perhaps just from my experience with Lenovo keyboard over the years that I was still able to reach a typing speed of 115 words per minute with 97 percent accuracy in Monkeytype without much time to adapt, but I can’t say that I was comfortable while I did it. The keys are at least easily legible and get useful backlighting to see in the dark. 

The trackpad feels fine. It has a mylar coating that’s plenty smooth, though there’s a bit of friction to the texture. It’s not bad, but it’s not like sliding across ice fresh from the Zamboni. The size of the trackpad is modest, which is plenty for four-finger gestures and a good fit on a 14-inch laptop. But it’s awkwardly small here. I have to reach far across the laptop to use it with my right hand, and often I end up still so far to the right side of the trackpad that my clicks register as right-clicks. 

The touchscreen works as an alternative to using the trackpad for everything. I found it reasonably responsive, though it would have felt even more so with a faster refresh rate from the display. The screen is made with glass, and this didn’t prove as smooth to the touch as I’d have hoped.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10: Display, audio

IDG / Mark Knapp

You get a big display on the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10. The panel stretches 16 inches from corner to corner, and though its 1920×1200 resolution isn’t exceedingly sharp, it doesn’t look bad at regular viewing distances. But that’s about all the credit the display is going to get. The screen is otherwise very lackluster. 

In some ways, it actually exceeds expectations, but only because the expectations were set low. Lenovo rates it for a 300-nit peak brightness and a pitiful 800:1 contrast ratio, but my test sample managed 323.8 nits and a 1,680:1 contrast ratio. That brightness might have been decent on a matte or anti-glare display, but the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 has a glossy panel that struggles in bright conditions and will only get worse looking when it’s covered in finger grease — it’s a touchscreen after all. 

Then there’s the color. This is one of those bottom-of-the-barrel displays that almost seems to think of color as an afterthought. It achieves just 65 percent coverage of the sRGB colorspace. If you want to see just about anything on your computer the way a creator or web designer intended it, this computer won’t show it to you. 

The speakers on the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 are also rather pitiful. They don’t sound bad, but they’re wimpy, offering such low volume that even a fan running in the same room will make it a bit hard to hear everything clearly. They’re also lacking in low-end, so you won’t get any oomph in movies or music. Thankfully, they don’t have any awful qualities, like distortion or reverberation with the chassis.

The speakers also work better with the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10 in its laptop pose, since they’re positioned above the keyboard. When the laptop is in its tent mode — you know, the one ideal for casually watching something — the audio is firing in the wrong direction and sounds even quieter.

Lenovo IdeaPad 5 2-in-1 16 Gen 10: Webcam, microphone, biometrics