Lenovo IdeaPad Windows Duet 5i Review

When Lenovo’s IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook and IdeaPad Duet 3 Chromebook came across our test bench recently, we were impressed with their affordable and versatile 2-in-1 laptop designs. . Now, Lenovo has brought the same concept to Microsoft’s operating system with his IdeaPad Windows Duet 5i ($789.99, on sale for $529.99). This is a fully functional Windows 11 portable that includes a keyboard that falls short of premium models like the Microsoft Surface Pro 9. Dell XPS 13 2-in-1. Its modest storage and Core i3 processor are the only real knocks, but its lack of obvious design flaws, solid performance and great pricing earned it our Editors’ Choice award in the budget category. If you’re a Windows user who likes the keyboard concept and doesn’t need a lot of power, the IdeaPad Duet 5i is a great value.

---

Simple 2-in-1 design

Lenovo’s design is pretty simple, but that’s not a bad thing. Considering its price, the tablet feels well made and looks good. The blue color is pleasing and the chassis feels sturdy.It’s definitely a step up from cheaper devices and it’s not that too A far cry from the Surface Pro and XPS 13 2-in-1s, which start at $999 each. The Duet 5i isn’t as sleek, but it’s very slim and portable at 0.35 x 11.22 x 7.36 inches (HWD) and 2.53 pounds.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The biggest attraction, of course, is the compatibility between tablet and laptop operation. Like the Surface Pro, the IdeaPad has a built-in kickstand and detachable keyboard on the back. I prefer the 2-in-1 where the kickstand is built into the keyboard. Built-in stand. The kickstand makes your Lenovo tablet perfectly stable.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Speaking of detachable keyboards, Lenovo does it right by putting it in the box. The Duet 5i’s price advantage is even greater than it seems at first glance, as it’s been charging extra for Surface keyboards.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

It works well too. The exterior is fabric, and it feels good to carry the tablet with the keyboard folded over the display. The plastic keyboard deck feels a little cheaper than the Surface keyboard, but the Lenovo keyboard isn’t nearly as thin. The Surface Keyboard can be a little flimsy, especially if you’re using it on your lap instead of on your desk.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The keyboard that comes with Lenovo attaches magnetically to the bottom edge of the tablet for easy and secure attachment. The typing experience is mostly comfortable. The critical feedback isn’t anything special, but it also doesn’t feel mushy or cheap.

There’s no way to tilt the keyboard for a more comfortable typing angle (Surface Pro, for example, allows you to mount the keyboard at a slight angle), but that’s a relatively minor complaint. is a surprisingly durable and intuitive design for a product that is cheaper than many similar removable products.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

---

Sharp screen, simple connection

All that matters for a tablet or 2-in-1, the Duet 5i’s screen meets and even exceeds expectations. The touch screen measures 12.3 inches diagonally and offers a pleasingly sharp resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. Its brightness won’t wow you, but its vibrant colors are perfectly acceptable.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Finally, let’s talk about connectivity. As with most tablets, the physical port options are pretty limited. There are only two USB Type-C connections on the chassis, one of which is for the AC adapter and only one port available when plugged in. Neither of the USB-C ports have Thunderbolt 3 or 4 capabilities, which isn’t surprising in a sub-$1,000 laptop. Both are on the left side of the IdeaPad, and the right side houses the power button and volume rocker, as well as the headphone jack.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

---

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5i test: the surprisingly agile Core i3

The physical design of Lenovo’s Duet 5i throws us off pretty well, but what about the components? Our test model, sold at Best Buy and the only configuration on Lenovo’s site, has a The power Core i3-1215U (2 performance cores, 4 efficient cores, 8 threads), but comes with a 12th Gen Intel processor. The U suffix indicates a power consumption of 15 watts to save battery. The Core i3 CPU is one of the factors that allows Lenovo to keep the price of its rivals down (the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 has a 12th Gen Core i5), but it’s good enough for everyday apps am. No one runs AutoCAD or Adobe Premiere on a 12.3 inch tablet.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

In addition to the CPU, 8 GB of memory and a 128 GB solid state drive are added, which also contributes to cost savings compared to large capacities. If you don’t have other configurations, you can work with this or shop elsewhere. 8 GB of RAM is good for most use cases, but storage may be insufficient depending on what you plan to keep on the device. A great entry-level 2-in-1 for

To see what the Duet 5i can do in real-world benchmarks, we’re comparing it against some of the competing tablets shown in the table below. As mentioned, note that I checked the latter ARM-based SQ3 configuration. from some test results) and performance drawbacks compared to Intel models.

To round out the charts, we’ve included an older Surface Pro 8 with a high-end Intel Core i7 configuration and an Asus VivoBook Slate T3300, which pairs a deluxe OLED display with a very low-end Pentium Silver CPU.

Productivity test

The most important benchmark is UL’s PCMark 10. It simulates a variety of real-world productivity and content creation workflows and measures overall performance for office-centric tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet work, web browsing, and video conferencing. We also ran the PCMark 10 full system drive test to assess the response time and throughput of the laptop’s boot drive.

The other three benchmarks focus on the CPU using all available cores and threads to assess a PC’s suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon’s Cinebench R23 uses the company’s Cinema 4D engine to render complex scenes, and Primate Labs’ Geekbench 5.4 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. Finally, I use the open source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to convert the 12 minute video clip from 4K to 1080p resolution (shorter is better).

The final productivity test is the PugetBench for Photoshop from workstation maker Puget Systems. It uses Creative Cloud version 22 of Adobe’s renowned image editor to evaluate PC performance for content creation and multimedia applications. This is an auto-enhancement that performs a variety of common GPU-accelerated Photoshop tasks, from opening, rotating, resizing, and saving images to applying masks, gradient fills, and filters.

Despite the modest Core i3 chip, the IdeaPad almost defies performance expectations and delivers a surprising punch. Clearing the 4,000 point line on PCMark 10. It’s seen as a sign of great productivity for apps like the Microsoft 365 suite and Google Workspace, and has proven to be reliable for everyday needs and moderately demanding office work.

Don’t let this tablet’s seemingly competitive Handbrake score fool you. Powered by an Intel Core i3 CPU, this 2-in-1 is not meant for video encoding or other intensive tasks. If you keep it to a regular set of office tasks, you should be fine.

graphic test

We tested the tablet’s graphics capabilities using two DirectX 12 game simulations from UL’s 3DMark. Night Raid is more modest and suitable for portables with integrated graphics, while Time Spy is more demanding and perfect for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs.

What about not running AutoCAD? None of these tablets are visual powerhouses and are not suitable for demanding games. Integrated graphics are for casual solitaire games and video streaming only. However, you can use cloud-based game services to stream games to your IdeaPad Duet Windows 5i, but that’s about it.

battery and display test

Test laptop battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file at 50% display brightness and 100% audio volume until the system shuts down. Before testing, turn off Wi-Fi and keyboard backlight and make sure the battery is fully charged.

To evaluate a laptop display, we used the Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to determine the screen saturation (percentage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes that the display can display). ) and its 50. Peak luminance in % and nits (candelas per square meter).

The battery life on this Lenovo doesn’t set records, but it’s good enough for a day at the office. It doesn’t even come close to the Surface Pro 9 with SQ3. The Surface Pro 9’s battery life is a major reason to put up with software compatibility concessions. I’d be happier if the Duet 5i lasted a few hours longer, but that’s no reason to complain.

We said the IdeaPad’s screen looks pretty bright, and in fact, our measurements prove it to be the brightest. I have no complaints about the dim display here in almost any lighting condition. The display’s color coverage is also impressive, better than the latest Surface Pro, but I’m unlikely to use this device in professional prepress scenarios where color matching is critical.

---

Verdict: Affordable Detachable Option

Overall, the Windows version of Lenovo’s IdeaPad Duet 5i hits all its marks and holds up to be an excellent value compared to its popular competitors. Microsoft’s Surface Pro is the pacesetter in this category, with Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 leading the way. Lenovo doesn’t have the luxury you’ll find in these detachables. Also, 128GB of storage and a Core i3 processor can put pressure on your style (especially storage). But its build quality is impressive, and its performance is a pleasant surprise given its price and what it offers. It’s not enough to keep you from getting it. If you want a Windows tablet that delivers productivity and entertainment on the go, there are cheaper 2-in-1 laptops and more expensive 2-in-1 laptops. It fills a nifty niche between