But one positive thing with the 15.3-inch screen is that Lenovo didn’t try to squeeze in a number pad. No, no. Just a standard keyboard layout with a centered touchpad and adequate space for your wrists. And yet, it also doesn’t feel like an overly large laptop. The width and depth dimensions are nearly identical to the 15-inch MacBook Air, and it’s only 0.16 inches thicker. It’s definitely a bag-worthy and travel-worthy device.
And this is where the rest of the compromises are surprisingly few and far between. One of the first things I notice with a budget laptop is the touchpad. Cheap Windows laptops have notoriously terrible touchpads, and it’s one of the main parts of a laptop that can’t be described in specs. I’m happy to report that the IdeaPad Slim 5x has a better tracking surface than other laptops at this price point. Performance is much better than the HP OmniBook 3 or OmniBook 5. It’s definitely more responsive than the Asus Vivobook 14. I’d say it’s on par with the Dell 14 Plus from last year, although that laptop has gone up in price in recent months. My only real complaint about the IdeaPad Slim 5x’s touchpad is the click sound. It is very loud. I’ll take a responsive surface over a silent click any day, but if you work in an office with co-workers, they might get annoyed by it.
Photo: Luke Larson
I was also surprised at how the speakers sounded. They didn’t blow me away, but compared to the average set of speakers on an average Windows laptop at this price, they’re impressive. Admittedly, even a 13-inch MacBook Air looks unquestionably bulky and bulky, but they’re at least serviceable. There is also no rent for the webcam. It really only suffices in good light.
It only gets better.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus is no M5 killer – that’s for sure. Despite the GPU improvements this time around, the Apple M5 is still in another league. But Qualcomm is closing the gap with CPU performance, even if the M5 remains the undisputed champion. I’d say that’s a big deal in laptops designed with performance in mind, but here, it’s not as much of an issue. You’re not buying $850 to become a full-time video producer, AI junkie, or sports gamer. The IdeaPad Slim 5x goes beyond what it’s designed for.
My typical workflow consists of juggling work apps, dozens of browser tabs, and possibly some music and video streaming simultaneously. The X2 Plus is no slouch. I’m convinced there’s more performance than most people will need. This is particularly impressive because the X2 Plus is a step down from the more powerful X2 Elite (or X2 Elite Enhanced), which is partly how Qualcomm and Lenovo were able to keep the price down.
The display is also one aspect of this laptop that surprised me. It’s brighter and more colorful than most laptops at this price, and adding a touchscreen is easy. While I don’t usually like blurry screens, the IdeaPad Slim 5x’s more subtle anti-glare coating made the display feel premium and clear—without heavy reflections.