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But one of the best things about the 15.3-inch screen is that Lenovo didn’t try to squeeze the numbers. No, no. A standard keyboard design with a central touchpad and enough space for your knees. And yet, this doesn’t feel like a very large laptop anymore. Its width and depth are almost the same as the 15-inch MacBook Air, and it is only about 0.16 inches. It is definitely a backpackable and travel worthy device.
And this is where residuals are surprisingly few and far between. One of the first things I test with budget laptops is the touchpad. Cheap Windows laptops they have terrible touchpads, and that’s one important part of a laptop that can’t be detailed. I’m happy to say that the IdeaPad Slim 5x has better tracking space than most other laptops at this price. The performance is much better than in the game HP OmniBook 3 or OmniBook 5. It’s definitely more responsive than Asus Vivobook 14. I’d say it’s more or less the same Dell 14 Plus since last year, although the laptop has received a price increase in recent months. Click noise is my only complaint about the IdeaPad Slim 5x’s touchpad. It’s very loud. I will be looking at it a little bit more every day, but if you work in the office with my friends, they can be upset about it.
Photo: Luke Larsen
I was also surprised by the sound of the speakers. They didn’t blow me away, but compared to most Windows laptop speakers at this price, they’re impressive. Of course, even the 13-inch MacBook Air sounds louder and larger, but this is useful. The web browser is not working properly. It is only sufficient for good lighting.
It gets better
The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus isn’t an M5 killer—that’s for sure. Despite the GPU upgrade this time around, the Apple M5 is still in another league. But Qualcomm is closing the gap with CPU performance, although the M5 is still an undisputed competitor. I’d say it’s more of a problem for performance-oriented laptops, but here, this isn’t a big deal. You’re not buying $850 to become a full-time video maker, AI junkie, or esports player. For the things the IdeaPad Slim 5x is designed for, it excels.
My normal routine consists of running multiple work programs, multiple browser tabs, and maybe music and video streaming at the same time. The X2 Plus didn’t skip a beat. I came to the conclusion that there are more jobs than most people would like. It’s very interesting since the X2 Plus is a step down from the more powerful X2 Elite (or X2 Elite Extra), which is how Qualcomm and Lenovo were able to lower the price.
This display is the part of this laptop that surprised me. It’s brighter and more attractive than most laptops at this price, and the addition of a touchscreen is useful. While I’m not a fan of matte screens, the IdeaPad Slim 5x’s brilliant anti-glare screen made the display crisp and clear—without heavy backlighting.
