Review: Lenovo Flex 5G brings high speed internet to a long-lasting laptop
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
The evolution of Windows 10 on ARM has been an interesting one for the last few years. Like any new category, it has taken time for the always-connected PCs to find their niche. While Surface Pro X finally put Microsoft’s stamp on the technology, it is Lenovo who is taking it even further by being the first (and currently only) Windows 10 PC with built-in 5G connectivity.
Putting aside what the hype around next-gen mobile connectivity, Lenovo’s take on the Flex 5G is surprisingly better than I had expected. Of course, it’s a high asking price, no doubt due to Qualcomm’s “5G tax” makes it a hard sell for anyone who doesn’t have deep pockets. But none of that means it’s not a great mobile solution either.
Here is where the Lenovo Flex 5G shines, and what can still be improved.
The first of its kind
Lenovo Flex 5G
Pros
- Unlocked 4G and 5G SIM + eSIM
- Extreme battery life, always on
- Excellent design
- Larger, improved display
- Good performance
Cons
- Expensive due to the “5G tax”
- No hibernate, odd low battery behavior
- Very glossy screen
- No Wi-Fi 6
Lenovo Flex 5G design, display, and features
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Lenovo went on to release the decent Yoga C640, dumping Qualcomm for Intel. But that was only short-lived as back in mid-2019, Lenovo and Qualcomm had teamed up for “Project Limitless”, a collab to deliver the first 5G PC to market sometime in 2020. Project Limitless became the Flex 5G, which is sold directly by Lenovo and through its US partner with Verizon Wireless.
I expected the Flex 5G to be the same as the Yoga C630, but with the bonus of 5G connectivity. It turns out, Flex 5G is much more of refinement – and overall improvement – over Lenovo’s last attempt at ARM.
However, some may not appreciate the corresponding Lenovo badge on the keyboard deck with Verizon’s 5G logo. Still, I think it is a not-so-subtle reminder of why you are buying this laptop in the first place.
Category | Lenovo Yoga 5G |
---|---|
OS | Windows 10 Pro |
Display | 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS with touch 400 nits 72% color gamut |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx |
Graphics | Qualcomm Adreno 680 |
Memory | 8GB LPDDR4X 1866MHz (Soldered) |
Storage | 256GB UFS 3.0 |
Webcam | 720p IR camera |
Microphone | Dual array |
Security | IR camera Fingerprint reader |
Wireless | 5G mmWave 5G Sub-6GHz Bluetooth 5.0 11ac, 2×2 |
Ports | 2x Type-C (PD,DP, USB 3.2) 3.5mm Audio jack Nano SIM card slot |
Audio | User-facing stereo speakers (Dolby Atmos) |
Battery | 60Whr (7,898mAh) |
Chassis | Aluminum magnesium |
Color | Iron Grey |
Dimensions | 12.65″ x 8.46″ x 0.57″ (321.4mm x 215mm x 14.7mm) |
Weight | Starting at 1.35kg (2.97lbs) |
The Flex 5G does some fantastic stuff, and what it does it does very well.
A new smart addition is the dedicated airplane mode toggle on the right side (near the headphone jack). This physical switch has a nice hologram-like color, which adds a smidge of pizzazz. The toggle lets users kill Wi-Fi and the dual 4G +5G radio to save battery. It is a small extra, but it seems so right for this laptop, and I am glad it’s here.
Lenovo puts the power button with a small power LED on the right side near the rear edge. That placement makes it convenient for powering on and off in different configurations. Still, it also means some people may accidentally toggle the power when gripping the Flex 5G to reposition it. I never had that happen, but it is why some manufacturers have returned to placement on the keyboard deck. There’s another small LED on the left side near the Type-C port used for charging and battery status. That LED can blink orange when low on battery and also let users know the device is charging (solid white LED, instead of blinking) while the Flex 5G’s lid is closed.
At 2.97 pounds (1.35kg), it is difficult to call the Flex 5G light especially compared to the super-skinny Galaxy Book S (2.1lbs, or 0.96 kg). But Lenovo’s extra weight has a justification: battery. Microsoft and Samsung prioritized slimness while sacrificing battery capacity (38 and 42 watt-hours, respectively), whereas Lenovo tossed in a massive 60 watt-hours into Flex 5G.
Lenovo Flex 5G display and inking
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
The panel also hits around 400-nits for brightness, which is decent (and improved). But Samsung’s similar Galaxy Book S has an “outdoor mode” that can boost the brightness to 600 nits, which is something Lenovo should adopt. What makes things worse is Lenovo’s insistence on using a very glossy display instead of either matte or the superior glossy with anti-reflective coating. This complaint may seem like nitpicking, but for a computer that you can use anywhere at any time, it’s sure a challenge to use in the bright outdoors.
There is some aggressive adapative contrast. While that feature is useful for the battery and your eyes, it does reduce the visibility of dark backgrounds even more so when outdoors. Unlike Intel-based laptops, it is not obvious how you can disable the “feature.”
There is no adaptive brightness on this laptop, so users will need to set how bright the screen gets manually.
The Flex 5G supports Windows Ink via Lenovo’s Digital Pen, which is an extra $32. Inking also works with the dual-protocol Bamboo Ink. Like the Yoga C630, inking is just OK on this PC. It gets the job done for notetaking, highlighting, and quick sketches, but the lack of precision and accuracy do not make the Flex 5G suitable for dedicated artistry.
Lenovo Flex 5G keyboard, audio, and trackpad
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
I had no problems typing in my use, but Michael Fisher (aka MrMobile) did report dropping some keystrokes, which I find plausible due to the low key travel.
There is two-stage backlighting controlled by the FN key plus spacebar, which is familiar to Lenovo. Thanks to the dark background, the LED lighting works well and is visible at night.
Audio is also just OK. Lenovo is rightly using top-firing speakers, which flank the keyboard. New this year is support for Dolby Atmos, which via software provides better spatial abilities giving a bit more presence. Unfortunately, the audio still lacks bass and richness compared to other premium laptops. It is not bad, but it is still far from exceptional.
Lenovo Flex 5G Wi-Fi, LTE, and 5G performance
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
These are some crazy fast data speeds…so long as you can actually find 5G coverage.
While there is some branding of Verizon Wireless for the Flex 5G, including a partnership to sell them online, the Flex 5G is carrier-unlocked and supports all 4G and 5G networks. That means you can drop in a T-mobile, Sprint, or AT&T SIM and get whatever performance those services offer, including up to 5G. The Flex 5G also supports all global bands, and users should have no problems connecting to any world carrier.
Supported 4G and 5G bands on Lenovo Flex 5G.Source: Lenovo
5G support here includes both mmWave and Sub-6GHz, which is excellent. While mmWave is much faster than Sub-6GHz, it is also more prone to stability issues and interference from physical objects, including windows. Sub-6GHz is less impressive, and only offers around 20% improvement over current 4G LTE, but it is more widely deployed.
With the Flex 5G, the good news is you don’t need to worry about these terms as the laptop connects to whatever is available and provided through your chosen carrier.
For this review, I had to drive an hour to get to a market (Boston) with Verizon 5G availability, which tells you a lot about the current state of the technology.
A sample of Verizon’s UWB 5G service in Boston, MA.Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Upload speeds, however, are less impressive at around 60 Mbps. That’s still a massive jump from 4G LTE, and it easily beats the upload rates of many people’s home (and wired) cable internet.
Bluetooth 5.0 is here as well, which is expected on any premium PC in 2020. It works well, and I had no issues with it. However, Qualcomm-based laptops are still using Wi-Fi 5 (11ac) instead of the preferred Wi-Fi 6 (11ax) standard. Intel is the biggest pusher of Wi-Fi 6 mobile chips, so there is likely some politics in play as to why the Flex 5G omits the tech, which is unfortunate.
Lenovo Flex 5G power, battery, and performance
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Using PCMark 10 synthetic battery test, which attempts to run down the processor to 20% while running office apps, web browser, and video calls demonstrate just how much more battery the Flex 5G packs:
PCMark 10 Battery (Applications)
Device | Time | Battery |
---|---|---|
Flex 5G | 18 hours | 20% left |
Galaxy Book S | 11 hours, 11 mins | 21% left |
Surface Pro X | 8 hours, 31 minutes | 20% left |
Oddly, however, the Flex 5G has absolutely no way to hibernate. The Surface Pro X goes to a deep hibernate after a few hours, helping preserve battery life (at the cost of having to resume). Of course, users can override that feature on Surface Pro X or make the timeout feature longer. But on the Flex 5G, even under custom advanced power settings, there is no option for hibernating at all, and it cannot be added. That means the Flex 5G never turns off unless you power it down or the battery dies. In some ways, it is fine since the battery longevity here is so extended, but it also means if left unattended for a few days, the Flex 5G’s battery will die just like your smartphone.
Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5.0 (CPU) (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Single core | Multi core |
---|---|---|---|
Flex 5G | SD 8cx | 716 | 2,844 |
Galaxy Book S | SD 8cx | 685 | 2,681 |
Surface Pro X | SQ1 | 725 | 2,819 |
MagicBook 14 | Ryzen 5 3500U | 748 | 2999 |
Acer Swift 7 | i7-8500Y | 732 | 1,106 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | i5-1035G7 | 1,177 | 4,413 |
Surface Laptop 2 | i5-8250U | 909 | 3,372 |
Surface Pro 7 | i5-1035G4 | 1,191 | 4,441 |
Surface Pro 6 | i7-8650U | 1,113 | 3,519 |
Surface Pro 6 | i5-8250U | 904 | 3,440 |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 | i7-1065G7 | 1,209 | 3,571 |
Geekbench 4
Geekbench 4.0 (CPU) (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Single core | Multi core |
---|---|---|---|
Flex 5G (ARM) | SD 8cx | 3,288 | 11,139 |
Galaxy Book S (ARM) | SD 8cx | 3,271 | 11,096 |
Surface Pro X (ARM) | SQ1 | 3,505 | 11,727 |
Yoga C630 (ARM) | SD 850 | 2,287 | 7,215 |
Flex 5G (x86) | SD 8cx | 2,103 | 6,681 |
Galaxy Book S (x86) | SD 8cx | 2,032 | 6,371 |
Surface Pro X (x86) | SQ1 | 2,182 | 6,822 |
Yoga C630 (x86) | SD 850 | 1,345 | 3,560 |
Acer Swift 7 | i7-8500Y | 2,281 | 4,905 |
Samsung Galaxy Book2 (ARM) | SD850 | 2,262 | 7,405 |
Samsung Galaxy Book2 (x86) | SD850 | 1,345 | 4,164 |
HP Envy x2 (ARM) | SD835 | 2,111 | 6,314 |
Surface Go | Pentium | 2,078 | 3,934 |
Surface 3 | Atom x7 | 1,078 | 2,777 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | i5-1035G7 | 5,265 | 17,345 |
Surface Laptop 2 | i5-8250U | 4,203 | 13,233 |
Surface Laptop | i5-7200U | 3,725 | 7,523 |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 | i7-1065G7 | 5,459 | 19,097 |
PCMark 10
Applications (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Score |
---|---|---|
Flex 5G | SD 8cx | 5,255 |
Galaxy Book S | SD 8cx | 4,308 |
Surface Pro X | Microsoft SQ1 | 4,617 |
SSD
CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)
Device | Read | Write |
---|---|---|
Flex 5G | 1,913 MB/s | 426 MB/s |
Galaxy Book S | 1,912 MB/s | 425 MB/s |
Surface Pro X | 2,023 MB/s | 832 MB/s |
Yoga c630 | 791 MB/s | 220 MB/s |
Samsung Galaxy Book2 | 722 MB/s | 205 MB/s |
HP Envy x2 | 513 MB/s | 197 MB/s |
Surface Go (SSD) | 1,185 MB/s | 133 MB/s |
Surface Go (eMMC) | 260 MB/s | 145 MB/s |
Surface 3 | 149 MB/s | 33 MB/s |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | 2,338 MB/s | 1,583 MB/s |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | 2,028 MB/s | 806 MB/s |
Surface Laptop 2 | 1,509 MB/s | 811 MB/s |
Surface Laptop | 486 MB/s | 244 MB/s |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 | 2,400 MB/s | 1,228 MB/s |
.
For fans of Windows on ARM, or the idea of an always-connected PC the Flex 5G is one of the best implementations of the technology yet.
Comparatively, the Snapdragon 8cx is similar to the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, which is still used in many mid-range laptops. The 8cx also comfortably beats the older, but low-powered, Intel dual-core Core i7-8500Y.
SSD performance is also in the expected range with the 256GB UFS 3.0 drive (bumped from UFC 2.1). Just shy of 2,000 MB/s for sequential read and 500 MB/s for writing is like the Galaxy Book S but lags behind Surface Pro X.
While there is still some confusion over what Windows 10 on ARM can do, for this class of device, and my workload, I had no issues with day to day activities. Here is a sample of the apps and programs that I use on a laptop like the Flex 5G:
- Microsoft Office (Word, OneNote, Excel)
- Microsoft Edge (ARM64)
- Hulu
- Netflix
- Spotify
- VUDU
- Disney+
- Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Mail (Outlook.com)
- Flow Mail (Gmail)
- Polarr Photo Editor Pro
- Microsoft News
- GroupMe
- OneDrive
- Skype
- Microsoft To Do
- myTube! (YouTube)
- MobileDiscord PTB (Discord)
- Unigram (Telegram)
- ExpressVPN using manual configuration
However, another odd bug is when the Flex 5G hits less than 20% of battery life. The Snapdragon 8cx comes to a crawl, which is very noticeable. This drop in performance is demonstratable in Geekbench 5, which saw a steep decline in single-core speed (147 versus 716). It’s easy to ascribe such behavior to “battery saver mode,” but this is not the case as the performance drop occurs even when plugged in and using the included 45-watt Type-C charger. That should not happen.
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Let’s talk about the competition
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
In other words, while not cheap, the Flex 5G may end up being the most affordable 5G-enabled laptop for the foreseeable future.
Samsung’s new Galaxy Book S is a natural competitor to the Flex 5G except for the fact it is only 4G LTE capable. But at $999, it is $400 cheaper than the Flex 5G and delivers a similar experience. Unfortunately, Book S is a non-convertible laptop, which means while it does have a touch screen, it is less capable than the Flex 5G and it does not support inking at all. It also gets significantly less battery life compared to the Flex 5G and has a slightly worse keyboard, but it is thinner and nearly a pound lighter.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro X is also another excellent always-connected candidate. It differs from Galaxy Book S and Flex 5G in that it is a tablet-style PC instead of a clamshell convertible laptop. The Pro X is around two hundred dollars cheaper (after including the required Surface Type Cover, and optional pen). It gets worse battery life but has a higher resolution display, excellent inking, particularly good audio, and a unique form factor.
Factoring out 4G and 5G capability, and the competition goes through the roof. There are plenty of modern Ultrabooks that cost less and deliver more performance, but lack the advantages (and disadvantages) of ARM.
Lenovo Flex 5G Should you buy?
Who it’s for
- If you absolutely “need” 5G in a laptop
- If you want always-connected with excellent battery life
- If you work mostly on web, office, email, video calls, and information
- If money is NBD
- If you like convertible PCs with OK inking
Who it isn’t for
- If you want to game (without streaming)
- If you’re looking to stretch your dollar
- If you need 64-bit x86 applications like Adobe Photoshop
The biggest drawback to the Flex 5G is obvious: its $1,400 price. It all comes down to the “tax” levied on by Qualcomm for its 5G compute platform. Companies have invested millions into developing and promoting 5G, so it is not uncommon to see them recoup costs by charging early adopters more money for the privilege. Such an experience is mirrored in current 5G phones, which almost always run a higher price tag unless heavily subsidized by a carrier.
The question is whether getting 5G in a laptop is worth it, which is a personal choice. While there is a lot of hype around 5G, one could convincingly argue that it makes much more sense in a laptop than a phone. You are likely to be more stable for that mmWave 5G versus a phone, and you’re likely to need the bandwidth (or least, appreciate it) on a real PC.
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
While not cheap, the Flex 5G may end up being the most affordable 5G-enabled laptop for the foreseeable future.
For fans of Windows on ARM, or the idea of an always-connected PC, the Flex 5G is one of the best implementations of the technology yet. Performance is excellent, the display here is much better than the Yoga C630, battery life is incredible, and it’s just a fun laptop to use.
Some issues like the CPU performance drop when below 20% battery, or the inability to hibernate give me pause in recommending this without caveats. However, both problems are technically solvable through software (or firmware) updates, and depending on how you use the Flex 5G may not even be noticeable.
The Flex 5G does some fantastic stuff, and what it does it does very well. It delivers high-speed internet, a battery that lasts for days, excellent performance, and is an overall reliable productivity laptop. But its high price, some early bugs, and glossy display all hurt what is otherwise a significant advancement of the Windows on ARM initiative.
Availability for the Flex 5G is currently in the US-only, but Lenovo will sell it in other markets, including the UK, with EE partnerships this year. The laptop can be purchased directly from Lenovo, or Verizon Wireless with the latter knocking of $100 (1,400 vs. $1,500 from Lenovo).
Overall, it’s nice to see a “win” for ARM processing on Windows PCs by being the first to new technology. While we can debate the novelty of 5G, it is impressive to have it this early on a Windows 10 PC. Even without the 5G ability, Flex 5G is an outstanding productivity-focused light computing laptop that will benefit travelers and executives once the world resumes to normal.
Fast and connected
Lenovo Flex 5G
5G on your PC
This convertible laptop includes built-in 5G connectivity, allowing you to stay connected with incredibly fast internet speeds. While it’s expensive, it is also one of a kind, and it lives up to much of the hype.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.