If you’ve been biding your time hoping for a flexible laptop that can tackle work, school, and streaming without breaking a sweat, then the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 2-in-1 just leapt to the top of the value stack. It’s on sale now for upwards of half off — around $399 a pop — and inside, you get the kind of silicon and memory footprint that makes daily multitasking no big deal.
The hook is straightforward: convertible utility with surprisingly powerful insides. For those working between spreadsheets, browser tabs, creative apps, and video calls, this configuration is a must-have in that sweet spot where performance meets portability and price.
Why This 2-in-1 Meticulously Handles Multitasking
Running this IdeaPad 5i is the Core Ultra 5 225U from Intel, which takes modern aspects in mind and combines them into a chip that should manage efficiency and bursty performance. Intel’s newest architecture blends performance and efficiency cores that go some way toward keeping multiple apps responsive while also saving power for lighter tasks. That integrated NPU also handles accelerating things, from AI-infused features (like smarter background blur and noise suppression in something like Windows Studio Effects), so the CPU and GPU are free to work on whatever you are doing.
Supported by 32GB of memory, the machine is able to leave a heavy workload resident in RAM. That means you’re much less likely to run through the frustrating bottleneck of moving data to storage when you’ve got a dozen productivity apps and scores of browser tabs open. To harness the power of that GPU for both efficiency and ray tracing, a GeForce RTX 4050 comes to assist with accelerating timelines in video editors, AI upscaling within creative tools, or any other CUDA-enabled workflows. Nvidia’s Studio driver stack remains the favorite among creators who wish for stability with apps from Adobe and Blackmagic Design.
Real-World Performance and Everyday Use Cases
This is the kind of 2-in-1 that, in my real-world use, laughs at a busy Monday: more than 20 open Chrome tabs, a live spreadsheet with pivot tables, Slack dinging over everything else, and Spotify wailing while I open yet another Zoom call featuring background effects — no issue. UL’s PCMark 10 includes “Essentials” and “Productivity” workloads that match this combination (sans discrete GPU), and systems with similar CPUs, discrete GPUs, and a bunch of RAM regularly score at the top end of their respective ranges, meaning easy navigation and quick app switching.
Light creative work has been comfortable here too. Lightroom batch exports, 1080p to 1440p video timelines, and AI-powered image edits will appreciate the combination of the RTX 4050 and a healthy amount of RAM. While not a workstation-level rig, it’s powerful enough for most side projects, social content creation, and general media work without crawling.
Convertible Design and Better-Than-Expected Audio
- The 360-degree hinge gives you four usage modes and the flexibility to work or play anywhere.
Touch input is responsive, and the form factor is friendly for reading or marking up PDFs for meetings on the go.
Audio is a quiet highlight. Up-firing speakers with Dolby Atmos support ensure the sound is projected toward you, not into the table, which will provide clarity for podcasts or video calls. Atmos processing could open up the soundstage on compatible content, which is a cool benefit for streaming. It’s a cut above the thin, down-firing speakers taking up residence in many midrange convertibles.
Battery life is designed to keep up with everyday mobility. Core Ultra’s efficiency gains, combined with sensible thermals, mean the computer can deal with mixed workloads without sprinting toward an outlet. Exact longevity depends on screen brightness and the discrete GPU, if you use it, but real-world mixed-use results should easily see you through eight hours if you rely on the integrated graphics for less-intensive tasks. Standard tests such as MobileMark also tend to frequently showcase this class of hardware, reaping rewards from a more intelligent spread of power across cores and the NPU.
Know the Limits Before You Decide to Purchase
There are trade-offs to note. The Core Ultra 5 225U is tuned for efficiency, not the long sustained heavy loads you’d receive with higher-wattage H-series chips. The RTX 4050 here is probably limited to a modest power envelope, so it will be best for more lightweight 3D work and accelerated creativity tasks than intense 4K video projects or AAA gaming at high settings.
If your day includes color-critical grading, CAD assemblies, or back-to-back high-resolution video calls where camera and mic fidelity could be more important, then you might want to look at a pricier creator laptop or business-class machine with upgraded webcam hardware. For the larger group of multitaskers — students, hybrid workers, and content dabblers — this configuration is well-equipped to juggle everything.
Value and Competition in the 2-in-1 Laptop Market
The pricing is the headline. At just over 50% off, this IdeaPad 5i is cheaper than a lot of similarly configured convertibles from such brands as HP and Acer that you often see between $699 and $999, with less memory as well as no discrete GPU. Analysts at IDC and Gartner have also observed that consumers are increasingly interested in convertibles again due to refresh cycles, and deals like this are why: you get premium multitasking performance and a flexible form factor without the premium price.
On top of being part of Nvidia’s Studio ecosystem, with support for Dolby Atmos and Intel’s AI capabilities, it has legs beyond just specs. And since Windows leans even more heavily on on-device acceleration for audio, video, and AI smarts, the pairing of NPU and RTX compute should pay dividends as software evolves.
Bottom Line: A Strong Multitasking 2-in-1 at a Great Price
This Lenovo 2-in-1 nails the multitasking bullseye and throws in an appealing price to boot. It’s the appropriate choice for people who want a convertible laptop that stays smooth while doing real work — lots of RAM, a capable CPU, and GPU acceleration — without crossing four digits. If you have been on the fence about a 2-in-1, this is the kind of over-50-percent-off discount that justifies making the leap.
