Lenovo Flex 5G review - Insane battery life at a cost - Android

I’m a big proponent of equipping as many mobile computers as possible with cellular connectivity. After all, what’s a laptop or tablet without the internet? While a handful of laptops — mostly enterprise-focused machines — do indeed offer LTE, the number isn’t nearly enough.

Lenovo takes things a step further with the Flex 5G, which is a convertible laptop that includes not only 4G LTE, but Verizon Wireless 5G.

Is it worth getting excited about a 5G laptop? Find out in the Android Authority Lenovo Flex 5G review.

What is the Lenovo Flex 5G?

The Lenovo Flex 5G is one of the first laptops to ship with an available 5G connection. Moreover, it’s one of a few to run a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx processor, which is based on Arm cores rather than Intel x86. These components lend an extra dash of mobility to an already-mobile form factor.

The 8cx and 5G modem are able to work together to deliver lightning-quick connectivity and incredible battery life in a truly flexible piece of hardware. But there’s a “gotcha” lurking under the hood that may slow you down.

Design and display: Modern mettle

The Flex 5G is Lenovo modernism at its most minimal. The Flex is a convertible. This means it has a 360-degree hinge that allows for it to be used as a laptop or a tablet, like Lenovo’s Yoga line. It’s made of dark gray aluminum and has a sharp front edge and a rounded rear edge. It’s slim and stylish — as long as you’re into low-key designs. I can’t say that it really stands out, but few business machines do.

While the top half is aluminum, the bottom half has a soft touch material that covers the magnesium and aluminum that frame out the chassis. Two long, rubber rails keep the laptop steadily in place on a table or desk.

The hinge is fairly typical for a convertible. It is strong and sturdy, and holds the lid at any angle. It can swing 360 degrees. This allows the device to sit as a laptop, stand as tent, or rest as a tablet. The form factor is a little awkward as a tablet, but that’s to be expected.

Thanks to the 14-inch display, the Flex 5G splits the difference in size. The Flex 5G weighs 1.3kg (2.9 pounds) and measures 320 x 215 x 14.7mm. It’s definitely larger than a 13-inch laptop would be, though is somewhat smaller than modern 15-inch machines.

Speaking of the display, the 14-inch panel offers up Full HD resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The bezels are slim, but I’ve seen slimmer. The IPS LCD features a glossy touch panel that is quickly marred with fingerprints. The glossy cover really messes with outdoor visibility, too, due to reflections. Still, the 400nit brightness and 72 color gamut ensure that it looks clean, precise, and bright when indoors.

The build quality is absolutely fine, but I’d expect a little more finesse in a laptop at this price point.

More reading: Best laptops you can buy

Keyboard and Ports

Lenovo doesn’t stray too far from its typical keyboard design here, and that’s a good thing. I’ve long appreciated the shape and action of Lenovo’s keys. I found the keyboard punchy and quick. The keys are easy to glide across and find as you compose emails and fire off Slack messages. A slew of useful function keys line the top row.

A fingerprint reader rests just below the