STACK #253 November 2025

TECH FEATURE

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The next generation of Lenovo’s IdeaPad is here – and they are more powerful, more versatile, and smarter than ever before. Choose between the 14-inch IdeaPad Slim 5x, an ultra-portable laptop that delivers high performance, and the 2-in-1 variant, which has the versatility to function as a tablet, too. Words James O'Connor Harnessing the power of Snapdragon and Copilot+ Lenovo IdeaPad 5x

the 2-in-1 model offers an OLED touchscreen with up to 400 nits of brightness. The slim bezel lets the screen shine, and both displays have TÜV Eyesafe low blue light certification, so you can use them for long periods without worrying about eye strain. The IdeaPad Slim 5x sports a traditional clamshell design, while the Slim 5x 2-in-1 boasts greater flexibility via a 360° hinge for easy switching between laptop and tablet modes. You can expect excellent battery life from both devices too, with up to 22 hours on a single charge without any drop in performance.* Plus, both support Rapid Charge, which can get you back to 80% power from zero within an hour. Which one is right for me? While there are differences between these two models, in terms of power and features, they're quite comparable. If you go with the IdeaPad Slim 5x, there’s the choice of 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, or 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, depending on

Enter the Snapdragon X Plus Both the IdeaPad Slim 5x and 5x 2-in-1 are built upon the Snapdragon X Plus platform, an AI-enhanced chipset that is powering some dramatic improvements for this generation of Lenovo laptops. The very name "Snapdragon" evokes speed and power, and that's exactly what you're getting here – an ultra-powerful Qualcomm Oryon CPU that boasts amazing performance, incredible battery efficiency, and enhanced AI compatibility.

whopping 32MB for ultra-fast processing. This means that both devices can easily handle complex tasks and navigate demanding software. Your AI Copilot Both laptops are Copilot+ PCs, meaning they have neural processing units (NPUs) capable of 45 trillion operations per second (TOPS). AI acceleration boosts the performance of most tasks you'd use a PC for, while also preserving battery life and improving data security. Copilot+ functionality also allows for easier system searches, and can assist with tasks such as document summarising, video editing, image creation, and photo retouching. You can access these features, and many others, on both models of Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5x. Vivid colours and brilliant build quality The quality of a laptop display is important, and both the IdeaPad Slim 5x and 5x 2-in-1 deliver top notch visuals. Both IdeaPads sport a 14-inch WUXGA (Wide Ultra eXtended Graphics Array) display, while

your needs. The 5x 2-in-1 boasts 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD by default, and comes with the Lenovo Digital Pen 2 for tablet use. Ultimately, the choice comes down to whether or not you want a laptop that can double as a tablet. The IdeaPad Slim 5x is a good fit if you just need a dedicated laptop, whereas the 5x 2-in-1 has that additional ‘flip’ versatility.

An integrated Adreno GPU means that both models can output high-quality graphics. The 5x 2-in-1 has 16GB of memory, whereas the largest version of the Slim 5x boasts a

*Battery life varies significantly with device, settings, usage, and other factors

34 NOVEMBER 2025

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