Remote working is inescapable these days. Traditional consumer laptops have now adopted features once only seen in business machines. One such laptop was the Lenovo IdeaPad S540. It had a minimalistic design and decent hardware. It was an all-rounder, but the lack of a dedicated graphics card slightly limited its performance. Lenovo has now launched the IdeaPad Slim 5i. With cosmetic changes and changes under the hood, it makes for a great value proposition for most users.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i’s premium design is evident from its rounded edges. It’s modern yet subtle. The laptop’s aluminium chassis provides durability while being lightweight at 1.66kg, so you can carry it around easily. This is quite impressive for a 15-inch laptop. The interior surfaces, such as the palm rest, have a soft-touch coating for a comfortable feel. The top screen bezel protrudes slightly to accommodate the web camera and microphone. It offers a better grip when you open the lid with one hand. The hinge is also sturdy to prevent wobbling and it can open up to 180 degrees.
Lenovo has made ample space for ports and connectors on the IdeaPad Slim 5i. There is a pair of USB Type-A ports for connecting accessories such as an external keyboard, mouse, or hard drives. The laptop also has a USB Type-C port for quick data transfer. It can also be used to connect two, 4K monitors or a single 8K monitor. The port can also be used to charge the laptop. The Type-C port enables fast-charging, making this an ideal laptop for travellers.
There is also a SD card reader – handy for photographers and videographers. Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6 come standard as part of the wireless connectivity set. It’s future-ready when you switch to Wi-Fi 6 routers if you haven’t already.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i’s 15.6-inch full HD display uses an IPS panel, so it delivers accurate colours and wide viewing angles. Lenovo says the screen produces up to 300 nits of brightness, bright enough good outdoor legibility.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i runs an Intel Core i5-1135G7, a 4-core CPU with 8-threads and a Turbo frequency of 4.20 GHz. Lenovo says the CPU performs well in demanding tasks and it can easily handle photo, video, and web management tools. There is 16GB of RAM if you run a number of heavy software simultaneously, while making everyday tasks such as web browsing and video streaming effortless. The laptop has a 512GB SSD for quick boot ups and ultrafast data transfer speeds.
The NVIDIA GeForce MX350 graphics card further strengthens the IdeaPad 5i’s performance. This entry-level graphics chip outperforms the average integrated graphics processors on most laptops, in photo and video editing apps. It should run software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Autodesk Maya, smoothly. You can also run less-demanding games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League, Mud Runner and Borderlands 2.
The full-sized keyboard on the IdeaPad Slim 5i is large, well-spaced and the 1.6mm travel provides a comfortable typing and gaming experience. It is a backlit keyboard. You can adjust the brightness levels or turn it off entirely. Even the trackpad of the device is big enough to make scrolling through webpages and spreadsheets easy. Its supported with the Windows Precision drivers, which makes multi-finger gestures very easy to use.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i runs Windows 10 Home. It comes preloaded with Microsoft Office 2019 Home and Student, so you get access to tools such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint at no extra fee. The laptop also comes with the Lenovo Vantage app that evaluates the system health and automatically downloads important system software and drivers.
The Slim 5i’s dual speakers are Dolby Audio compliant, located on the sides of the keyboard to deliver a clear and unmuffled sound. The laptop is powered by a 57Wh battery that Lenovo claims can give a day-long battery life under heavy usage.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i is one of the most subtle looking laptops that offers all-around performance. The device is great for everyday work software and light games in your free time. Prices for the IdeaPad Slim 5i starts at Rs. 71,999* and it is available at www.reliancedigital.in and your nearest Reliance Digital store.
Note – Prices are subject to change. Refer to the product page for the latest prices, details, and availability.
