First Look: Lenovo’s IdeaPad 5i Is the First 16-Inch, High-Refresh-Rate Chromebook

A few giant Chromebooks equipped with 17-inch screens do exist, yes. (We reviewed one of the two we know of, the Acer Chromebook 317. Asus has one too.) But it's time to welcome a new screen size to the Chromebook fold: Lenovo has announced the first 16-inch Chromebook, the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook, upping both the panel-size and feature-set options for ChromeOS users. We were able to go hands-on with the product at a Lenovo preview event in advance of the IFA trade show.

The video below includes our hands-on rundown of the device and an outline of its features. The big one, unique among Chromebooks so far: the 120Hz refresh rate for that oversize screen. Watch and read on for more details.

A Big-Screen Chromebook for Real Work

The prototypical Chromebook is a small and inexpensive laptop, and while the $399 starting price for the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook isn’t high, the machine can be equipped with more serious parts than the usual ChromeOS offerings.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

But first, let’s start with the size: It measures 0.8 by 14.3 by 10 inches (HWD), larger than most Chromebooks but not too big for any machine with a 16-inch screen. It weighs 4.1 pounds, and though it may stay put at a desk for small-business deployments, it is pretty travel-friendly given the screen size.

The reverse side of the screen is a nice two-tone design, as you can see below. The panel, meanwhile, bears a 2.5K resolution, which is also higher than usual for a Chromebook, and makes for quite a nice, sharp display at this size. Also far out of the ordinary for this category is the screen’s 120Hz refresh rate.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Normally, a high-refresh panel is a benefit touted by Windows-based gaming machines, and you could indeed do some cloud gaming on the device. But high refresh has other benefits. Everyday actions like scrolling through apps and your web browser simply look smoother at high refresh rates. It's a benefit that users of late-model smartphones have been enjoying the last few years.

The Components and Features: Fit for ChromeOS

The shift to remote work and distance learning has increased the need for at-home machines, but they often don’t need to be too powerful for basic e-mail, writing and research work, and video calling. ChromeOS has taken off, as a result, and small businesses can make use of the cloud platform too.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Given all that, the baseline components for a Chromebook usually don’t need to be high-end, but some users do need a bit more power while still wanting to use the OS. The 5i has options for this, going a bit higher up the Chromebook component stack than most.

In its peak configuration (pricing not shared yet on that), it can pack up to a 12th Generation Core i3 Intel processor, 8GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD or 128GB of eMMC flash storage. Those aren’t powerhouse specs, by any means, especially compared to usual Windows-laptop fare. But at the top end, they are more than enough for a fast Chromebook.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

The feature set is rounded out by a 1080p webcam, which is also a boon for today's booming videoconferencing world. Finally, the laptop also supports Wi-Fi 6E, and its physical connectivity includes both USB Type-C and Type-A ports (two of each!), a headset jack, and a microSD card slot for cheaply expanding the storage. Recharging the battery happens via one of the USB-Cs.

(Credit: Kyle Cobian)

Check back later this year when the Chromebook 5i becomes available.