Lenovo 5i Chromebook (16-Inch) Review

Lenovo’s 16-inch 5i Chromebook ($409.99 as tested) is one of the largest Chromebooks we've reviewed—just an inch smaller than the Acer Chromebook 317. This big-screener is ideal for families and students, thanks to its strong Intel Core i3 processor, sharp webcam, ample USB ports, and fast Wi-Fi 6E. An underwhelming keyboard is this ChromeOS laptop's only real demerit, but one look at its beautiful screen might be enough to forgive that. All this considered, the Lenovo 5i Chromebook earns our Editors' Choice award for big-screen Chromebooks, nailing the essentials without pumping up the price to match the panel size.

The Outside: Large and in Charge

The 5i Chromebook lineup includes a 14-inch Flex convertible and the 16-inch clamshell model seen and tested here. More powerful CPUs elevate the 5i Chromebooks over Lenovo’s budget 3i Chromebooks. Shoppers looking for a 14-inch model also have the option of the business-grade ThinkPad Chromebook.

Sold in one configuration, the 16-inch 5i Chromebook has an Intel Core i3-1215U CPU, 8GB of memory, 128GB of eMMC storage, and the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard. Those are healthy specifications south of $500, ones you’re not likely to match in a budget Windows laptop.

(Credit: Joe Maldonado)

Cheaper big-screened Chromebooks exist; the 16-inch 5i’s competition includes the Acer Chromebook 315 ($289), the Samsung Chromebook 4+ ($349), and the Lenovo 3i Chromebook ($529). They all use narrower, 15.6-inch 1080p screens, have just 64GB of storage, and are saddled with poky Intel Celeron or Pentium processors, so the modest premium for Lenovo's 5i Chromebook goes a long way.

Naturally, the Lenovo 5i Chromebook’s 16-inch screen is its major selling point. Though our SpyderX colorimeter that tests display quality doesn’t work on ChromeOS, sometimes you don’t need numbers to tell a screen has a first-class picture. Streaming video and even office work looks fabulous, with well-balanced color and brightness that can seem overwhelming in a darker room.

Keeping on trend, the screen's modern 16:10 aspect ratio affords a highly productive 1,920-by-1,200-pixel resolution. Touch support is missing, but an anti-glare surface mitigates reflections, and IPS panel technology means the screen doesn’t distort if you view it off-center. An FHD webcam above the display captures well-lit images noticeably sharper than what you’d see from a run-of-the-mill 720p camera—the lens has a sliding privacy shutter, too.

(Credit: Joe Maldonado)

Of course, it comes with the territory: A big laptop like this isn’t the best traveling companion, but that’s more of something to consider before purchasing than an actual drawback. At 0.79 by 14.3 by 10 inches (HWD) and 4.1 pounds, the 5i is about average for a 16-inch laptop.

Lenovo's Storm Gray chassis looks classier than this Chromebook’s price suggests. Most surfaces on this laptop are plastic, but the metal lid is impressively stiff. The display hinge is also sturdy, but excessively so: You’ll need two hands to get it open. The stereo speakers in front of the hinge project loud if unremarkable sound—about par for the course with Chromebooks.

This Chromebook is heavy on USB ports, with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, plus an audio combo jack and a MicroSD card reader.

(Credit: Joe Maldonado)

(Credit: Joe Maldonado)

Either USB-C port can be used with the power adapter. Dedicated video outputs are missing, but DisplayPort video output up to 4K resolution is supported over those USB-C ports. Also, this being a Google device, a Chromecast should get you over that hurdle pretty easily. Lenovo also includes a Kensington Nano security-cable lock notch, which could come in handy for school and office use.

(Credit: Joe Maldonado)

When it comes to input devices, Lenovo's luxuriously large touchpad is offset to the left, positioned under the space bar, to keep your hands on either side of it while typing, leaving room for an included number pad. Physical clicking, accomplished by pressing on the pad, is assertive yet quiet.

Lenovo's keyboard—surprisingly enough—is the only area where the 5i Chromebook disappoints. Mushy, cut-rate-sounding keystrokes and no backlighting make for a less-than-satisfying typing experience. It's no ThinkPad board.

(Credit: Joe Maldonado)

The board’s layout somewhat redeems it, with that undersize but functional numeric keypad and, in a rare move for a Chromebook, dedicated Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys. However, the arrow keys are a confusing mismatch of full-size left and right and half-size up and down keys—we always prefer these to all be the same size.

Testing the Lenovo 5i Chromebook: Core i3 Makes a Difference

As a refresher, the 16-inch 5i Chromebook we’re testing has an Intel Core i3-1215U CPU (two Performance and four Efficient cores, up to 4.4GHz Turbo Boost), 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of eMMC storage. The latter isn’t a real solid-state drive but is still commonly found in Chromebooks. Lenovo's standard warranty lasts for one year.

We're comparing the 5i Chromebook with smaller competitors in our performance tests since we haven’t recently tested any truly large models. Leading off the group are the Core i3 and Kompanio ARM versions of the Acer Chromebook 514. We're also including the convertible HP Chromebook x360 14a and the Samsung Chromebook 4+, which are powered by Intel Pentium Silver and Celeron processors, respectively.

Productivity Tests

We test Chromebooks with three overall performance benchmark suites: one on Chrome OS, one on Android, and one online. The first, Principled Technologies' CrXPRT 2, measures how quickly a system performs everyday tasks in six workloads such as applying photo effects, graphing a stock portfolio, analyzing DNA sequences, and generating 3D shapes using WebGL.

Our second test, UL's PCMark for Android Work 3.0, performs assorted productivity operations in a smartphone-style window. Finally, Basemark Web 3.0 runs in a browser tab to combine low-level JavaScript calculations with CSS and WebGL content. All three yield numeric scores; higher numbers are better.

Lenovo's 5i Chromebook makes impressive showings everywhere, winning two of these three benchmark competitions. Giving Lenovo's Chromebook a measurable edge is its Core i3 processor, which is newer than the one in the Acer. The MediaTek Acer, the HP, and the Samsung are all left in the dust. These numbers suffice to say the Lenovo 5i Chromebook should tear through everything that ChromeOS is capable of with relative ease.

Component and Battery Tests

Two other Android benchmarks focus on the CPU and GPU, respectively. Primate Labs' Geekbench 5.4 uses all available cores and threads to simulate real-world applications ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning, while GFXBench 5.0 stress-tests both low-level routines like texturing and high-level, game-like image rendering that exercises graphics and compute shaders. Geekbench delivers a numeric score, while GFXBench counts frames per second (fps).

Finally, to test a Chromebook's battery, we loop a 720p video file with screen brightness set at 50%, volume at 100%, and Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting disabled until the system quits. Sometimes we must play the video from an external SSD plugged into a USB port, but the 5i Chromebook has ample space to store it locally.

Lenovo's 5i Chromebook performs strongly in these tests, too. The GFXBench scores suggest its integrated Intel graphics should be strong enough for any kind of web browser-based gaming as well as what's available on the Google Play Store. More than 12 hours of battery life is also impressive for a large-screened laptop like this.

The only potential downside to this Chromebook's Intel Core i3 processor is that it requires active cooling; there’s a small cooling fan at the back right of the laptop's base, aiming up toward the display hinge. I rarely hear it kick up, however, and it only does so when I conduct these very benchmarks. It otherwise seems to remain off, but would likely spin up again when a game is loaded.

Verdict: Your Big Friendly Neighborhood Chromebook

Lenovo’s 16-inch 5i Chromebook is an impressive value for under $500. It covers the essentials with its top-notch screen, strong Core i3 performance, and all-day battery life. That would be pleasing enough, but this laptop goes the extra mile with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard, a sharp FHD webcam, and 128GB of storage. A surprisingly lackluster keyboard—especially from Lenovo—is its only real drawback, but it’s ultimately usable. Overall, Lenovo seems ahead of the game with this model, and we’re confident sending it off with an Editors' Choice award among big-screened Chromebooks.