The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9 presents itself as a mid-range laptop, attempting to strike a balance between affordability and premium features. While its sleek, all-aluminum design in a deep Abyss Blue and surprisingly light weight for a 16-inch laptop create a favorable initial impression, the actual user experience falls short of expectations due to several significant drawbacks. The laptop’s dim display, subpar audio, mushy keyboard, and slow USB ports ultimately detract from its overall value proposition.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9’s most glaring flaw is its dim display. Despite boasting a 16-inch, 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution touch screen, the panel’s limited brightness and poor color reproduction significantly hamper the viewing experience. White backgrounds appear dull gray, colors lack vibrancy, and text appears fuzzy, making extended reading sessions uncomfortable. Testing reveals a peak brightness of 300 nits, which is already on the lower end for comfortable viewing, but the actual perceived brightness appears even dimmer due to the panel’s limited color gamut, covering only 67% of sRGB and 51% of P3. This subpar display quality undermines the potential of the large screen size, particularly for entertainment purposes.
Compounding the display issues are the laptop’s weak audio capabilities. Equipped with only two 2-watt speakers, the IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9 delivers underwhelming sound quality. This is a significant oversight considering the entertainment-focused nature of a 16-inch laptop. The lack of robust audio further diminishes the overall enjoyment of movies, shows, or any multimedia content. The built-in 1080p webcam also disappoints, producing grainy and poorly balanced images reminiscent of a 720p camera, particularly struggling in low-light conditions.
The keyboard and touchpad further contribute to the IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9’s shortcomings. While the keys offer a pleasant springy feedback, their shallow travel and noticeable wobble, especially when struck off-center, create a mushy and imprecise typing experience. The inclusion of a narrow number pad, while potentially useful for some, comes at the expense of keyboard centering and full-sized arrow keys. The touchpad’s off-center placement, far to the left of the wrist rest, leads to frequent accidental right-clicks and requires a significant adjustment period.
Despite the all-metal construction, which is commendable at this price point, the chassis exhibits some flex in the lid and keyboard deck, indicating a less-than-robust build quality. While the laptop is impressively light at just under 4 pounds, the overall construction feels somewhat compromised compared to competitors like the Lenovo Yoga 7 16 Gen 9, which offers a more solid build albeit at a slightly higher weight.
Performance-wise, the IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9 delivers solid, though not exceptional, results. The Intel Core i7-150U processor, while prioritizing battery life over raw power, performs adequately for everyday tasks. However, its limited performance cores become evident in multi-core benchmarks, where it lags behind competitors with more powerful CPUs. The integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics also struggle to keep pace with laptops equipped with dedicated or more advanced integrated GPUs, limiting its gaming and graphics-intensive capabilities. A redeeming quality is the impressive battery life, exceeding 15.5 hours in online streaming tests, likely aided by the dim, low-resolution display.
The IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9 offers a diverse selection of ports, including two USB-A and two USB-C ports. However, the USB-C ports are limited to the older and slower USB 3.2 Gen 1 standard, offering only 5Gbps transfer speeds compared to the 40Gbps of Thunderbolt 4. The HDMI port is also outdated, supporting only 1080p output. The laptop also features Wi-Fi 6, but not the newer and faster Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 standards.
In conclusion, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9 initially attracts with its sleek design and lightweight build, its numerous drawbacks, particularly the dim display, poor audio, and mushy keyboard, ultimately outweigh its positive aspects. For a similar price, the Lenovo Yoga 7 16 Gen 9 offers a better overall experience with a brighter display and more robust build, along with the added versatility of a two-in-one design. For those willing to spend more, the HP Envy x360 16 presents a compelling alternative with a higher-resolution OLED display and superior performance. The IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9, therefore, struggles to justify its position in the competitive mid-range laptop market.
