The Lenovo Flex 5 16 offers a balance of performance and versatility with its 2-in-1 design, making it suitable for everyday tasks and light gaming or creative work. It's more affordable and has a decent battery life, but it may struggle with more demanding tasks like intensive gaming or advanced engineering applications. On the other hand, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, while pricier, delivers superior performance with its dedicated Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, which is beneficial for gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks. It also boasts a higher-quality Mini LED display with a faster refresh rate and better color accuracy, which is great for professionals and enthusiasts who require top-notch visuals. The Yoga Pro 9i is also built with premium materials, offering better build quality and a more luxurious feel. If you prioritize performance and display quality for demanding applications and are willing to invest in a high-end machine, the Yoga Pro 9i is the better choice. However, if you're looking for a more cost-effective solution for general use with the flexibility of a 2-in-1, the Flex 5 16 is a solid option. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Lenovo Flex 5 16
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Very good speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.7/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.2/10
8.7/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.3/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.5/10
8.1/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
7.3/10
9.8/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
400.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
11.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has 11.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Cost
$779
$1,450
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has a price of $779 and the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i costs $1,450.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i to be very good for general use, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Portability
Good
Good
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 and Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i and Lenovo Flex 5 16 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Flex 5 16 and the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 is a solidly equipped, 2-in-1 in the lower price segment. Performance is definitely sufficient for everyday tasks and in tests the battery proved itself to be very economical. That aside, there is a lot of standard fare on show and a search for real highlights ends in vain. The low color coverage and reflective display can be avoided by going for an optional 2.5K display but this also presumably results in poorer battery life. The cooling uses only one fan and leads to a raised temperature on one side of the device under load. Additionally, there is very loud fan noise, also under load or when gaming. On top of that, we also occasionally noticed electronic noises."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Flex 5 16 or the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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