The Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers more storage and a touch screen with a slightly larger display size, which is useful for general use and multimedia consumption, but it is heavier and bulkier, making it less portable than the ThinkBook 13s. The ThinkBook is lighter, making it more convenient for frequent travel, and has a higher screen resolution, providing clearer visuals for tasks such as photo editing or reading text. For demanding applications, both can handle general use and light engineering tasks, but for intensive work like 3D modeling or heavy multitasking, the Flex 5 14 may be preferable due to its slightly better performance capabilities. The ThinkBook has better portability and build quality, making it a solid choice for professionals on the go, while the Flex 5 14's bigger screen and stronger performance are advantageous for more stationary or multimedia-intensive use. 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 14
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
Good overall display quality
Excellent portability
Very good speakers
Key differences
Engineering and Design
7.0/10
7.5/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for engineering and design, though the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s is somewhat better.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 is well-suited for engineering and design due to its powerful AMD Ryzen 7 processor with integrated Vega 8 graphics, coupled with ample RAM, and a quality IPS touchscreen display that facilitates interactive tasks. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s offers a high-resolution IPS display and boasts an Intel i7 processor with Iris Xe graphics, offering robust performance for design tasks, while its compact size and lighter weight enhance portability, along with a higher screen color accuracy which is beneficial for precision work.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
7.2/10
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
277.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
336.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers a balance of resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks and productivity software, which makes it adequate for general use, but its limited color gamut may not fully satisfy engineering and design professionals who require precise color representation. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s, with its higher quality display, provides better color accuracy and a wider color range, catering well to the needs of those in graphic design or engineering fields. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both laptops fall short due to their standard refresh rates, which can't deliver the ultra-smooth visuals preferred in high-paced or immersive environments where higher refresh rates are crucial.
Battery
11.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has 11.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has 8 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.
Portability
Very Good
Excellent
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
2.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.5in
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has excellent portability, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
7.6/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo Flex 5 14 both have good build quality, though the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has somewhat better build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for general use.
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good for general use with its ample storage, strong CPU, and high RAM, combined with a 2-in-1 design for flexibility and a decent battery life, making it versatile for a variety of tasks. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s offers a superior screen quality, better portability owing to its lower weight, and better battery life, alongside its powerful CPU and RAM, catering well to professionals needing a compact and high-performance laptop for general use.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
6.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.3/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.8/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for content creation.
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
7.4/10
7.7/10
6.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for software development.
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.
Cost
$950
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has a price of $950 and the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s costs $1,000.
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How the Lenovo Flex 5 14 and the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s compare to other laptops
"The highlight of the latest IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is clearly its AMD CPU. The octa-core Ryzen 7 5700U is insanely fast even when compared to the best Tiger Lake Ultrabooks in the market or even Core H CPUs in many gaming laptops. It's a lot of raw processing power for what is supposed to be a budget 14-inch convertible. If your daily workloads can benefit from extra multi-thread CPU performance, then look no further than the inexpensive AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14. For regular on-the-road browsing or video streaming, however, a slimmer and lighter 10th gen Core Yoga, Spectre, or XPS would be a more balanced option."
"The best thing about the ThinkBook 13S is that it’s a good deal. Business buyers looking for ThinkPad-level performance and software without ThinkPad pricing will probably find the ThinkBook a solid option. While nothing about it is really spectacular, it’s certainly unusual to see the ThinkBook’s screen resolution at a sub-$1,000 price, and its performance will be more than adequate for most office tasks. The generous port selection, 16:10 aspect ratio, physical webcam shutter, and clear audio are certainly icing on the cake."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Flex 5 14 or the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
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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