What you need to know
- Lenovo has announced its first 16-inch Chromebook with the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook.
- Along with featuring a 2.5K resolution, the IdeaPad 5i also sports a 120Hz refresh rate.
- The IdeaPad 5i Chromebook is first launching in the EMEA in September for €549 with a U.S. launch coming later.
This year has been filled with some pretty exciting Chromebooks already thanks to the addition of Intel's 12th Gen chipsets. These offer more power for ChromeOS than you can imagine, which is great for gaming, productivity, and practically everything else. But as we continue to see improvements made to performance, Chromebooks are starting to catch up to their Windows counterparts thanks to support for things like faster refresh rates.
Enter Lenovo and the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook. This is the company's latest Chromebook offering and Lenovo's first 16-inch ChromeOS option. And while you might be excited about another big-screen Chromebook, there's even more to get excited about. That's because Lenovo has equipped its new IdeaPad 5i Chromebook with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The IdeaPad 5i Chromebook comes in two flavors: a 16-inch 2.5K LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 16-inch FHD LCD panel limited to your more traditional 60Hz refresh rate. The 120Hz display option will be one of the first Chromebooks released with such a feature, immediately giving it a leg up for those who are hoping to enjoy Steam Alpha on 12th Gen Intel chips.
Under the hood, there isn't as much power as one might have hoped for, as there are only two chipset configurations. The entry-level model will use an Intel Pentium 8505 chip, while the "high-end" option uses Intel's 12th Gen Core i3-1215U. The latter is what we're seeing as the low-end chip used in some of the best Chromebooks to launch in 2022, such as the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook and Acer's Chromebook Spin 714.
You'll also have the ability to configure the IdeaPad 5 Chromebook with up to 8GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of eMMC storage or 256GB or 512GB SSD storage. While we aren't 100% certain of how the final configurations will shake out, it's safe to assume the eMMC storage will likely come standard with the Intel Pentium chip. This would leave the faster SSD storage options for the Core i3 model.
Other features of the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook include stereo 2W speakers, a 1080p FHD webcam, and a 180-degree hinge. Battery life is rated for up to 12 hours on a single charge, while you'll be able to enjoy the reliability of Wi-Fi 6E routers when working or playing.
As for port selection, this 16-inch beast is full of options. There's a microSD card slot onboard, along with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a 3.5mm audio combo jack, and a Kensington Nano Security Slot. This, paired with the rest of the spec sheet, automatically makes it a serious contender for one of the best Chromebooks of the year.
Those who live in Europe and other select regions won't have long to wait, as the IdeaPad 5i Chromebook will arrive in September with a starting price of €549. Lenovo has confirmed that its latest Chromebook will arrive in the U.S. but did not provide a final price, nor do we know when it will be made available for purchase.
