Lenovo was the first PC OEM to demonstrate a 5G laptop at COMPUTEX 2019 with its Project Limitless 5G technology demonstration with Qualcomm, then announced this product at CES 2020 as Yoga 5G. Now that 5G networks are deployed worldwide, it is time for a full-on product to appear under the Lenovo Flex 5G name.
On June 18th, the Lenovo Flex 5G will be available to consumers for $1399.99 MSRP (or $58.33/mo.), and in the USA, Verizon will be the exclusive launch partner. Eventually, more networks and retail partners will have access to this product, but “when” remains to be seen.
The Qualcomm X55 5G modem is the enabler here, and that’s the same technology found in high-end smartphones, including the Galaxy S20 and other Snapdragon 865 smartphones.
Verizon’s network supports mmWave, the fastest wireless variant of 5G – that is, if you can find coverage near you. When you do, the experience is sublime. The hardware supports sub-6GHz networks as well, in case you need to roam.
But this first 5G laptop is powered by an even faster chip: the Snapdragon 8cx 5G compute platform. Snapdragon 8cx was introduced in 2018 then evolved in 2019 with 5G and more performant models. The 8cx series is not bound to the thermal constraints of smartphone and was designed with more compute units to cater to computer-like workloads.
The Lenovo Flex 5G is an Always-On, Always-Connected PC powered by a non-Intel processor architecture. As such, the battery life is typically impressive, and for the most part, it feels and acts like a regular PC laptop.
There are some caveats to be aware of. Some code can run in emulation mode, and there is a small chance that some apps or device drivers are not 100% compatible. Running games, virtual machines could be tricky as well.
These computers are designed for typical business applications, and for that, they run brilliantly.
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