Lenovo Ideapad 1 AMD Ryzen 5 5625U (16GB RAM/512GB SSD/Windows 11/Office Home 2024/15.6 Inch (39.6Cm)/FHD IPS Display/3Months Game…

This laptop is newly launched in Q4 2021 and has all the features that can enable one to work for business/ office as well as entertainment purposes.

I did a lot of research before buying this laptop for my purposes and would like to share the same with you to make your decision easier.

The key features because of which I bought the laptop are:
1. Latest Windows 11 Software
2. 512 MB SSD / 8 GB RAM
3. 15.6 inch FHD screen (would have been better with IPS display, but I was ok to compromise on this in favor of other features)
4. Lifetime free Microsoft Office (no need to purchase separately)
5. Backlit keyboard
6. Tactile and smooth keys with very little travel and less sound
7. Loud and Good Dolby Speakers, easy on the ears
8. Good battery life (one charge can last upto 6-7 hours with medium usage of speakers and display brightness)
9. AMD Ryzen 5 5500 : Very nifty and quick processor. The boot time is approx 3 secs, which is fast.

This piece is good for office, music, movies and basic data analysis and games.

Would definitely recommend to buy this laptop as it is value for money

Good points 👍🏽

1. Has acceptable performance for the given budget, may run small games and support small video editing.

2. The laptop is light weight and sleek, fits in bags easily.

3. The laptop usually remains cool, may slightly heat up when watching videos or doing some intensive work.

4. The laptop has a good battery and lasts atleast 6 hours when doing normal work in full battery.

5. Comes with Microsoft office package.

Downsides 👎🏽

1. The hinges for the laptop screen is the worst thing in this whole laptop, you have to be strong to open up this laptop, makes a sound like an old rusted door when the screen is lifted up.

2. There is no dedicated VideoRAM so it takes around 2GB space from the installed RAM, it is advertised to have 8GB RAM but you’ll get 6GB usable RAM only. It is advised to replace and install a new RAM if you’re planning to buy this laptop.

i.) I don’t know why people are cribbing so much about the screen. The laptops which have an IPS display with a similar configuration (and 15.6″ screens) are mostly over Rs. 55000. You get what you pay for. If needing an IPS display because you’re too lazy to occasionally adjust the screen is worth Rs.10000 more, be my guest. The screen and display are absolutely fine otherwise (yes, you can watch movies and everything else).

ii.) This is one of the only few models in this price range which has a backlit keyboard. If an IPS display truly matters though, you do have some Lenovo, Acer and HP laptops which are <45000. I'm not sure if they have backlit keyboards though.

iii.) The only issue I have (and this applies to all other brands) is the fact that almost all the newer laptop models have really small Up and Down arrow keys which can initially be inconvenient if you use them a lot. In the beginning, my fingers were getting cramped up due to that. It takes a bit of time to get used to them. It’s completely fine once you get used to it. However, if you want standard sized arrow keys, get another model. The laptop works smoothly otherwise and is good for everyday use.

iv.) There’s no point complaining that games work slowly because this is NOT a gaming laptop. You cannot buy a motorcycle and then complain that it does not fly. If you want a good gaming laptop, shell out more than 1 lakh. The onboard graphics on this is roughly as powerful as a GeForce GTX 765m SLI, a GPU that was released in 2013. If you’re playing games from that era, you can play them at 1080p at high settings. Don’t expect today’s games to run well.

v.) I have found no problems such as poor sound quality (I use earphones most of the time), battery draining quickly etc. After cashback, I got this laptop for Rs. 43,690.5 .

vi.) The build quality isn’t very strong. So, use the laptop with care. Be gentle when opening and closing the lid. Place the laptop inside a bag when not in use. Otherwise, constant use can damage the shell.

Edit (15-Nov-23): After a year of heavy use, the LCD cover, bezel (the strip around the monitor) and the back case got damaged. I didn’t drop the laptop. Just heavy use. At first, I only saw the damage on the first two components. I registered a complaint with Lenovo online. They sent an engineer and replaced those two components under warranty (no extra charge). However, the damage on the third component is something I only observed when the engineer who came to my house for repairs showed it to me. I asked him to contact Lenovo and send the third part too but they said they won’t cover it under warranty. I think if I found it the first time around they would have sent all 3 components. Anyway, overall I’m still happy for now. The back case isn’t much of a problem for now once the screws are placed in. It just looks like a crack.

Edit (18-Oct-24): In one more year, again, the body has deteriorated significantly. Cracks everywhere, monitor hinge loose etc. Have to spend 8k on repairs. If you’re looking for long lasting durable laptops, a Thinkpad might be a better option. You will save on costs in the long run. These plastic body laptops have these issues of cracking, hinges getting loose or breaking etc. if you’re a heavy user. You don’t have to drop the laptop for shell damage. Just opening and closing the lid and moving the laptop around frequently can do it. The hardware is good. The durability is poor.

Edit (21-Mar-25): Once again, the monitor hinge has come off even though the internal hardware and functioning of the laptop is perfectly fine. This kind of durability is a dealbreaker. Why put great hardware in such a crap body.

Edit (30-Mar-25): After 2.5 years of use, I have had to purchase a new laptop due to the monitor hinge breaking 3-4 times. This is a recurring issue with these laptops. You can look it up online. Hundreds of complaints regarding this. Asus Vivobooks have better build quality.