Take $100 off the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook with 8 GB of memory, 128 GB of storage
There’s a bang-up sale on the top configuration of the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook currently going on. And the deal is good all the way through January 24 at Costco.
Between now and then, the $499 Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook is discounted by $100, making the final price $399.99
It was only a few weeks ago that this model became available in the U.S., doubling up the 4 GB of memory on the original model that’s been around for most of this year.
Aside from getting 8 GB of memory, you also get the 128 GB storage configuration. Oh and that’s not the slower eMMC storage; it’s NVMe, which is much faster for moving data back and forth on the internal drive.
The Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook has a solid 1080p touchscreen, measuring 13.3-inches, and getting a Core i3 processor is quite a value at this price.
Here’s full rundown on the specs:
| CPU | 10th-Gen Intel Core i3-10110U |
| GPU | Intel Integrated Graphics |
| Display | 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen, 300 nits |
| Memory | 8 GB DDR4 |
| Storage | 128GB NVMe SSD, microSD slot for expansion |
| Connectivity | WiFi 6 (2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Input | Water-resistant, backlit keyboard, multitouch trackpad, 720p webcam |
| Ports | Two USB Type-C (3.1), one USB Type-A (3.1), headphone jack |
| Battery | Claimed run-time of up to 10 hours |
| Weight | 2.97 pounds |
| Software | Chrome OS automatic software update expiration: Jun 2028 |
As I said earlier this month, the Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook should be capable of anything you can throw at it: basic browsing, online productivity apps, and games via streaming services or from the Google Play Store.
I’ve watched many streaming services on this device too: The IPS panel is quite good even though the brightness is average at 250 nits.
You’ll need to be a Costco member to buy at this price, else you pay a small premium. My advice? See if a friend or family member who belongs to Costco will order one if you think this is the Chromebook for you. By the way, Costco provides a second year on your warranty; another nice perk.
One complaint I’ve heard quite a few times about this device is worth a mention before you pull the trigger though.
Several commenters have noted that the plastic hinges have broken on this device. I haven’t experienced that with the Flex 5, nor any other Chromebook that uses plastic hinges. However, it should be noted that this issue has surfaced more than once.
You need to advise whether the Flex 5 with 8 GB memory and 128 GB internal storage ALSO has plastic hinges. This is NOT an issue that can be brushed aside. Some purchasers returned theirs, while I elected to attempt the “superglue fix.” Now the broken hinge works (so far) but in the process, the cable that connects the camera at the top of the screen to the computer got damaged, so the camera no longer works. I did have an old Microsoft USB camera, so I can still use the camera app, but not with the internal camera. Don’t get me wrong, this computer, even the 4 GB memory and 64 GB internal storage, performs very well, and is now my daily driver, but if purchasing a NEW one, I would want to make darn sure that it did not have plastic hinges susceptible to breaking like quite a few of us have experienced.
I see no mention of a redesign or build change, so this model very likely has the same plastic hinges. It’s been available in other countries since April, so this isn’t a new redesign.