Lenovo ThinkBook Plus (Gen 5) review: Windows and Android hybrid

Windows 2-in-1 has I’ve been doing a tablet/laptop hybrid for a while, but I always feel like the tablet part of the equation is missing. While iPads and Android tablets have refined their experiences for over a decade and have a vast ecosystem of tablet-optimized apps, Windows remains an ugly duckling.

But what happens when you combine a Windows laptop with a full Android tablet? That’s the idea behind the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus (Gen 5), and it’s an interesting one.

The closest analog to the ThinkBook Plus (Gen 5) is Microsoft’s now-defunct Surface Book product line, but it doesn’t require splitting shared hardware between the screen and the base. Instead, ThinkBook packs all of the laptop’s internals into separate tablet hardware within the keyboard base and display. What you end up with is instant (well, almost Instantly switch between Windows and Android with the push of a button, or operate them separately when you remove the screen.

Photo: Daniel Thorpe-Lancaster

The hardware is no slouch either. My review unit Lenovo has an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor, 32 GB of RAM, and a 1 terabyte solid-state drive for storage. The tablet portion of the machine includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset (the flagship Android processor from 2022 onwards), 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. These are pretty strong specs on both ends of the equation, and they help keep your ThinkBook Plus (Gen 5) running great on both Windows and Android.

As you’d expect from a $3,500 machine, the build quality on this ThinkBook Plus is exceptional, with an all-metal chassis that can withstand being run over by a pickup truck (please) please don’t please do that). Featuring a 14-inch OLED touchscreen display with a resolution of 2,880 x 1,800 pixels, it looks as good as a premium laptop. Paired with a robust set of speakers tuned by Harman Kardon, you get an overall great media experience.

Photo: Daniel Thorpe-Lancaster