The laptop market is currently going through some major changes, and even the budget device market is expected to be affected.
I've been keeping a close eye on laptop prices this week, and I've come across a few great deals that I can't help but share. Case in point: the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 with Snapdragon X Plus chip inside.
It's a convertible Copilot+ PC that earned a Windows Central Best Award for its awesome OLED display, excellent efficiency, and affordable price tag.
Best Buy has dropped that attractive $859 price all the way down to $559, giving you a $300 discount on what Senior Editor Zac Bowden called "The perfect Snapdragon X Plus aptop for daily office tasks and student work."
Is it a good time to buy a new laptop?
With the laptop market experiencing an unprecedented upheaval in the wake of new tariffs, I'm recommending that would-be laptop buyers start shopping ASAP before prices really get out of control.
Framework and Razer have halted sales in the US for some of their laptops, and Acer officially announced in February (before the latest round of tariffs on China, where many laptops are made) that it's raising laptop prices by a flat 10%.
👉 Related: The latest tariff updates
All signs point to laptop prices rising sharply in the US in the coming weeks. However, we're currently in a narrow window where retailers are still sitting on stock that arrived before the new regulations.
Lenovo's IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 was already what I'd consider an excellent value at its regular $859 price, so this $300 discount is extra meaningful.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1: Review highlights
Windows Central Senior Editor Zac Bowden reviewed the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 favorably, giving it four stars and a Windows Central Best Award.
Those accolades came under the assumption that you'd be buying the PC at full price, making this $300 discount at Best Buy a lot more impressive.
Bowden tested a $750 configuration in his review, stating:
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is one of the first middle-of-the-road laptops I've tested with the Snapdragon X Plus. It's a $750 laptop with an all-day battery life, good performance for productivity-based tasks, a nice keyboard and trackpad, and an excellent 14-inch OLED touchscreen that supports pen input.
"You can get all that for just $750 these days, practically unheard of just a few years ago. Previously, the devices skimped out on the display, trackpad, performance, or battery life to hit that price. But that doesn't appear to be the case anymore."
The IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 is a Copilot+ PC thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus System-on-Chip (SoC) inside, which includes a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 45 TOPS of power for local AI tasks.
If you don't use the AI tools available to a Copilot+ PC, you can still take advantage of the awesome efficiency that Qualcomm delivers.
Bowden saw a runtime of more than 15 hours from a single charge in Procyon's battery rundown test. Knocking a few hours off of that for a closer real-world estimate will still keep you charged for a full workday.
The laptop isn't exactly flashy, and its camera and speakers are average, but the display makes up for those compromises.
Sized at 14 inches, it uses a 1080p OLED panel to deliver unreal color and contrast. It's also capable of up to about 400 nits of brightness, reducing the chance of glare when working in a well-lit space.
