If you prioritize a lightweight design and battery life for everyday tasks or traveling, consider the Apple MacBook Air; however, if you need a laptop for gaming, 3D rendering, or intensive engineering software, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is better suited for those purposes, albeit with a heftier build and potentially shorter battery life. The MacBook Air offers a seamless experience with other Apple products, while the Legion 5i Pro provides more power and upgradability options at the cost of less portability. The choice hinges on whether mobility or high performance is more critical for your needs. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
8.0/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro offers superior processing power and graphics with its Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, better suited for the demands of engineering software and design rendering, and also features a higher quality screen with a significantly greater refresh rate for smoother visuals. Meanwhile, the Macbook Air presents better portability with its lighter weight and silent operation, but its in-house CPU and GPU, while efficient, are less tailored for intensive engineering tasks than the Lenovo's, despite having a high-quality display and excellent build.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
8.1/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The MacBook Air's screen, with its high resolution and brightness, complements general use and engineering tasks where detailed visuals and color accuracy are essential, but its standard refresh rate hinders 3D applications that benefit from smoother motion. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i excels in both general use and professional design work with its superior color range and sharp display; however, despite being a model targeting gamers, its screen's lower refresh rate does not cater well to the fast-paced visuals expected in gaming and 3D scenarios. Both laptops possess qualities that make them suitable for productivity and creativity, yet neither is optimized for the high-refresh-rate demands of 3D content and gaming.
Battery
15.0 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has 3.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020), with its efficient Apple M1 CPU and long battery life, is well-suited for general use, prioritizing portability and silent operation. In comparison, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro features a high-performance Intel CPU and advanced Nvidia graphics, making it more suitable for demanding tasks, but it sacrifices some portability and has a shorter battery life.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.6/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
7.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Cost
$1,000
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i costs $1,000.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
"The midpriced Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8 follows some of our favorite gaming machines, including last year's model and the higher-end Legion Pro 7i Gen 8 tested earlier this year. But pedigree doesn't count for much in the computer world, and gaming laptops require a certain level of power and graphics performance to justify their prices. The Pro 5i Gen 8 just doesn't do that, offering middling CPU and GPU performance rather than the sort of muscle that would make it a great value."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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