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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is generally less expensive, lighter, and has a longer battery life, making it ideal for portability and general use. Its fanless design ensures silent operation. It has a high-quality screen with a higher resolution but is not designed for intensive gaming or heavy engineering tasks. Conversely, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5, often a bit pricier, offers a more powerful AMD Ryzen processor and Nvidia RTX graphics, better suited for gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering software. It features a larger screen and higher RAM but is heavier and has less battery life, making it less optimal for frequent travel. 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 Slim 5
- Very good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2
7.7
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 offers a higher-end dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and a faster screen refresh rate, making it better for gaming and 3D applications where fast, smooth visuals are paramount, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) uses an integrated Apple M1 GPU which is less powerful for these tasks and many popular games aren’t compatible with macOS.
Engineering and Design
7.3
8.0
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 offers double the RAM and a dedicated Nvidia RTX GPU, which are critical for demanding engineering and design tasks, alongside a more recent and powerful AMD Ryzen processor compared to the Apple MacBook Air (2020)'s Apple M1 chip and integrated GPU, making it very good for engineering and design.
Screen Quality
7.5
7.2
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers a high-resolution Retina display with a wide color gamut, ensuring vivid colors and sharp details for general use and engineering, but its standard refresh rate is less suitable for 3D applications that benefit from higher refresh rates. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5, while also providing a high-resolution display and adequate color reproduction for general use and engineering design, may lack the ultra-high refresh rate preferred for smooth visuals in gaming and 3D work. In both laptops, the focus on resolution and color accuracy over refresh rate makes them less ideal for 3D tasks where fluid motion is a priority.
Battery
15.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has 7 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
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0
7.4
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.6
7.6
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 5 are both good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Content Creation
7.8
7.5
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 5 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
7.4
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 5 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 Slim 5 costs $1,000.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Apple MacBook Air (2020) | Lenovo Legion Slim 5 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,000 | $1,000 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | November 1, 2020 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12'' x 8.4'' x 0.63'' | 14.2'' x 10.3'' x 0.99'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.8 lbs | 5.29 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 11.97" | 14.16" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.36" | 10.25" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Apple M1 | AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 15 Hours | 7 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 49.9 Wh | 80 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 13.3" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2560 x 1600 | 1920 x 1200 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 395 nits | 300 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 10/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 9/10 | 6.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 3 | N/A | |
Shopping
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | July 2022
"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."
Lenovo Legion Slim 5
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Mark Knapp | August 2023
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 acknowledges that a gaming laptop doesn’t have to be as thick as possible and can still ensure adequate cooling when the muscles need flexing. To this end, in the Slim 5 Gen 8, it finds a neat balance of refined, trimmed-down design that still lets its internals cruise (even above their max power ratings). Lenovo then added in some high-end build quality with an altogether excellent keyboard that’s useful for both work and play."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Lenovo Legion Slim 5
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.
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About the laptop team
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CEO and Laptops Editor
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
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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