If you prioritize a lightweight design and longer battery life for general use and mobility, the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is a suitable choice. On the other hand, if you need more power for gaming, 3D work, or machine learning tasks, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" offers better performance but with increased weight and potentially shorter battery life. The Legion's gaming capabilities also mean it comes at a higher cost. Consider the MacBook Air if portability and price are your main concerns, or the Legion Slim 7 if performance in demanding applications is your top priority. 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 7 15.6"
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is only fair.
The MacBook Air, while sleek and with quality screen display, lacks a powerful dedicated GPU and high refresh rate screen, making it less suitable for GPU-intensive gaming and 3D applications; whereas the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 offers a robust dedicated GPU and higher refresh rate, making it far more capable for smooth gaming experiences and 3D tasks, even though its screen quality and CPU are also factors, they are secondary to the GPU's impact on performance. Keep in mind, however, that the MacBook's operating system may not support many popular games, which can limit gaming options compared to the Legion which runs on a Windows platform.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
7.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for engineering and design, though the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
7.7/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 for engineering and design, and software development, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
For general use, laptops like the Apple MacBook Air deliver high-quality displays with sharp resolution and brightness, providing vivid images and clear text. The screen quality for engineering and design on both laptops is enhanced by wider color gamuts, allowing for precise color work and detail necessary in those fields. However, for 3D applications where refresh rate is crucial, both the MacBook Air and the Lenovo Legion Slim may fall short as they prioritize color accuracy and resolution over the high-refresh-rate displays favored in high-end 3D rendering and gaming.
Battery
15.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 9 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
Good
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$1,200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has a price of $1,000 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" costs $1,200.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air excels in portability and has a high-quality screen, making it ideal for everyday tasks, with sufficient CPU and RAM for smooth performance and excellent battery life for on-the-go use. The Lenovo Legion Slim, while also offering a great screen and ample CPU and RAM for general use, focuses more on performance that benefits from better heat management, making it heavier and less portable than the MacBook Air, but still a strong candidate for those needing more power for intensive tasks.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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 Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
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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