The Apple MacBook Air (2020) prioritizes portability and has a longer battery life, which is ideal for on-the-go use and tasks like web browsing, document creation, and media consumption. Its silent, fanless design contributes to a lightweight and quiet experience. On the other hand, the Lenovo LOQ 16 offers higher performance with more memory and a more powerful graphics card that suits more demanding tasks such as gaming, 3D rendering, or video editing. It also has a larger, higher refresh rate screen which can be better for multimedia and productivity, but this contributes to it being heavier and having a shorter battery life than the MacBook Air. Consider the Lenovo LOQ 16 if higher performance for demanding tasks is a priority and the MacBook Air if portability and longer usage without charging are more important to you, accepting its slightly lower cost and its more modest performance in comparison. Give Feedback
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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 LOQ 16
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
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
7.0/10
The Lenovo LOQ 16 is 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
7.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo LOQ 16 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for engineering and design, though the Lenovo LOQ 16 is somewhat better.
The Lenovo LOQ 16 outperforms the Apple MacBook Air (2020) in engineering and design tasks due to its superior AMD Ryzen processor, double the RAM, and a more powerful Nvidia RTX GPU with hardware ray tracing capabilities, better serving software that benefits from these specs. However, the MacBook Air is more portable and silent, offering a higher quality display with better color accuracy, and it's a better fit for design tasks where high color fidelity and a quieter working environment are valued.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
7.2/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Lenovo LOQ 16 for general use, and engineering and design, while the Lenovo LOQ 16 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air's Retina display with its high resolution and brightness offers crisp and vibrant visuals suitable for everyday activities and engineering tasks where color accuracy is key. However, its screen refresh rate is not designed for 3D applications that require smooth and rapid image changes. Similarly, the Lenovo LOQ 16 provides a high-quality display with accurate colors essential for engineering and design, but its lower refresh rate may not deliver the optimal experience for gaming and dynamic 3D rendering.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo LOQ 16 has 6 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
5.7 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Lenovo LOQ 16 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 LOQ 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$740
$200
$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 LOQ 16 costs $740.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo LOQ 16 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
7.8/10
7.6/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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 LOQ 16 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
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo LOQ 16 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 LOQ 16 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."
"Gaming laptops with an RTX 4060 are available starting from about 1,000 Euros (~$1,060), even in 16-inch format. For the supposedly affordable Lenovo LOQ 16 (1,500 Euros, ~$1,591), the manufacturer particularly saves in the equipment and materials compared to the more expensive Legion series. In addition, the LOQ is slightly heavier and more bulky. What remains is anything but a laptop full of difficult compromises. Instead, this is a more than solid gaming laptop that focusses on the 3D performance.Q is slightly heavier and more bulky."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Lenovo LOQ 16
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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
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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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.