The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers a balance of performance and portability at a lower price compared to the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16. It's very lightweight, has solid performance for general use, and boasts long battery life with silent operation due to a fanless design, making it suitable for everyday tasks and light content creation. However, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, while more expensive and heavier, provides a significant step up in performance, especially for engineering, 3D rendering, and machine learning, thanks to its more powerful processor and graphics. It also has a larger, higher-resolution OLED touchscreen, which is ideal for creative professionals in need of superior color accuracy and quality. Consider the MacBook Air for portability and everyday use or the ThinkPad Z16 for high-performance tasks and a premium display. 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 keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
8.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
395.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers excellent portability, a high-quality silent fanless operation, and a respectable battery life, making it a suitable option for general use, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 provides more powerful CPU and RAM, a superior OLED screen with higher resolution, and ample storage, which translates into better performance and screen quality for demanding tasks but with a tradeoff in battery life and portability.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.4/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 boasts a more powerful AMD Ryzen CPU and a higher amount of RAM, paired with a dedicated AMD RX GPU, making it very suitable for demanding engineering tasks and design work that requires considerable processing and graphics power. Meanwhile, the Apple MacBook Air (2020), with its capable but less powerful Apple M1 chip and less RAM, is still good for engineering and design use, but it trades some performance for better portability and a fanless design that operates silently.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
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
8.2/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for software development, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
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.
Screen Quality
7.5/10
8.5/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The MacBook Air's screen has a high resolution and good brightness, making it sharp and clear for general activities, but its color range is limited compared to professional design screens and refresh rate is lower, affecting 3D performance. The ThinkPad Z16, with its superior color gamut, excels in accurately displaying colors for engineering and design tasks but, like the MacBook Air, has a lower refresh rate, which is less ideal for smooth rendering in gaming and 3D applications. Both models trade a higher refresh rate for other qualities, prioritizing resolution and color fidelity over the smoother visual experience demanded by high-end gaming or 3D content.
Battery
15.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 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
Good
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
4.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$1,120
$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 ThinkPad Z16 costs $1,120.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air, while offering a solid CPU and high-quality screen, has an integrated GPU that is not as powerful for handling 3D tasks and gaming as the dedicated GPU found in the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, which also provides a higher screen refresh rate, crucial for smooth gameplay. Furthermore, the MacBook Air's limited compatibility with popular games significantly hinders its gaming prowess in comparison to the ThinkPad, which can support a broader range of game titles.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 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."
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
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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