The MacBook Air (2020) with the Apple M1 chip excels in battery life, outperforming the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s, making it an excellent choice for those prioritizing longevity off the charger. Although it has a fanless, silent design, superb build quality, and high screen color accuracy, it falls short in raw processing power and gaming capability. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s, which boasts a touchscreen, more RAM, and extra storage, is better equipped for demanding tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering work, while still having a commendable battery life. Portability is almost equal, with minor differences in weight and size. The MacBook Air leads in webcam, speaker quality, and overall build quality, whereas the Lenovo is a verdict for more intense computational tasks and offers a touchscreen. Make your choice based on whether battery life and build quality or computational power and a touchscreen weigh more heavily 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
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
Excellent portability
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.5/10
7.2/10
13.3in
SIZE
13.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
395.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
336.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s for general use, and engineering and design.
The MacBook Air provides a high-resolution display and excellent color accuracy, making texts sharp and colors vibrant for everyday tasks and detailed enough for engineering and design work; however, its standard refresh rate holds it back in 3D applications where smoother motion is key. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s also offers a quality screen experience for daily activities and is suitable for engineering and design due to its good color representation. In contrast, for gaming and 3D rendering, its refresh rate might not keep up with the rapid visuals required for an optimal experience.
Battery
15.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has 8 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.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) offers excellent portability and a top-rated keyboard, alongside a lengthy battery life and a screen of admirable quality, making it well-suited for general use; furthermore, the laptop operates silently without a fan.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
6.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.3/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) is fair for 3D due to its integrated GPU which is less powerful for handling 3D applications compared to dedicated gaming GPUs; also, macOS is not supported by many popular games, which limits gaming potential. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s also gets a fair designation for gaming and 3D as it uses an integrated Iris Xe GPU, which, while competent, is not top-tier for gaming performance, and both laptops support only a standard screen refresh rate, which is less than ideal for the smooth visuals that gamers seek.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
7.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has the Apple M1 processor which offers both CPU and integrated GPU performance suitable for design deployments in a highly portable, fanless form factor with high screen brightness and color accuracy, while the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s packs a more powerful Intel i7 CPU with Iris Xe graphics, more RAM for demanding engineering applications, a touch-enabled display, and more ports; though, this may slightly compromise its portability and introduces some operating noise in comparison.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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
7.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Lenovo ThinkBook 13s 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.
Portability
Very Good
Excellent
13.3in
SIZE
13.3in
2.8 lbs
WEIGHT
2.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.5in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo ThinkBook 13s to have excellent portability, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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 ThinkBook 13s costs $1,000.
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How the Apple MacBook Air (2020) and the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s 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 best thing about the ThinkBook 13S is that it’s a good deal. Business buyers looking for ThinkPad-level performance and software without ThinkPad pricing will probably find the ThinkBook a solid option. While nothing about it is really spectacular, it’s certainly unusual to see the ThinkBook’s screen resolution at a sub-$1,000 price, and its performance will be more than adequate for most office tasks. The generous port selection, 16:10 aspect ratio, physical webcam shutter, and clear audio are certainly icing on the cake."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2020) or the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
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.
Jason Lew
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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.