The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is ideal if you prioritize portability, a lighter design, and a lower price, making it suitable for general use and everyday tasks. It also benefits from a fanless design ensuring silent operation. However, the Lenovo Legion 9i offers a substantial increase in performance, better suited for demanding tasks like gaming, 3D rendering, or engineering software, with a larger display and higher refresh rate beneficial for these applications, at a higher cost and with a heavier build which makes it less portable. The Legion 9i also offers substantially more storage and memory, but this comes with increased weight and size. Choose the MacBook Air for portability and everyday tasks, or the Legion 9i for performance-heavy applications, acknowledging the higher price and less convenience in transportation. Give Feedback
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Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2022)
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 9i
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
8.4/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
486.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
9.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
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.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
9.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) 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
7.5/10
9.6/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i is favored for engineering and design primarily due to its powerful Intel i9 processor, substantial RAM, high-end Nvidia GPU, and superior screen quality, which altogether deliver excellent performance and visual accuracy for demanding tasks. On the other hand, the Apple MacBook Air is appreciated for its highly portable design and silent operation but features a less powerful M2 chip and GPU, and lower RAM capacity, making it a good but less optimal choice for intensive engineering and design applications.
Content Creation
7.9/10
8.7/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) 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.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
9.7/10
13.6in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air's superior screen resolution and brightness make it excellent for general everyday tasks, while its wide color gamut supports accurate color work in engineering and design. The Lenovo Legion 9i's high-end display enhances general use and design tasks with top-tier resolution, brightness, and color accuracy. However, for 3D applications and gaming where smooth motion is critical, neither laptop excels due to their screens' lower refresh rates, which are less optimal for these fast-paced visuals.
Battery
15.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 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
Excellent
Fair
13.6in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$3,420
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both very 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 (2022) and the Lenovo Legion 9i 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 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Lenovo Legion 9i
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
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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