Selecting between the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 depends heavily on your priorities. The MacBook Air is lighter and has a higher portability score, making it well-suited for travel or on-the-go use. It also operates silently due to fanless cooling and offers a strong build quality, excellent keyboard, and a long battery life, ideal for general use and multitasking. Conversely, the ThinkPad P16, while heavier and thus less portable, carries a more powerful CPU, a dedicated GPU, and double the memory and storage, making it better suited for intensive tasks like 3D rendering, engineering work, and machine learning applications. It also features more ports and upgrades options, including available RAM and storage slots. Consider the MacBook Air for everyday use and mobility, or the ThinkPad P16 for demanding professional workloads where the higher performance justifies the added weight and cost. 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 (2022)
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad P16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.3/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The MacBook Air (2022) with its Apple M2 processor offers good performance for engineering and design, but the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 stands out with a higher-end Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, better catering to demanding tasks that benefit from advanced processing and graphics capabilities. While both laptops have high-quality IPS screens, the ThinkPad P16's larger RAM and higher resolution provide an edge for intricate work, despite it being less portable and potentially noisier than the sleeker MacBook Air.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.2/10
13.6in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
569.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 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 excels in general use and engineering tasks due to its high-resolution, bright display, and strong color accuracy, which are key for crisp text, vivid images, and precise color work. The ThinkPad P16 similarly offers a high-resolution screen with excellent color gamut coverage, ensuring that engineers and designers can work with a wide range of accurate colors. However, both laptops fall short for 3D applications as they lack the high refresh rates required for smoothly rendering fast-moving images, which is crucial for gaming or working with 3D graphics.
Battery
15.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 has 10 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
Poor
13.6in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 has poor 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 ThinkPad P16 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$1,449
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 costs $1,449.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo ThinkPad P16 to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022), with its Apple M2 CPU and 8GB of RAM, is lighter and has a longer battery life, making it well-suited for users prioritizing portability and longevity on a single charge, alongside a high-quality screen for everyday tasks.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
6.9/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.5/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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.
Content Creation
7.9/10
8.2/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo ThinkPad P16 to be 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.
Software Development
8.0/10
8.4/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 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 ThinkPad P16 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."
"It's only a few months since we gave the MSI CreatorPro X17 one of our rare 4.5-star ratings and our top mobile workstation honor, but the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 matches that achievement in a more premium overall build. Ultimately, its build quality, screen, and keyboard give our latest Editors' Choice nod to the Lenovo—it's enough of a monster on almost all fronts that it simply cannot be ignored."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Lenovo ThinkPad P16
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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