The Apple MacBook Air is more affordable and highly portable with a longer battery life, making it a good fit for general use, lightweight tasks, and mobile users who need a device on-the-go. On the other hand, the Razer Blade 14, although more expensive, offers superior performance with a more advanced processor and graphics card, ideal for 3D rendering, gaming, and machine learning tasks. It is heavier and has a shorter battery life, so it might not be as convenient to carry around, but it is excellent for intensive computing tasks. Additionally, the Razer Blade has additional storage and a higher refresh rate display, which is beneficial for gaming and high-speed tasks. 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)
Very good for software development
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Razer Blade 14
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
7.9/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.0/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Razer Blade 14 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is only fair.
The MacBook Air, with its efficient but less powerful integrated graphics and a standard screen refresh rate, is less suitable for demanding 3D tasks or gaming compared to the Razer Blade 14, which boasts a high-end Nvidia graphics card and a substantially higher screen refresh rate, ensuring smoother visuals and more robust gaming performance. Additionally, most popular games are not compatible with the MacBook's operating system, whereas the Razer Blade runs Windows, which supports a broader range of gaming titles.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.4/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Razer Blade 14 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Razer Blade 14 offers superior performance for engineering and design due to its more potent CPU and advanced GPU, along with double the RAM and larger storage compared to the Apple MacBook Air (2022), making it very suitable for demanding tasks.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.0/10
13.6in
SIZE
14.0in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
328.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Razer Blade 14 for software development, while the Razer Blade 14 has a better screen for gaming and AI, and software development.
The MacBook Air's display offers high resolution and brightness, making text and images crisp and easy to view for general tasks and detailed engineering work; its color accuracy caters well to design professionals needing precise color representations. The Razer Blade 14, also with a high-resolution and bright display, suits general use and provides the wide color gamuts required for engineering and design applications. However, both laptops have lower refresh rates which, while not impacting general use and design tasks significantly, can detract from the smooth visuals that are crucial for 3D applications and gaming.
Battery
15.0 Hours
9.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 14 has 9.5 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
Very Good
13.6in
SIZE
14.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.9 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the Razer Blade 14 has very good 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 Razer Blade 14 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$10
$0
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the Razer Blade 14 costs $10.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Razer Blade 14 to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) with its efficient Apple M2 CPU, lighter weight, and longer battery life excels in portability and general use, while its screen delivers vivid colors and high brightness for an exceptional viewing experience. Meanwhile, the Razer Blade 14 packs a more powerful AMD Ryzen CPU and higher RAM, catering to not only general use but also more demanding tasks like gaming, at the expense of being heavier and having a shorter battery life.
Content Creation
7.9/10
8.1/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Razer Blade 14 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
7.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air (2022) to be very good for software development, while the Razer Blade 14 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the Razer Blade 14 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."
"After making a huge splash with the original 2021 model, it's expected that the 2022 refresh would be more of a minor update to an already impressive machine. It adds a higher resolution webcam (720p to 1080p), faster CPU (Ryzen 9 5900HX to Ryzen 9 6900HX), faster GPU (RTX 3070/3080 to 3070/3080 Ti), faster RAM (DDR4-3200 to DDR5-4800), faster M.2 SSD support (PCIe3 x4 to PCIe4 x4), newer WLAN module (Killer AX1690i to Qualcomm WCN685x), and a MUX switch for the new integrated Radeon 680M GPU. It's indubitably an upgrade especially in terms of single-thread processor performance."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Razer Blade 14
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 Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
103,695
Recommendations made
22,468
Consumer hours saved
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
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
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.