The Apple MacBook Air is generally less expensive and offers a longer battery life with a higher resolution screen, but it does not include a touchscreen. It is lightweight and has a fanless design for silent operation. On the other hand, the Razer Book 13 is somewhat more expensive and has a heavier build; however, it includes a touchscreen, more storage, and double the RAM for better multitasking and intensive tasks. Its screen has a lower resolution compared to the MacBook Air. When choosing, consider your budget, the importance of a touchscreen, performance needs, and portability preferences. 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
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Razer Book 13
The Razer Book 13 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Air (2022).
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.3/10
13.6in
SIZE
13.4in
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
486.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
507.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Razer Book 13 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Air has a high-resolution display with vibrant colors and ample brightness, making it great for general tasks and design work where color accuracy is key. However, its typical 60Hz refresh rate is less ideal for 3D applications, which benefit from higher refresh rates for smoother visuals. The Razer Book 13 also offers a quality display with accurate colors for both general use and professional design, but like the MacBook Air, its standard refresh rate hampers gaming and 3D performance where fast screen updates are crucial.
Battery
15.0 Hours
14.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air has 15 hours of battery life. The Razer Book 13 has 14 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
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has best in class build quality, while the Razer Book 13 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$899
$1,389
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a price of $899 and the Razer Book 13 costs $1,389.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Razer Book 13 are both good for general use.
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
6.2/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Razer Book 13 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.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
7.1/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
4.1/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Razer Book 13 are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) offers a robust CPU and GPU performance for engineering and design thanks to the Apple M2 chip, coupled with a high-resolution and color-accurate screen, which comes in a fanless, silent, and highly portable form factor with top-quality keyboard and speakers.
Content Creation
7.9/10
7.6/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Razer Book 13 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
8.0/10
7.5/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1664
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air (2022) to be very good for software development, while the Razer Book 13 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.
Portability
Excellent
Excellent
13.6in
SIZE
13.4in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.0 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) and Razer Book 13 both have excellent portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Air (2022) and the Razer Book 13 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 Razer Book is like an XPS 13, but faster. The Book 13 combines the design philosophy and performance of a Blade Stealth with the 16:10 display of a Dell XPS 13 for an impressive piece of hardware. Office users who want something more stylish than the typical Dell, HP or Lenovo will certainly find themselves drawn to this Razer subnotebook. If your priorities are to have the best-looking and fastest 13-inch laptop in the office over auxiliary features, however, then the Book 13 proudly fulfills that niche."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air (2022) or the Razer Book 13
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
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Laptops evaluated
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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.