When choosing between the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the Lenovo Legion 7, consider your primary needs. If battery life, a lightweight and slim design, silent operation, and a high-quality display are your top priorities, the MacBook Air is a good choice. It's ideal for general use and benefits from a well-integrated ecosystem if you already use Apple products. However, the Lenovo Legion 7 excels in performance, especially for 3D rendering, machine learning, engineering, and intensive gaming, thanks to its powerful CPU and GPU. It has a higher refresh rate screen and more storage and RAM but is heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less portable than the MacBook Air. 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 15 (2023)
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 7
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
7.8/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
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 7 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) 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
7.6/10
8.2/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 7 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Software Development
8.1/10
7.6/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion 7 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.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.3/10
15.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
469.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 7 for software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 7 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 excels in screen quality for general use and engineering due to its high-resolution display with bright, crisp visuals and wide color gamuts that support extensive ranges of colors essential for precision tasks. However, its lower refresh rate limits its effectiveness for 3D applications, where smoother motion representation is crucial. The Lenovo Legion 7 also provides excellent resolution and color fidelity for general use and engineering scenarios, but for gaming and 3D, its supposed lower refresh rate impacts the ability to render fast-moving images fluidly, affecting the overall experience.
Battery
15.0 Hours
6.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 7 has 6.5 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
Very Good
Good
15.3in
SIZE
16.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.5 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 7 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 7 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,299
$1,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,299 and the Lenovo Legion 7 costs $1,500.
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) offers a fanless, light, and thin design with superior color accuracy and efficient CPU for great general usage with long battery life, while the Lenovo Legion 7, with a more powerful CPU and GPU and higher RAM, excels in heavier tasks but is bulkier and has shorter battery life, suiting it for users who prioritize performance over portability. Both laptops have high-quality displays and keyboards, but the MacBook Air is better suited for users who need a highly portable device with exceptional screen quality for everyday tasks, whereas the Legion 7 caters to power users who need more robust performance for demanding applications, albeit at the cost of some portability and battery life.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) to be very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 7 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the Lenovo Legion 7 compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air 15 is boringly good. The new MacBook Air 15 is a very good, but also boring device, because apart from the larger screen and the higher price, there are no differences compared to the smaller MacBook Air M2 from last year. No new processor, no additional ports, just the usual basic hardware - but the overall package is extremely good and it simply works. Above all, the lack of fans is an aspect that should not be underestimated in everyday use. In our opinion, the Air could be a lot better, but Apple goes easy on itself here."
"The Lenovo Legion 7 is a fast 16-inch gamer with 165 Hz display. The new Lenovo Legion 7 is a very good gaming notebook that, despite its comparatively compact compact 16-inch case, does not have to do without the most powerful components. Thanks to good cooling, no compromises are made in terms of performance. Both the Core i9-12900HX and the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti perform at a very high level."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) or the Lenovo Legion 7
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
103,395
Recommendations made
22,403
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.