The Apple MacBook Air is generally less expensive and offers fanless operation with solid build quality, excellent keyboard, and a high-quality webcam, favoring those who need silent performance and video conferencing. It has a larger 15.3-inch screen, but no touchscreen or high refresh rate like the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14, which could enhance your experience if you prefer interactive displays and smoother visuals. The Lenovo has a more powerful Ryzen processor with a dedicated Nvidia graphics card, double the storage, and more RAM than the MacBook Air, making it a better fit for engineering tasks, 3D work, and gaming, despite it being slightly more costly and slightly heavier. Choose Lenovo if performance and multitasking are priorities, but if you value a quieter, more portable device with a larger screen and don't require intensive graphics, the MacBook Air is a suitable option. 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
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14
Very good for general use
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.8/10
7.4/10
15.3in
SIZE
14.5in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
90Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
334.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 for general use, AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Air has a high-resolution display with a panel type that offers vibrant colors and brightness, making it suitable for everyday tasks and professional design work, as it likely covers a broader range of color gamuts. However, its screen refresh rate isn't high, which is less optimal for 3D applications where smoother movement is crucial. The Lenovo Slim Pro, with its good color reproduction and brightness, provides a solid experience for general and engineering tasks, yet it similarly falls short for gaming and 3D due to a lower refresh rate.
Battery
15.0 Hours
12.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 has 12 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
Very Good
15.3in
SIZE
14.5in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 both have very good portability, though the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,299
$1,200
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,299 and the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 costs $1,200.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 to be very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) is good.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 offers a more powerful CPU and double the RAM of the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023), enhancing its performance for general use; it also boasts a higher screen refresh rate and includes a discrete graphics unit, providing better video performance and gaming potential. Despite the MacBook Air's advantage in portability due to its lighter weight and silent operation, the Lenovo has a larger battery capacity and more versatile screen with touch functionality, but its larger screen and intense components contribute to a slightly lower battery life compared to the MacBook Air which offers longer battery life and a better screen quality with higher brightness and color coverage.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
6.7/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.8/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
90Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14, equipped with an Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics card and a higher screen refresh rate, stands out for gaming and 3D tasks, supporting advanced features like hardware ray tracing, and most games are compatible with its Windows operating system.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
7.7/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both good for engineering and design.
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.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.0/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both very 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
8.1/10
7.8/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) to be very good for software development, while the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 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 Slim Pro 7 is an attractive, portable laptop that’s ideal if you need a combination of CPU and GPU performance. It also nails the fundamentals with solid connectivity, an enjoyable keyboard, a large touchpad, and top-notch webcam. Display quality is a weakness, but it’s an acceptable compromise for the laptop’s extremely competitive $1,199 MSRP. The Slim Pro 7 is a versatile, affordable laptop and hard to beat for the price."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) or the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 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 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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