A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
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Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
- Very good for general use
- Good for engineering and design
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Good overall display quality
- Best in class overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
- The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024).
Key differences
General Use
8.0
6.2
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
501.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
220.0 nits
15.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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
6.6
5.8
4.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
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
7.8
5.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
4.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
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
8.1
6.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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
8.2
6.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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
5.2
15.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
220.0 nits
The MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
15.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The MacBook Air 15 has 15 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has 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
15.6in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0
6.5
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,299
$360
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) has a price of $1,299 and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" costs $360.
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How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) | Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,299 | $360 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | February 1, 2024 | October 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 13.4'' x 9.4'' x 0.45'' | 14.3'' x 10'' x 0.78'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.3 lbs | 3.75 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 13.4" | 14.26" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.35" | 9.98" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Apple M3 | Intel i3-1115G4 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 1 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 256 GB | 256 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 15 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 66.6 Wh | 35 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | TN | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 2880 x 1864 | 1366 x 768 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 501 nits | 220 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 9/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | Yes | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 10/10 | 9.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 10/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | No | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 0 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 0 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 3 | N/A | |
Shopping
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | February 2023
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is an enduring office notebook with a powerful Ryzen APU. Lenovo's office all-rounder easily handles office and internet applications as well as modest games - the Ryzen 5 5625U APU and 16 GB of RAM make this possible. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The emission values are okay, but the noise emissions should be lower under medium to full load. The relatively light notebook (approx. 1.6 kg) achieves practical battery runtimes of about 10 to 11 hours."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) or the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
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.
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Why trust us
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.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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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.
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Laptops Expert
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