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Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023)
The Lenovo Yoga 7i comes in 14-inch and 16-inch screen sizes and with the newest 13th-generation Intel CPUs. Either size gives you a great 2-in-1 device, especially at this price.
Pros- Stylish design
- Good audio system
- Good keyboard
Cons- 16-inch model is heavy
- Display brightness could be higher
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MacBook Air (M2)
The 2022 MacBook Air comes with the M2 chip for a double-digit increase in power over the prior model. It's everything you'd expect from an Apple device, with a bright, colorful screen, stylish design, and a hefty price tag.
Pros- MagSafe 3 charging
- Thunderbolt 4 ports
- Retina screen is bright and colorful
Cons- Expensive
- Few ports
- Thunderbolt 4 ports don't support display out
The best laptops have the power to handle any workload, are light enough to carry around with long battery life, and have unique features that set them apart. But a common use case is a laptop for productivity use that can also handle multimedia watching in your downtime.
The Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) is a 2-in-1 Windows notebook with 14-inch and 16-inch touchscreen options powered by 13th-generation Intel CPUs. The MacBook Air (M2) is a traditional clamshell with either 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch display sizes running macOS and powered by the efficient M2 chip. The two laptops we’re comparing here couldn’t be more different, but they can handle the same workloads. If these two devices are on your shortlist, we've got you covered to decide which is best for you.
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) vs MacBook Air (M2): Price, specs & availability
The Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) and MacBook Air (M2) are widely available. The Lenovo Yoga 7i is available on Lenovo.com; the 14-inch model starts at $850, while the 16-inch display starts at $800. You can also get one from almost any third-party retailer, like Best Buy or Amazon.
The MacBook Air starts at $1,099 for the 13.6-inch screen or $1,299 for the 15.3-inch screen and can be found at Apple, Best Buy, Amazon, B&H Photo, and other retailers. Apple also has refurbished units starting at $929 if you want a deal while being eco-friendly.
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) MacBook Air (M2) Brand Lenovo Apple Color Storm Grey Silver, Space Gray, Starlight, Midnight Storage Up to 1TB PCIe SSD Gen4 Up to 2TB SSD CPU 14-inch model: 13th-generation Intel Core i5-1335U, or Core i7-1335U/ 16-inch model: 13th-generation Intel Core i5-1335U, Intel Core i5-1340P, Intel Core i7-1355, or Intel Core i7-1360P Apple M2 Memory Up to 16GB LPDDR5 5200MHz Up to 24GB Operating System Windows 11 macOS Ports 14-inch model: 1x USB A 3.2, 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x HDMI, microSD, headphone jack 16-inch model: / 2x USB A 3.2, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI, 1x microSD card, 1x headphone jack 2 x USB4/Thunderbolt, 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3 Camera 1080p Windows Hello 1080p Full HD FaceTime camera Display (Size, Resolution) 14-inch model: 14-inch 2.2K 2240 x 1400 resolution/ 16-inch model: 16-inch 2.5K 2560 x 1600, or 1290 x 1200 13.6-inch Retina (IPS), 2560x1664, P3 Wide Color, True Tone, 500 nits or 15.3-inch IPS, 2880x1864, 500 nits, True Tone, P3 Wide Color Weight 14-inch model: 3.42 pounds/16-inch model: 4.49 pounds 2.7 pounds (13-inch) / 3.3 pounds (15-inch) GPU Integrated Intel Xe graphics 8-core or 10-core Dimension 14-inch model: 12.51 x 8.76 x 0.65/ 16-inch model: 14.25 x 9.84 x 0.66 inches 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches (13-inch model) / 13.4 x 9.35 x 0.45 inches (15-inch model) Network Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 Speakers 2 x 2W speakers Quad-speaker stereo setup, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) vs MacBook Air (M2): Design
The Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) has one party trick that the MacBook Air (M2) can’t emulate. That’s the 360-degree hinge, which enables the Yoga 7i to fold back into a tablet or open into a V shape to prop up for multimedia watching. The versatility of this design is enhanced by the touchscreen, something else that Apple has been resisting putting on any Mac.
Both laptops are clad in aluminum, with rounded corners, although the Yoga 7i has sharper edges than the Mac. The all-metal enclosures don’t mean a heavy notebook, with the Yoga 7i weighing 3.42 pounds on the 14-inch model and 4.49 pounds for the 16-inch screen version. The MacBook Air weighs about 2.7 pounds for the 13.6-inch model and 3.3 pounds for the 15.3-inch model. That makes the Mac easier to carry around, whichever size you choose, which could be the most important thing to you.
Connectivity-wise, the MacBook Air has only two USB ports, both are USB-C, and both support Thunderbolt 4. That means you might need a dock for extra ports at home and struggle with adapters while away from your desk. The Yoga 7i, on the other hand, has two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a plethora of other ports. That includes a microSD card slot, a full-sized HDMI port, and either one USB A 3.2 (14-inch) or two USB-A 3.2 (16-inch).
Finally, for stylish laptops like this, color options are a must. The Yoga 7i has Storm Grey or Stone Blue as options on the 14-inch version and Arctic Grey or Storm Grey on the 16-inch model. Apple’s MacBook Air comes in Silver, Starlight, Space Gray, and, my favorite, Midnight.
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) vs MacBook Air (M2): Software
The Yoga 7i (2023) and the MacBook Air (M2) run completely different operating systems. On the Yoga 7i, you get Windows 11. The MacBook Air runs macOS. Each has its own merits, but the learning curve for anyone switching is pretty steep. Microsoft's Windows 11 has tons of features aimed at ease of use, like Snap Layouts, and far better support for gaming. Not that you'll be gaming much on the iGPU on the Yoga 7i. Apple's macOS is built for security and has tons of creative apps that don't exist anywhere else, like Final Cut Pro.
The ecosystem around each operating system may also play into your purchasing decision. Windows 11 plays nicer with Android phones, with the Phone Link app that enables you to see your messages, photos, and other content on your PC desktop. The app does have some limited support for iPhones, but it is very basic right now. On the other hand, macOS integrates tightly with every other Apple product, from AirPods to iPhones and everything in between, offering easy access to iMessage, AirDrop, and FaceTime. If you're already heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, why would you go elsewhere?
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) vs MacBook Air (M2): Display
Do you value a bright, color-accurate screen, or do you want to do more with your screen than stare at it? That’s the essential question here: the Liquid Retina display on the MacBook Air looks great, while the Yoga 7i’s screen is a touchscreen with multitouch and stylus support. Sure, you can connect an iPad to the Mac via Sidecar and use the iPad as a drawing tablet, but that takes two devices and additional expenses.
The MacBook Air has two screen options, a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display at 2560x1664 resolution and 500 nits of brightness and a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display at 2880x1864 resolution at 500 nits of brightness. The screen won't rival the OLED offerings from other manufacturers or the mini-LED used in some MacBook Pro models, but it's ahead of most of the LCD panels on the market.
The 14-inch Yoga 7i has only one option currently available: a 2240x1400 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, IPS panel with 300 nits of brightness, and 10-point multitouch. Two OLED models of WUXGA (1920x1200) or 2.8K (2880x1800) resolution and 400 nits of brightness are mentioned in Lenovo's spec sheet, but don't seem to be available yet. The 16-inch has either a 2560x1600 resolution panel with 400 nits of brightness or a 1920x1200 resolution panel with 300 nits of brightness. Take those figures with a pinch of salt, as our reviewer noted the 16-inch Yoga 7i’s 1920x1200 panel maxed out at 264 nits when tested with a colorimeter.
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) vs MacBook Air (M2): Performance
Performance on the MacBook Air is great, with the M2 chip beating out Intel’s chips in many areas. This is an Apple-developed chip based on ARM, which has insanely good single-core benchmark scores while still being efficient with power use. It’s powerful enough to do creative tasks like editing photographs and can render 4K video faster than almost any other mobile CPU. Apple sells the MacBook Air with two variants of the M2 chip; both have an 8-core CPU, one has 8 GPU cores, and one has 10 GPU cores. The 13-inch MacBook Air has options for either chip, while the 15-inch model only uses the 8-core CPU with the 10-core GPU.
The Yoga 7i has two Intel CPU options on the 14-inch model, and both are 15W TDP U-Series chips, with i5 and i7 options. The 16-inch model has the same two options for U-Series chips and adds i5 and i7 P-Series options which are more powerful and run at 28W. All the Intel options have the same Iris Xe integrated graphics, which means you shouldn’t expect them to power through video exporting or photograph editing like the Apple M2 can. Last year’s 16-inch Yoga 7i had an option for a dedicated Intel Arc GPU, so maybe this will come to the 2023 version and bring some much-needed graphics power.
If battery life is your primary focus for any laptop, the MacBook Air is the only one of these two you should look at. When we tested it, the power-efficient M2 chip made us rethink if we should pack a charger when leaving home. It could do a full workday without being tethered to a socket, something the Yoga 7i could struggle to manage. We tested the 16-inch version and managed to get five hours of use at a minimum, or eight and a half hours if used on power efficiency mode. Both of these devices are among the best laptops for battery life we've tested; just the MacBook Air is way in front.
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) vs MacBook Air (M2): Do you want a convertible experience or a traditional design?
The MacBook Air (M2) might be more expensive and go on sale less often, but it’s clearly the better laptop for the type of productivity tasks it will get used for. The M2 chip is even powerful enough to chew through video editing, something that the Intel chips in the Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) balk at. The display is brighter and more colorful on either variant of the MacBook Air, making your leisure time as enjoyable as the workday.
MacBook Air (M2)
The 2022 MacBook Air comes with the M2 chip for a double-digit increase in power over the prior model. It's everything you'd expect from an Apple device, with a bright, colorful screen in either 13-inch or 15-inch options, stylish design, and a hefty price tag.
That’s not to say that the Lenovo Yoga 7i isn’t worth looking at. It’s one of the best Lenovo laptops available, with sleek corners, a responsive touchscreen, and a handy convertible design. It’s also compatible with the Lenovo Active Pen, which comes bundled with some models, so check the sales listing carefully.
Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023)
The Lenovo Yoga 7i comes in 14-inch and 16-inch screen sizes and the newest 13th-gen Intel CPUs. Either size gives you a great 2-in-1 device, especially at this price.