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ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2
With a new Zen 4 AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile CPU, tons of RAM, as much storage as you could want, and an option for an OLED display, the Z13 ThinkPad Gen 2 is a mighty strong choice for a productivity laptop, no matter the workload. Plus, you get ThinkPad’s famous reliability, too.
Pros
- OLED display
- Modern CPU + lots of RAM
- Excellent build quality
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MacBook Air (M2)
The M2 MacBook Air offers up excellent performance courtesy of Apple’s M2 chip, a beautiful Liquid Retina display, and an elegant, sleek design on top of truly superb all-day battery life. If you love macOS, this is an exceptional laptop worth considering.
Pros
- Beautiful display
- Powerful M2 chip
- Gorgeous design
Cons
- Two USB ports
- Limited external monitor support
Apple and Lenovo have been heavyweights in the laptop world for a long time. Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 laptop is looking like a strong contender for those who want a powerful, reliable piece of kit, while Apple’s MacBook Air (M2) is also an extraordinary piece of technology. Put simply, we’re already talking about some of the best laptops around. But between the two, should you opt for the MacBook or go with the ThinkPad? To help you figure that out, we’ve got a full comparison for you below that’ll give you all the information you’ll need to make an informed choice before you go spending your hard-earned cash.
Price, availability, and specs
The Z13 isn’t available just yet, but it is expected to go on sale in July, so you likely won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on one. The base model is priced at $1,249, while more powerful models will naturally scale up from that price. As of now, it’s unclear exactly what configurations of the Z13 (and prices) will be offered, so make sure to keep an eye on the Lenovo website for more information. However, you can expect an AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile CPU, up to 2TB of storage, up to 64GB of RAM, a choice between a 13.3-inch IPS display or 2.8K OLED display, a 51.5Whr battery, and optional LTE support.
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air is already out, and you can find one at your favorite retailer or direct from Apple. The M2 MacBook Air comes packed with the M2 chip, up to 2TB of storage, up to 24GB of RAM, a choice between a 13.6-inch IPS display or a 15.3-inch IPS display, a 52.6Whr battery, and an either 8-core or 10-core integrated GPU. The 13-inch MacBook Air starts off at $1,199, while the 15-inch Air starts off at $1,299. Both the ThinkPad and the MacBook Air come with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, 1080p cameras, speakers with Dolby Atmos support, and USB and 3.5mm connectivity options, although there are some differences as you’ll see below.
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ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 MacBook Air (M2) Brand Lenovo Apple Color Flax Fiber Bronze or Aluminum Arctic Grey Silver, Space Gray, Starlight, Midnight Storage Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD Up to 2TB SSD CPU AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors Apple M2 Memory Up to 64GB LPDDR5x RAM Up to 24GB Operating System Windows 11 macOS Battery 51.5Wh 52.6WH battery Ports 2 x USB4, 1 x Audio Jack 2 x USB4/Thunderbolt, 3.5mm headphone jack, MagSafe 3 Camera FHD RGB + IR with e-shutter FHD Hybrid with e-shutter 1080p Full HD FaceTime camera Display (Size, Resolution) Up to 13.3-inch, WQXGA 2.8K OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 400 nit brightness, Touch optional 13.6-inch Retina (IPS), 2560×1664, P3 Wide Color, True Tone, 500 nits or 15.3-inch IPS, 2880×1864, 500 nits, True Tone, P3 Wide Color Weight 2.62 pounds (1.19 kg) 2.7 pounds (13-inch) / 3.3 pounds (15-inch) GPU AMD Radeon Graphics 8-core or 10-core Dimension 11.59 x 7.85 x 0.55 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, optional 4G LTE WWAN Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 Speakers 2 x speakers with Dolby Atmos support Quad-speaker stereo setup, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Design
For design, The Z13 is very much in line with other ThinkPads. It has more of a square, boxy look to it than the soft corners of something like a MacBook, but it still feels sleek and elegant. Plus, it’s almost sure to offer up ThinkPad’s trademark reliability and solid construction the brand has come to be known for. Of course, you’ll also get ThinkPad’s famous TrackPoint on the keyboard, while with the Z13 you’ll also get the option for a new Flax Bronze colorway that brings an intriguing natural finish to the Z13 that softens up some of its more industrial design choices.
When it comes to the MacBook Air, you’re getting Apple’s trademark refined, sleek, elegant design that the company is well known for across its products. This aluminum laptop looks and feels truly premium, replete with tons of soft edges and meticulous detailing. It sports a minimalist design language in general, and the colorways available also reflect that, so if you’re looking for something more ostentatious, you might not love the look of this laptop, but if what you want is an understated, luxurious piece of tech, the M2 MacBook Air certainly gets you there.
In terms of weight, Z13 starts off at 2.62 pounds, while the MacBook comes in at 2.7 pounds for the 13-inch model and 3.3 pounds for the 15-inch model. None of these laptops are the lightest you can find, but none of them are so heavy that you’ll break your back trying to carry one around. Of course, if weight is a primary concern for you, you’ll want to choose between the 13-inch MacBook and the Z13 over the 15-inch Air option.
Display
Apple MacBook Air M2
The ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 gives you an option between two different displays: either a 13.3-inch IPS panel or a 13.3-inch OLED panel. Both displays come with 400 nits of max brightness, while the OLED panel has a 2.8K resolution and the IPS panel has a 1920×1200 resolution, although both come with 16:10 aspect ratios and touchscreen options. Of course, as you might expect, an OLED display is going to offer up deeper blacks and richer contrast as compared to an IPS display, while the bump in resolution on the OLED is another image quality plus.
When it comes to the M2 MacBook, you’re getting Apple’s trademark Liquid Retina IPS display. The 13-inch model sports a 2560×1664 resolution, while the 15-inch model comes with a 2880×1864 resolution. Both displays come with HDR support as well as up to 500 nits of max brightness. Apple’s displays always offer up some excellent image quality, and this is no different with the M2 MacBook Air as we noted in our review, so if you’re just looking for a gorgeous screen, this is that.
However, Apple’s IPS display isn’t going to match the blacks and contrast of the OLED on the ThinkPad. While the ThinkPad’s IPS display is lower resolution than the 13-inch MacBook’s IPS display, giving the Air the edge, the ThinkPad’s OLED panel with its 2.8K resolution on the 13-inch Z13 is most likely going to be the best choice if you’re looking for the ultimate image quality out of these laptops. Although, if you aren’t married to the idea of an OLED display on your laptop, the MacBook Air will definitely offer up excellent image quality.
Performance
When it comes to the performance of the ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2, not everything is known just yet. Official configurations haven’t yet been revealed, and we haven’t yet had a chance to test out the Gen 2 Z13, either. However, we do know quite a bit about this laptop. With a Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 series mobile chip, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and up to 2TB of storage, this ThinkPad is already shaping up to be rather powerful. It’s unclear exactly what chip will go into the Z13; however, it’s most likely we’ll end up with a 28W TDP CPU in a more productivity-focused machine, so you can likely expect between 8 cores and 16 threads, as well as between up to 5.1GHz boost clocks. Nonetheless, all of the Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 series mobile chips are likely to be able to handle just about any productivity task you can throw at them, considering their specs.
With M2 MacBook Air, you’re getting that M2 chip, up to 24GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. Performance on the M2 chip is quite exceptional. In our testing, we found that the M2 is significantly better than last generation’s M1 and that the M2 beats out the competition in a number of different areas. In terms of single-core performance, the M2 topped the charts in our testing, and depending on your workload, single-core performance may be what you care most about. With 4K video rendering in DaVinci Resolve, the M2 also destroyed its competition. The M2 doesn’t beat out higher-end chips wholesale, remember this isn’t a pro-grade chip, but suffice it to say that the M2 powering the MacBook Air is a mighty piece of kit.
So, what does this all mean? Well, both of these laptops are productivity laptops, meaning that while you can do some gaming on them on the side, neither are really built or designed to run big AAA games at high settings and framerates. In terms of productivity, the ThinkPad can offer up significantly more RAM than the MacBook, so if that’s a primary concern, you may want to stick with the Z13. However, while we’ll have to see how the Ryzen 7000 chip in the Z13 performs, the M2’s single-core performance is excellent, so if that’s a primary concern for your personal workload, you may want to opt for the MacBook Air.
Battery life
Once again, we’ll have to get our hands on a Gen 2 ThinkPad Z13 to know for sure what battery life is like, but we can make some reliable predictions. With the last generation of Z13, in our testing, we got to around 5 hours of battery life before needing to charge. The new Z13 may well build in some new efficiencies thanks to its Zen 4 architecture, so perhaps that battery life gets extended by a few hours. Either way, the Z13 is not likely to provide all-day battery life.
The M2 MacBook Air, on the other hand, has some excellent battery life. Apple rates its battery life as up to 18 hours, which may be possible depending on what you’re doing and your settings, but in our testing, we generally found we needed to bring along a charger if we planned on using our MacBook Air for 10 hours or more. Nonetheless, all-day battery life is certainly possible with the MacBook Air, depending on your workload. If you’re just going out for a couple of hours for classes or to get some work done, you won’t feel like you have to bring your charger with you.
Barring some seriously impressive improvements with the Z13’s battery life over last generation, the M2 MacBook likely pulls ahead in terms of battery life.
Which is right for you?
With two powerful, modern laptops that come from well-established brands, a lot of the choice comes down to personal preference. Either way, you’re going to get a well-built, well-designed, and powerful laptop you can use to handily meet your productivity needs.
If you’re looking for the most RAM and the most capable display, the ThinkPad is going to be your best bet. However, if you care more about battery life, excellent single-core performance, or love the macOS ecosystem, the M2 MacBook is likely the pick. Considering how well the M2 performs, how good Apple’s Liquid Retina IPS display is, and the superb battery life on offer, we’d give the M2 the slight edge, but the ThinkPad is a great choice, too.
MacBook Air (M2)
Winner
The M2 MacBook Air offers up excellent performance courtesy of Apple’s M2 chip, a beautiful Liquid Retina display, and an elegant, sleek design on top of truly superb all-day battery life. If you love macOS, this is an exceptional laptop worth considering.
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air is an all-around great laptop. Strong performance from Apple’s custom-designed M2 chip means you’ll be able to breeze through productivity tasks, a capable Liquid Retina display means movie-watching is a joy, and it’s all wrapped up in a sleek, well-designed package. What’s more is that with excellent battery life you won’t have to worry about carrying around a charger with you wherever you go, too. Throw in the intuitive functionality of macOS and you’ve got yourself a laptop that can suit just about anybody.
ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2
Runner-up
With a new Zen 4 AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile CPU, tons of RAM, as much storage as you could want, and an option for an OLED display, the Gen 2 Z13 ThinkPad is a mighty strong choice for a productivity laptop, no matter the workload. Plus, you get ThinkPad’s famous reliability, too.