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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) vs Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Mar 28, 2025 02:10 PM
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Size15.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size15.3"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Variants
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD43LL/A) (Midnight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYU3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYV3LL/A) (Midnight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD23LL/A) (Silver - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYP3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYQ3LL/A) (Silver - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD13LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYM3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYN3LL/A) (Space Gray - M3/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MXD33LL/A) (Starlight - M3/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYR3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MRYT3LL/A) (Starlight - M3/8GB/512GB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60029US) (Thunder Grey - 2.8K/Touch/Ultra 7 258V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002BUS) (Thunder Grey - 2.8K/Touch/Ultra 7 268V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002AUS) (Thunder Grey - 2.8K/Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) are both premium ultraportables that provide an amazing user experience overall. The ThinkPad X9 has a wider port selection with the inclusion of a USB-A and HDMI port, and its battery life is better, lasting nearly three hours longer in light uses. It also has a user-replaceable SSD, and its keyboard feels more comfortable to type on, as it has more key travel and doesn't feel as harsh when you bottom out. The ThinkPad X9's OLED display is arguably better than the MacBook Air's Retina screen, thanks to its much higher contrast ratio and 120Hz refresh rate, but keep in mind that its 480Hz flicker might bother some people, and it's susceptible to permanent burn-in. On the other hand, the MacBook Air is a fanless device, so you'll never have to deal with fan noise.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
8.6
8.8
Ports
5.0
8.0
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.4
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
177°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.7
8.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.3"
15.3"
Thickness
0.6" (1.4 cm)
0.7" (1.7 cm)
Width
13.4" (34.0 cm)
13.4" (34.1 cm)
Depth
9.3" (23.7 cm)
9.3" (23.5 cm)
Volume
68.8 in³ (1,128.1 cm³)
83.1 in³ (1,362.3 cm³)
Weight
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
3.1 lbs (1.4 kg)
Charger Size
4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)
5.5 in³ (90.0 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
3.5
6.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
6.0
9.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
1
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1864
2880 x 1800
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
226 PPI
221 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
OLED
Touch Screen
No
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
87%
91%
Refresh Rate
5.9
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Contrast
7.5
10
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,412 : 1
32,997 : 1
Brightness
8.7
8.5
Maximum Brightness
494 cd/m²
469 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
2 cd/m²
1 cd/m²
Reflections
9.1
7.7
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
1.47%
3.77%
Indirect Reflections
0.38%
0.89%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.09%
2.88%
Black Uniformity
7.3
10
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.103%
0.251%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.9
7.3
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
26°
39°
Color Washout From Right
30°
38°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
42°
18°
Color Shift From Right
47°
18°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
29°
44°
Brightness Loss From Right
34°
43°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
30°
45°
Gamma Shift From Right
29°
45°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.9
7.2
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
26°
38°
Color Washout From Above
28°
37°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
42°
18°
Color Shift From Above
44°
18°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
29°
43°
Brightness Loss From Above
30°
44°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
37°
42°
Gamma Shift From Above
36°
43°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.9
7.1
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.47
2.39
Avg. Gamma
2.24
2.26
Avg. Color dE
0.98
4.38
Avg. Color Temperature
6,742.3 K
6,396.5 K
Color Gamut
9.4
9.6
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.93%
148.29%
sRGB uv
99.72%
142.95%
Adobe RGB xy
87.43%
92.55%
Adobe RGB uv
92.34%
97.1%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.05%
99.99%
DCI P3 uv
98.72%
99.99%
Rec. 2020 xy
71.83%
78.33%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.49%
82.53%
Flicker
9.0
7.2
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
> 1000Hz
480 Hz
Flicker Active Below
100%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
8.5
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
62 gf
59 gf
Actuation Force
40 gf
34 gf
Pre-Travel
0.80 mm
1.05 mm
Total Travel
0.91 mm
1.39 mm
Touchpad
9.6
9.3
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.5
Size
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
16.7 in² (108.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
8.1
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
81 dB SPL
81 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.2
1.9
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
155 Hz
143 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
17 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
2.3 dB
5.4 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1440p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
5.0
8.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
1
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 3
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
2.0
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Apple MagSafe 3
No
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth
5.3
5.4
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M3
Core Ultra 7 268V
Core Count
8
8
Thread Count
8
8
GPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M3
Arc 140V GPU
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
32 GB
Modules
Unknown
8 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR5
LP-DDR5x
Speed
6,400 MHz
8,533 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
214 GB
930 GB
Drive 1
Apple SSD AP0256Z
SK Hynix HFS001TEM4X169N
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.4
9.2
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,322 points
2,032 points
CPU Multi-Thread
10,501 points
9,729 points
GPU Compute
33,403 points
29,320 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.7
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,892 points
1,948 points
Multi-Thread
9,179 points
9,440 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.7
7.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.0 min
4.3 min
GPU Render Time
1.6 min
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
7.4
7.1
Basemark Image
Overall Score
44,950
40,254
Storage Drive Performance
9.2
9.5
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,738.0 MB/s
1,474.6 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,834.7 MB/s
4,402.4 MB/s
Random Write Speed
41.1 MB/s
87.2 MB/s
Random Read Speed
62.5 MB/s
63.5 MB/s
Battery
9.1
9.6
Capacity
67 Wh
80 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
12.7 hrs
15.2 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
12.0 hrs
18.8 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
3.5 hrs
4.2 hrs
Charge Time
2.8 hrs
1.9 hrs
Borderlands 3
3.1
4.3
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
20 fps
32 fps
1% Low
7 fps
16 fps
0.1% Low
4 fps
6 fps
1% Low Delta
89 ms
33 ms
0.1% Low Delta
230 ms
135 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
37 fps
73 fps
Civilization VI
5.6
7.2
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
41 fps
56 fps
1% Low
26 fps
40 fps
0.1% Low
17 fps
38 fps
1% Low Delta
14 ms
7 ms
0.1% Low Delta
33 ms
9 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
93 fps
178 fps
Avg. Turn Time
10.24 s
7.17 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Counter-Strike 2
0.0
7.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
N/A
54fps
1% Low
N/A
37fps
0.1% Low
N/A
34fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
8 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
11 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
N/A
137fps
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
4.3
5.6
Avg. FPS
32 fps
43 fps
1% Low
15 fps
27 fps
0.1% Low
8 fps
20 fps
1% Low Delta
36 ms
14 ms
0.1% Low Delta
90 ms
26 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
44 fps
56 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.1
7.4
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
27 °C (81 °F)
34 °C (92 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
50 °C (121 °F)
45 °C (112 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
44.5 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
Yes
Performance Over Time
7.1
9.2
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
90 °C
81 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
6% loss
4% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
90 °C
73 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
12% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
Windows 11
Additional Software
None
Yes
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
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Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
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Comments
Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) vs Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025): Main Discussion
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