Lenovo has launched an immediate response to Xiaomi's Mi Notebook Air flagship model. The Lenovo Air 13 Pro launched a few hours ago in China and features very similar specs and pricing to the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13. Again this is a Chinese launch but at least here in the west we have historically had the opportunity to easily find and purchase Lenovo PCs and laptops.
On the official Lenovo product information page (in Chinese only unfortunately) you can see that Lenovo is promoting the Air 13 Pro at exactly the same price as the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13 – 4999 RMB. So let's have a look through its specs to see if it is better/same worse than Xiaomi's finest.
|
|
Lenovo Air 13 Pro |
Mi Notebook Air 13.3 |
|
CPU |
Intel Core i5-6200U |
Intel Core i5-6200U, 2.7GHz |
|
GPU |
Nvidia GeForce 940MX, 2GB GDDR5 |
Nvidia GeForce 940MX, 1GB GDDR5 |
|
Memory |
4GB |
8GB DDR4 |
|
Storage |
256GB PCIe SSD |
256GB PCIe SSD |
|
Ports |
USB-C 5Gb/s, USB 3.0 x1, USB 2.0 x1, HDMI, Audio I/O, Bluetooth 4.1, SDXC card reader |
USB-C 5Gb/s, USB 3.0 x 2, HDMI, Audio I/O |
|
Screen |
13.3-inch 1920 x 1080, IPS |
13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 |
|
Dimensions |
14.8mm thick, 1.29Kg |
310 x 211 x 14.8mm, 1.28Kg |
|
Battery |
46Wh |
40Wh, 9.5 hours |
|
Price |
RMB 4999, £570 |
RMB 4999, £570 |
As you might expect the spec comparison isn't exactly like for like, while one manufacturer elaborates on some specs the other might not fill in certain blanks. However, you can see quite a few clear differences alongside the similarities. In particular, the Lenovo's GPU is paired with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, which could offer some improvement in its 1080p gaming performance. Another Lenovo advantage on paper is the higher capacity battery. The Lenovo has a backlit keyboard but we aren't sure about the Xiaomi. Other uncertainties are in material construction and the full set of dimensions.
On the other hand Lenovo falls significantly behind with system memory, with 4GB installed as standard, instead of the 8GB the Xiaomi is kitted out with. If you were buying you would also want to have a play with both manufacturer's new laptops to get a feel of the build quality and so on.
Lenovo isn't just making one variant of its Air 13 Pro, there are versions with an i7 processors, and expanded RAM and storage as you can see below. The cheapest model is currently on pre-order sale at RMB 4999 rather than 5499, in order to match the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13.
