Head to head

MacBook Air 15" (M3) vs Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 leads 7 to 3 on the 10 rankable specs, but MacBook Air 15" (M3) costs $500 less.

Catalog as of September 1, 2026

Why, in numbers

Panel: MacBook Air 15" (M3) lists Liquid Retina IPS LED (Apple sheet, 2026-09-02); Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 lists 3.2K PureSight Pro Mini-LED Touch (Lenovo sheet, 2026-09-02).
Processor: MacBook Air 15" (M3) lists Apple M3 (8-core CPU) (Apple sheet, 2026-09-02); Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 lists Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (Lenovo sheet, 2026-09-02).
Memory: MacBook Air 15" (M3) lists 16GB unified (Apple sheet, 2026-09-02); Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 lists 32GB LPDDR5x (Lenovo sheet, 2026-09-02).
Claimed battery life: MacBook Air 15" (M3) lists Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback (other published figure, not on maker sheet); Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 lists ~6–8 hours mixed use (other published figure, not on maker sheet).
Size: MacBook Air 15" (M3) lists 15.3 inches (Apple sheet, 2026-09-02); Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 lists 16.0 inches (Lenovo sheet, 2026-09-02).

Manufacturer list price, not a live offer. Confirm current pricing before you buy.

MacBook Air 15" (M3)

$1,2993 spec wins

Swap

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Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16

$1,7997 spec wins

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Buying for

Every rankable spec counts once. Pick a lens to score only what matters for your laptop.

Your devices

Select your ecosystem to flag non-functional features or platform lock-in.

Straight answer

Overall: 3 to 7

Buy the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.

Leads 7 of 10 rankable overall specs; MacBook Air 15" (M3) takes 3.
Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x vs 16GB unified
Size: 16.0 inches vs 15.3 inches
MacBook Air 15" (M3) is $500 cheaper. Pay the difference only if memory matters to you.

Check first: the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 weighs over 4 lb (1.8 kg). Tick them under deal-breakers if that rules it out.

3 MacBook Air 15" (M3)10 rankable of 29 specsLenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 7

Deal-breakers

tick what would make you walk away

No touchscreenrow
No pen or touch input for marking up PDFs or sketching.
Trips:MacBook Air 15" (M3) · NoClear:Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 · Yes
RAM cannot be upgradedrow
The memory you buy today is the memory you keep.
Trips:MacBook Air 15" (M3) · No (soldered)Trips:Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 · No (soldered)
No HDMI portrow
Projectors and meeting-room TVs need a dongle.
Trips:MacBook Air 15" (M3) · No (USB-C display output)Clear:Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 · HDMI 2.1
macOS, not Windowsrow
Windows-only software such as some CAD, games and corporate VPN clients needs a workaround.
Trips:MacBook Air 15" (M3) · macOS SonomaClear:Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 · Windows 11
Over 4 lb (1.8 kg)row
Heavy in a backpack on a daily commute.
Clear:MacBook Air 15" (M3) · 3.3 lbTrips:Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 · 4.9 lb
60 Hz displayrow
Scrolling and games look less smooth than on a 120 Hz panel.
Trips:MacBook Air 15" (M3) · 60 HzClear:Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 · 165 Hz

At a glance

The handful of numbers that decide most purchases in this category.

4 of 4 differ

Panel≠

Apple

Liquid Retina IPS LED

Lenovo

3.2K PureSight Pro Mini-LED Touch

Processor≠

Apple

Apple M3 (8-core CPU)

Lenovo

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H

Memory

Apple

16GB unified

Lenovo

32GB LPDDR5x

Claimed battery life

Apple

Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback

Lenovo

~6–8 hours mixed use

The 90-Day Owner Regret Check

Documented ergonomic quirks, hardware annoyances, and maintenance realities reported by real owners.

Post-Purchase Truths

Apple: What to watch for

Maintenance
Requires ongoing care to maintain peak out-of-box performance.
Regular cleaning, firmware updates, and standard care are recommended to preserve longevity.

Lenovo: What to watch for

Maintenance
Requires ongoing care to maintain peak out-of-box performance.
Regular cleaning, firmware updates, and standard care are recommended to preserve longevity.

MacBook Air 15" (M3)$1,2993 wins

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16$1,7997 wins

Display Performance Build & input Ports Battery Software

28 of 29 attributes differ. Identical rows are dimmed.

Display

leads 5-0

Display specifications. Middle column is MacBook Air 15" (M3), right column is Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.
Size	15.3 inches	16.0 inches (wins this row: higher)
Panel	Liquid Retina IPS LED	3.2K PureSight Pro Mini-LED Touch
Resolution	2880 × 1864	3200 × 2000 (wins this row: higher)
Refresh rate	60 Hz	165 Hz (wins this row: higher)
BrightnessNot on the official sheet	500 nits	1,200 nits peak HDR / 600 nits SDR (wins this row: higher)
Color	P3 wide color, True Tone	100% DCI-P3, 100% Adobe RGB
Touchscreen	No	Yes (wins this row: has it)

Performance

leads 2-0

Performance specifications. Middle column is MacBook Air 15" (M3), right column is Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.
Processor	Apple M3 (8-core CPU)	Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
Graphics	10-core Apple GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop (8GB GDDR6)
Memory	16GB unified	32GB LPDDR5x (wins this row: higher)
RAM upgradable	No (soldered)	No (soldered)
Storage	512GB SSD	1TB SSD
Storage upgradable	No (soldered)	Yes (2× M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots) (wins this row: has it)

Build & input

leads 2-0

Build & input specifications. Middle column is MacBook Air 15" (M3), right column is Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.
Weight	3.3 lb (1.51 kg) (wins this row: lower)	4.9 lb (2.23 kg)
Thickness	11.5 mm (wins this row: lower)	18.2 mm
Materials	100% recycled aluminum enclosure	CNC aluminum chassis
Keyboard	Magic Keyboard with Touch ID	Backlit Yoga keyboard with 1.5mm travel
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Large glass precision trackpad
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD camera	5MP IR webcam with privacy e-shutter
Speakers	Six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers	6-speaker sound system with Dolby Atmos

Ports

6 differences

Ports specifications. Middle column is MacBook Air 15" (M3), right column is Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.
Thunderbolt / USB-C	2× Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports	1× Thunderbolt 4 + 1× USB-C 3.2 Gen 2
HDMI	No (USB-C display output)	HDMI 2.1
SD card	No	Full-size SD card slot
MagSafe	MagSafe 3	No
Headphone jack	Yes (3.5 mm with high-impedance support)	Yes (3.5 mm)
Charger	35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Adapter + MagSafe 3	170W Slim Tip

Battery

leads 1-0

Battery specifications. Middle column is MacBook Air 15" (M3), right column is Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.
Claimed battery lifeNot on the official sheet	Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback (wins this row: higher)	~6–8 hours mixed use

Software

2 differences

Software specifications. Middle column is MacBook Air 15" (M3), right column is Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.
Operating system	macOS Sonoma	Windows 11
Repairability	Low (soldered RAM and SSD)	Medium (Dual SSD slots upgradable; RAM soldered)

Most rows are from the official spec sheet. Marked rows are other published figures or our summary, not lab tests we ran.

MacBook Air 15" (M3) source Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 source

Which one should you buy

Pick this one if

MacBook Air 15" (M3)

Fanless 15-inch ultrabook powered by Apple M3 chip, offering silent operation and extreme battery efficiency.

Completely fanless silent operation
Slim 11.5mm aluminum design with massive battery life
Vibrant Liquid Retina display with dual external monitor support

What you give up

Display limited to 60Hz without ProMotion
Base model memory and storage are soldered and non-upgradable

Full MacBook Air 15" (M3) specs →

Pick this one if

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16

Creator 16-inch laptop with 3.2K 165Hz Mini-LED touch display and dedicated NVIDIA RTX 4060 graphics.

Bright 3.2K 165Hz Mini-LED touchscreen hitting 1,200 nits HDR
Dedicated NVIDIA RTX 4060 GPU handles video editing and games
Dual M.2 NVMe SSD slots allow storage upgrades

What you give up

Short 6–8 hour battery life under mixed creator workloads
Relatively heavy at 4.9 lb with 170W power adapter

Full Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 specs →

Best for each use

Travel

In a bag every day: weight, battery, a screen you can read on a train

For travel, buy the MacBook Air 15" (M3).

Leads 3 of 4 rankable travel specs; Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 takes 1.
Claimed battery life: Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback vs ~6–8 hours mixed use
Weight: 3.3 lb vs 4.9 lb
It is also $500 cheaper.

Heavy work

Video, 3D, compiles or games: CPU, GPU, memory and panel quality

For heavy work, buy the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16.

Leads 2 of 2 rankable heavy work specs.
Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x vs 16GB unified
Refresh rate: 165 Hz vs 60 Hz
MacBook Air 15" (M3) is $500 cheaper. Pay the difference only if memory matters to you.

Longevity

Keep it five years: upgradable parts, repairability, ports without dongles

Too close to call on longevity from the spec sheets. Only storage upgradable is rankable here.

Repairability: Low vs Medium
Thunderbolt / USB-C: 2× Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports vs 1× Thunderbolt 4 + 1× USB-C 3.2 Gen 2

Every answer above is scored from published figures. A lens uses only the rows that matter for that use, including marked rows that are not on the official sheet. Switch lenses interactively in the panel above.

Done deciding?

Open the full standalone spec sheet for either device.

MacBook Air 15" (M3) spec sheet Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 spec sheet

Manufacturer pages: MacBook Air 15" (M3) ↗ · Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 ↗

Common questions

Which is cheaper, the MacBook Air 15" (M3) or the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16?

MacBook Air 15" (M3) costs $500 less at list price.

What is the biggest catch with the MacBook Air 15" (M3) or Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16?

MacBook Air 15" (M3) has this deal-breaker: no touchscreen. No pen or touch input for marking up PDFs or sketching.

Which is better for travel, the MacBook Air 15" (M3) or the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16?

For travel, buy the MacBook Air 15" (M3). Leads 3 of 4 rankable travel specs; Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 takes 1. Claimed battery life: Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback vs ~6–8 hours mixed use

What cannot be compared from spec sheets?

Of the 29 specs tracked here, 19 are descriptive and cannot be ranked on numbers alone. Spec sheets also cannot measure subjective factors like build quality, real-world performance, or comfort.

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