Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Which Laptop Is Better?
Products
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Nov 27, 2025 02:08 PM
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BestBuy.com
Tested using Methodology v0.9
Updated Oct 31, 2025 08:00 PM
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Amazon.com
Size
15.3"
Operating System
Windows 11
Size
13.6"
Operating System
macOS
Our Verdict
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025)
The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025) and the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) are both premium ultraportables that provide an excellent user experience overall. Each has its pros and cons. The Lenovo has a USB-A and an HDMI port, which the MacBook Air lacks, and it supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity, while the MacBook Air only has Wi-Fi 6E. The Lenovo's OLED display is arguably better since it has a 120Hz refresh rate and can produce deeper blacks, but know that it has a 480Hz flicker that might bother some people, causing eye strain. OLEDs are also susceptible to permanent burn-in, so you'll have to take active measures to prevent it, like hiding Windows' taskbar. On the other hand, the MacBook Air is more portable, and its fanless design means you'll never have to deal with fan noise.
Variants
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002HUS) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60024US) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 5 238V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60029US) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 7 258V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60027US) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 7 258V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002BUS) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 7 268V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002AUS) (Thunder Grey - Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60026US) (Thunder Grey - Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60025US) (Thunder Grey - Ultra 7 268V/32GB/1TB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW133LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6C4LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW123LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW0X3LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC654LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW0W3LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6U4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6V4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6T4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW103LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MC6A4LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MW0Y3LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/8-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
9.0
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.4
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
177°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.7
9.1
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.3"
13.6"
Thickness
0.7" (1.7 cm)
0.5" (1.3 cm)
Width
13.4" (34.1 cm)
12.0" (30.4 cm)
Depth
9.3" (23.5 cm)
8.5" (21.5 cm)
Volume
83.1 in³ (1,362.3 cm³)
51.9 in³ (849.7 cm³)
Weight
3.1 lbs (1.4 kg)
2.6 lbs (1.2 kg)
Charger Size
5.5 in³ (90.0 cm³)
5.5 in³ (89.4 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
6.5
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
9.0
6.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
1
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1800
2560 x 1664
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
221 PPI
224 PPI
Panel Type
OLED
IPS
Touch Screen
Yes
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
91%
86%
Refresh Rate
8.7
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
No
Contrast
10
7.6
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
32,997 : 1
1,494 : 1
Brightness
8.5
8.4
Maximum Brightness
469 cd/m²
445 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
1 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
7.7
9.0
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
3.77%
1.57%
Indirect Reflections
0.89%
0.24%
Calculated Direct Reflections
2.88%
1.33%
Black Uniformity
10
8.8
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.251%
0.680%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
7.1
9.8
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
2.39
1.68
Avg. Gamma
2.26
2.25
Avg. Color dE
4.38
1.08
Avg. Color Temperature
6,396.5 K
6,767 K
Color Gamut
9.6
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
148.29%
99.98%
sRGB uv
142.95%
99.94%
Adobe RGB xy
92.55%
87.95%
Adobe RGB uv
97.1%
93.47%
Gamut HDR
DCI-P3 xy
99.99%
99.44%
DCI-P3 uv
99.99%
99.45%
Rec. 2020 xy
78.33%
71.86%
Rec. 2020 uv
82.53%
73.27%
Flicker
7.2
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
480 Hz
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
100%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.5
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
59 gf
61 gf
Actuation Force
34 gf
37 gf
Pre-Travel
1.05 mm
0.77 mm
Total Travel
1.39 mm
0.86 mm
Touchpad
9.3
9.2
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
9.5
Size
16.7 in² (108.0 cm²)
15.8 in² (102.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.1
8.2
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
81 dB SPL
77 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.9
2.7
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
143 Hz
141 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
17 kHz
20 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
5.4 dB
2.6 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.0
Resolution
1440p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
8.0
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
1
0
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
2.0
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.4
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Core Ultra 7 268V
M4
Core Count
8
10
Thread Count
8
10
GPU
Brand
Intel
Apple
Model
Arc 140V GPU
M4
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
32 GB
16 GB
Modules
8 (Soldered)
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5x
Speed
8,533 MHz
7,500 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
930 GB
211 GB
Drive 1
SK Hynix HFS001TEM4X169N
Apple SSD AP0256Z
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)
9.2
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,032 points
CPU Multi-Thread
9,729 points
GPU Compute
29,320 points
CPU/RAM Performance
8.1
Cinebench 2024 - Single Core
172 points
Cinebench 2024 - Multi Core
725 points
Geekbench 6 - Single Core
3,771
Geekbench 6 - Multi Core
15,137
Blender - CPU (Avg)
72 samples/min
PassMark PT - CPU Mark
23,551
PassMark PT - Memory Mark
4,981
PassMark PT - Memory Mark (Android)
N/A
Mozilla Kraken
276 ms
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,948 points
Multi-Thread
9,440 points
Low Tier Graphics
7.6
Geekbench 6 - GPU Compute
48,919
Basemark Web 3.0
2,061
PassMark PT - 2D Mark
N/A
PassMark PT - 2D Mark (Android)
N/A
PassMark PT - 3D Mark
N/A
PassMark PT - 3D Mark (Android)
N/A
Novabench 5 - GPU
157.0
mprep - Stress My GPU
9,186
Blender (3D Rendering)
7.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.3 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
High Tier Graphics
5.3
3DMark - Steel Nomad (DX12)
N/A
3DMark - Steel Nomad (Vulkan/Metal)
789
Basemark GPU (DX12)
N/A
Basemark GPU (Vulkan/Metal)
45,261
GFXBench - High Level Test (Vulkan/Metal)
3,769 Frames
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
7.1
Basemark Image
Overall Score
40,254
Professional 3D (GPU Accelerated)
1.4
Blender - GPU (Avg)
360 samples/min
Cinebench 2024 - GPU
3,323 points
CPU-Intensive Game Performance
5.0
Civilization VII - AI
16.9 s/turn
Civilization VII - Graphics (Avg)
59.5 fps
Civilization VII - Graphics (1% Low)
55.5 fps
Total War: Warhammer III (Avg)
11.4 fps
Baldur's Gate 3 (Avg)
26.1 fps
Baldur's Gate 3 (1% Low)
15.7 fps
Previous Methodology Score
4.0
Previous Methodology Score Converted
3.5
GPU-Intensive Game Performance
3.0
Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)
11.1 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)
9.6 fps
Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)
N/A
Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)
N/A
GTA V (Avg)
N/A
GTA V (1% Low)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)
N/A
Resident Evil 4 (Avg)
N/A
Resident Evil 4 (1% Low)
N/A
Previous Methodology Score
4.8
Previous Methodology Score Converted
2.8
Borderlands 3
4.3
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
32 fps
1% Low
16 fps
0.1% Low
6 fps
1% Low Delta
33 ms
0.1% Low Delta
135 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
73 fps
Ray Tracing Performance
1.2
Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg)
9.6 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Min)
5.3 fps
Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg)
N/A
Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (Avg)
N/A
Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low)
N/A
Civilization VI
7.2
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
56 fps
1% Low
40 fps
0.1% Low
38 fps
1% Low Delta
7 ms
0.1% Low Delta
9 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
178 fps
Avg. Turn Time
7.17 s
Storage Drive Performance
9.5
9.3
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,474.6 MB/s
2,845.4 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
4,402.4 MB/s
2,863.3 MB/s
Random Write Speed
87.2 MB/s
46.3 MB/s
Random Read Speed
63.5 MB/s
68.1 MB/s
Battery
9.6
9.0
Capacity
80 Wh
54 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
15.2 hrs
12.3 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
18.8 hrs
11.9 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
4.2 hrs
3.2 hrs
Charge Time
1.9 hrs
2.8 hrs
Counter-Strike 2
7.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
54fps
1% Low
37fps
0.1% Low
34fps
1% Low Delta
8 ms
0.1% Low Delta
11 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
137fps
Thermals And Noise
7.4
8.1
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
34 °C (92 °F)
26 °C (79 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
45 °C (112 °F)
49 °C (121 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
44.5 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
Yes
No
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
5.6
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
43 fps
1% Low
27 fps
0.1% Low
20 fps
1% Low Delta
14 ms
0.1% Low Delta
26 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
56 fps
Performance Over Time
9.2
7.3
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
81 °C
91 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
4% loss
6% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
73 °C
81 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
11% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
macOS
Additional Software
Yes
None
Extra Features
Biometrics
Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
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Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
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Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) vs Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4, 2025): Main Discussion
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