Compare with...

  • Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display
  • Apple MacBook Pro 8th Gen
  • Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
  • Apple MacBook Air 4th Gen
  • ASUS Zenbook UX31E
  • 13.3"
  • Core i7 1.7 GHz Dual core
  • 8 GB DDR3-1333
  • 128 GB SSD
Announced January, 2012
Compared to the £850 Toshiba Satellite U920t, our Yoga offers a higher-resolution, better quality display, a far nicer keyboard and a lot more processing power, though it loses out when it comes to battery life and portability.
Rated 80% by by TrustedReviews (Mar, 2013)
 
$1,130
  • 13.3"
  • 1.8 GHz Dual core
  • 4 GB
  • 128 GB HDD
Released June, 2012
The sound is adequate, graphics are suitable for light gaming, SSD is quiet and quick, display is bright but not bright enough to overuse the battery and the battery is adequate (although if they were able to add in a bigger battery without changing the weight I probably would be a little happier).
Rated 100% by by C.-Goldblatt (Feb, 2013)
 

Conclusion Which is better for you?

83%
71%
View Details
100%
70%
95%
70%
View Details
78%
88%
View Details

Winner

LenovoIdeaPad Yoga

89
75

Features Key features of the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga compared to the Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen

GHz1.7

Intel Core i7 3517U

Side view of Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga
For any 13-inch laptop, battery life is key, and even more so for an ultrabook, which is specifically designed for use on the go.
Rated 82% by by c|net (Nov, 2012)
Front view of Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen

1.8 GHz

Screen resolution, contrast, and viewing angles are excellent, and photos seem especially vivid.
Rated 100% by by Selden-Deemer (Aug, 2012)

screen size

13.3"
13.3"
But still, It's neither the best nor the worst display I've seen on a device in this class, this size, or this price.
IdeaPad Yoga by The Verge (Nov, 2012)
This is the best laptop I have ever owned, the small size of the laptop was a concern at first but after several months of use I have come to love the small 11.6 inch screen.
MacBook Air 5th Gen by Roger-A.-Adams (Apr, 2013)

cpu speed

0 GHz
1.8 GHz

1.7 GHz
2 GHz
Our $1,099 review unit of the IdeaPad Yoga features a 1.7-GHz Intel Core i5-3317U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and an Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU.
IdeaPad Yoga by LaptopMag (Nov, 2012)
Of course the Air (which I got factory upgraded to the 2.0 GHz i7 processor and 8GB of RAM) is lighter, slimmer, and sleeker than the Pro, and yes, it does have a much higher resolution display, but I was surprised just how much faster the MacBook Air is compared to the Pro is despite the Air's slower CPU clock speed.
MacBook Air 5th Gen by Farb-Dannon

processor

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga
Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen
The specific processor in question is the dual core Intel Core i7-3517U, which hums along at 1.9GHz by default but can turbo clock up to 3GHz.
IdeaPad Yoga by TrustedReviews (Mar, 2013)
Keep in mind that you're only getting dual-core processors in either MacBook Air... which can prove frustrating if you're really crunching some data through Excel or Access.
MacBook Air 5th Gen by Abraham-Burnett

memory

0 GB
8 GB

4 GB
8 GB
Oddly for a machine sporting such a nice chip by default, 4GB is the maximum amount of RAM on retail models - the Lenovo Yoga 13 doesn’t seem to be available from the company’s UK site right now, where specs tend to be configurable and the Yoga should take up to 8GB.
IdeaPad Yoga by TrustedReviews (Mar, 2013)
There is very little difference in the performance of the macbook air to the macbook pro, and if you install the extra 4gb of ram like I did this small laptop preforms almost every macbook pro.
MacBook Air 5th Gen by Roger-A.-Adams (Apr, 2013)
 

Performance Real world tests of Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga vs Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen

battery life

8 hour
5 hour
Under the hood, this Yoga can offer up to a Core i7 CPU, up to 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, putting it at the top of the convertible game in terms of power – yet Lenovo still claims battery life of up to eight hours.
IdeaPad Yoga by TrustedReviews (Mar, 2013)
It is also lightweighted, but it lacks a core feature I was expecting from such an expensive piece of hardware - a good battery life.
MacBook Air 5th Gen by Tanara (Jul, 2012)
 

Differences What are the advantages of each

Advantages compared to the Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen

Has an accelerometer Yes vs No
Somewhat common; Detects movement for interactive apps
Much faster internal storage 0.1 ms (SSD) vs 10 ms (HDD)
100x faster random access time; faster boot times and shorter application load times
Much more RAM 8 GB vs 4 GB
Twice as much RAM; run more applications and have more browser tabs open without slowing down the system
Significantly longer battery life 8 hour vs 5 hour
60% longer battery life; surf the web longer without having to plug in

Advantages compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga

Has a microphone jack Yes vs No
Somewhat common; Can use an external microphone for superior audio quality

Reviews Word on the street

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga

Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen

Discussions Get involved, ask your question about the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga and Apple MacBook Air 5th Gen

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