✦ SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARE

MacBook Air 13 M4 vs MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13: which is better?

MacBook Air 13 M4, MacBook Air M5 13-inch and ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 compared side by side across 106 specs and 13 scored categories — every winner highlighted, so the right pick is obvious.

3 PRODUCTS · 106 SPECS · 13 SCORED CATEGORIES · LIVE RE-RANKING

COMPARING

3 / 4

LAPTOPS

Add or remove products — every chart and spec row re-ranks live.

APPLE

MacBook Air 13 M4

$999

BEST FOR VALUE

← TOP PICK

APPLE

MacBook Air M5 13-inch

$1,199

BEST OVERALL

LENOVO

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

$1,399

WINS DISPLAY

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⚡ COMPARZONE VERDICT

The MacBook Air M5 13-inch takes the overall win.

Highest composite at 9.2/10 — 0.9 ahead of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13. Tightest race: battery, just 0.1 apart. Scroll for the category-by-category breakdown.

View the winner →

CATEGORY WINS · 13 SCOREDTIES SHOWN GREY

PERF

DISP

BATT

DESI

VALU

PERF

BATT

DISP

DESI

BENC

CONN

FEAT

MISC

MacBook Air 13 M4×6

MacBook Air M5 13-inch×5

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13×2

Apple MacBook Air 13 M4BEST FOR VALUE

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inchBEST OVERALL

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13WINS DISPLAY

01 · SCORE RADAR

Performance profile

CLICK A PRODUCT TO ISOLATE ITS SHAPE

LARGEST GAPCONNECTIVITY — MacBook Air M5 13-inch leads by 9.5

TIGHTESTBattery — only 0.1 between the top two

02 · CATEGORY BREAKDOWN

Category showdown

13 M413 INCHGEN 13

PerformanceiMacBook Air 13 M4 · +0.3

13 M49.0

13 INCH8.7

GEN 138.7

DisplayiThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 · +0.2

13 M48.8

13 INCH8.0

GEN 139.0

BatteryiMacBook Air 13 M4 · +0.1

13 M49.6

13 INCH9.5

GEN 138.9

DesigniMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.2

13 M49.4

13 INCH9.6

GEN 139.3

ValueiMacBook Air 13 M4 · +0.4

13 M48.9

13 INCH8.5

GEN 138.0

PERFORMANCEiMacBook Air 13 M4 · +0.3

13 M49.0

13 INCH8.7

GEN 138.7

BATTERYiMacBook Air 13 M4 · +0.1

13 M49.6

13 INCH9.5

GEN 138.9

DISPLAYiThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 · +0.2

13 M48.8

13 INCH8.0

GEN 139.0

DESIGNiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +0.2

13 M49.4

13 INCH9.6

GEN 139.3

BENCHMARKSiMacBook Air 13 M4 · +0.4

13 M47.8

13 INCH7.4

GEN 136.6

CONNECTIVITYiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +9.5

13 M40.0

13 INCH9.5

GEN 130.0

FEATURESiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +9.5

13 M40.0

13 INCH9.5

GEN 130.0

MISCELLANEOUSiMacBook Air M5 13-inch · +9.5

13 M40.0

13 INCH9.5

GEN 130.0

03 · VALUE MAP

Price vs performance

TOP-LEFT IS THE SWEET SPOT

SCORE PER $100 · RANKED

01MacBook Air M5 13-inch0.77BEST DEAL

02MacBook Air 13 M40.76

03ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 130.59

Map shows current starting prices · trends show tracked street prices. Check live deals before deciding.

04 · THE FULL SHEET

Full specifications

106 SPECS · ALL SHOWN

SPECS

MacBook Air 13 M4$9993W7.6

MacBook Air M5 13-inch$1,1995W9.2

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13$1,3994W8.3

Battery Typei

—

Lithium battery

—

Battery LifeHRi

18 hr← TIED BEST

16 hr

Battery CapacityMAHi

—

4,660 mAh

—

Battery VoltVi

—

11.55 V

—

Included Adapter PowerWi

—

35 W

—

Charging Typei

—

USB-C, MagSafe 3

—

Fast Chargingi

—

Yes

—

Battery Replaceablei

—

Battery EnergyWHi

—

52.6 Wh

—

Charge TimeHRSi

—

2.5 hrs

—

Has sleep-and-charge USB portsi

—

Yes

—

Has a MagSafe Power Adapteri

—

Yes

—

Geekbench 6 (Multi)i

15,200← BEST +9%

14,000

11,200

Geekbench 6 Result (Single)iSAME

—

USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (USB-C)i

—

Yes

—

Supports WiFii

—

Yes

—

USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (USB-A)i

2x Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm

2x Thunderbolt / USB 4, MagSafe 3, 3.5mm headphone jack

2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A, HDMI, 3.5mm

Webcami

12MP Center Stage

1080p FaceTime HD

1080p + IR

USB 4 20Gbps Portsi

—

USB 4 40Gbps Portsi

—

Thunderbolt 5 Portsi

—

Thunderbolt 4 Portsi

—

USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (USB-C)i

—

-1

—

USB 3.2 Gen 1 Ports (USB-A)iSAME

—

Thunderbolt 3 PortsiSAME

—

Has an HDMI Outputi

—

Has USB Type-Ci

—

Has WiFi Versioni

—

Has an External Memory Sloti

—

Bluetooth Versioni

—

Yes

—

RJ45 Portsi

—

Display Port Outputsi

—

Yes

—

USB 2.0 PortsiSAME

—

Has AirPlayi

—

Yes

—

Mini Display Port OutputsiSAME

—

Has a VGA ConnectoriSAME

—

Warranty Periodi

—

1 year

—

WeightGi

1.24 g

1,240 g← BEST +99900%

1.09 g

Uses a Fanless Designi

—

Yes

—

Has a Backlit Keyboardi

—

Yes

—

VolumeCM³i

—

738 cm³

—

WidthMMi

—

304.1 mm

—

HeightMMi

—

215.9 mm

—

ThicknessMMi

—

11.3 mm

—

French Repairability IndexiSAME

—

Maximum Operating Temperature°CiSAME

—

Minimum Operating Temperature°CiSAME

—

Weather Sealed (Splashproof)iSAME

—

Is a Rugged BuildiSAME

—

Screen SizeINCHi

—

13.6 inch

—

Display SizeINi

13.6 in

14 in← BEST +3%

Resolutioni

2560 x 1664

2560x1664

2880 x 1800 OLED

Panel Typei

IPS Liquid Retina

IPS LCD

OLED

Refresh RateHZi

60 Hz

120 Hz← BEST +100%

BrightnessNITSi

500 nits← TIED BEST

400 nits

Display Typei

—

Liquid Retina

—

Pixel DensityPPIi

—

224 ppi ppi

—

Has a Touch Screeni

—

Contrast RatioiSAME

—

Refresh RateHZiSAME

—

Has Anti-Reflecting CoatingiSAME

—

Supported Displayi

—

Release Datei

—

03/11/2026

—

Has Stereo Speakersi

—

Yes

—

Has a Socket for a 3.5 mm Audio Jacki

—

Yes

—

Megapixels (front camera)MPi

—

2.1 MP

—

Has Front Camerai

—

Yes

—

Supports DLSSiSAME

—

Supports Ray TracingiSAME

—

Has a Dolby AtmosiSAME

—

Stylus IncludediSAME

—

Has a Fingerprint Scanneri

—

Yes

—

Number of Microphonesi

—

Uses 3D Facial RecognitioniSAME

—

Has Voice Commandsi

—

Yes

—

Has a GyroscopeiSAME

—

Has S/PDIF Out PortiSAME

—

Has GPSiSAME

—

Has an AccelerometeriSAME

—

Has a CompassiSAME

—

Has an Optical Disc DriveiSAME

—

Laptopi

—

Laptop

—

Has a Integrated Graphicsi

10-core Apple GPU

Yes← BEST

Intel Graphics integrated

CPU Namei

—

Apple M5

—

Has an Unlocked MultiplieriSAME

—

Supports ECC MemoryiSAME

—

Maximum Memory BandwidthGBiSAME

—

Uses HMPi

—

Yes

—

Has TrustzoneiSAME

—

Has NX BitiSAME

—

Semiconductor SizeNMiSAME

—

Has Xess(XMX)iSAME

—

Battery HealthiSAME

—

Processori

Apple M4

Apple M5

Intel Core Ultra 7 165U

CPU Coresi

12← BEST +20%

RamGBi

16 GB

8 GB

32 GB← BEST +100%

Internal StorageGBi

256GB / 512GB / 1TB SSD GB

256 GB← BEST

512GB / 1TB SSD GB

Uses Flash Storagei

—

Yes

—

CPU speedGHZi

—

4 GHz

—

CPU ThreadsiSAME

—

Is a NVMe SSDi

—

Yes

—

Uses For Multithreadingi

—

Yes

—

Maximum Memory AmountGBi

—

24 GB

—

DDR Memory Versioni

—

LPDDR5X

—

Turbo Clock SpeedGHZi

—

4 GHz

—

Supports 64-Bitsi

—

Yes

—

ROW WINS

05 · WHICH ONE IS FOR YOU

Pick by persona

RE-RANKS LIVE AS YOU ADD OR REMOVE PRODUCTS

THE ALL-ROUNDER

Best overall

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.2

ALL GROUPSEQUAL WEIGHT

Best total score across weighted category factors.

RUNNER-UP · ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 (8.3)

FOR VALUE SEEKERS

Best bang for buck

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.2

SCORE ÷ PRICELIVE PRICES

Strongest score-to-price ratio from the available price data.

RUNNER-UP · MacBook Air 13 M4 (0.8)

PRIORITY · CONNECTIVITY

Best for connectivity

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.5

CONNECTIVITY WEIGHTEDCONF 91%

Best visible score in the connectivity category group.

RUNNER-UP · MacBook Air 13 M4 (0.0)

PRIORITY · FEATURES

Best for features

MacBook Air M5 13-inchAPPLE9.5

FEATURES WEIGHTEDCONF 91%

Best visible score in the features category group.

RUNNER-UP · MacBook Air 13 M4 (0.0)

06 · BOTTOM LINE

Why pick each

STRENGTHS · AND ONE HONEST TRADE-OFF

#3APPLE0.0

MacBook Air 13 M4

“Silent, featherlight ultrabook with the M4 chip, all-day battery, and a premium Liquid Retina display.”

BATTERY 10.0

Battery 9.6

Wins Battery Life

Wins Geekbench 6 (Multi)

TRADE-OFFOnly two Thunderbolt ports

BEST FOR VALUEBest price →

#1APPLE0.0

MacBook Air M5 13-inch

“The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is a highly portable and powerful laptop, perfect for everyday productivity and creative tasks with its adv”

DESIGN 9.6

BATTERY 9.5

Wins Has a Integrated Graphics

Wins Battery Capacity

TRADE-OFFLimited port selection

BEST OVERALLFull review →

#2LENOVO0.0

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

“The benchmark business ultrabook: legendary keyboard, MIL-SPEC durability, full ports, and enterprise security.”

Design 9.3

PERFORMANCE 9.2

Wins Ram

Wins Display Size

TRADE-OFFPremium pricing

WINS DISPLAYBest price →

Still deciding? The MacBook Air M5 13-inch is the safest pick.

COMPOSITE 9.2/10 · WINS 5 OF 13 CATEGORIES

View the winner →

Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 vs Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13: which is best?

The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is our overall pick, scoring 9.2/10 against 8.3/10 for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 — a 11% edge. Current starting prices span $999–$1,399. The score weighs category-specific laptops attributes, spec wins, price signals, and data confidence — not sponsorships.

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch leads overall with a 9.2 total score.
Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch wins 51 comparable specs with a 48% weighted win rate.
Apple MacBook Air 13 M4 has the strongest high-impact advantage in Battery Life.
Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch has the best visible score-to-price balance based on available starting price.

Apple MacBook Air 13 M47.6/10

Silent, featherlight ultrabook with the M4 chip, all-day battery, and a premium Liquid Retina display.

Pros

+ ~18 hour battery life
+ Silent fanless design
+ Fast, efficient M4 performance
+ Excellent build, display, and trackpad

Cons

− Only two Thunderbolt ports
− 256GB base storage fills fast
− No high-refresh display

Best for: Students and professionals · Travel and battery life · Quiet everyday work

“The best everyday laptop for most people: silent, light, long-lasting, and quick. The limited port selection and modest base storage are the only real caveats.”

Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inchWINNER 9.2/10

The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is a highly portable and powerful laptop, perfect for everyday productivity and creative tasks with its advanced M5 chip and stunning Liquid Retina display.

Pros

+ Exceptional M5 performance
+ All-day battery life
+ Sleek, fanless design
+ Vibrant Liquid Retina display

Cons

− Limited port selection
− No touch screen
− Higher price point

Best for: Students · Creative professionals · Everyday productivity

“<p><strong>Verdict:</strong> The Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch is poised to be an outstanding choice for those prioritizing a lightweight design, silent operation, and robust performance for daily tasks and creative work within the Apple ecosystem. Its…”

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 138.3/10

The benchmark business ultrabook: legendary keyboard, MIL-SPEC durability, full ports, and enterprise security.

Pros

+ Best-in-class keyboard
+ Light yet MIL-SPEC durable
+ Full port selection with optional 5G
+ Enterprise security and manageability

Cons

− Premium pricing
− Integrated graphics only
− Speakers are average

Best for: Business travelers · Heavy typists · Enterprise IT fleets

“The most complete business laptop: superb keyboard, durable light build, real ports, and long battery. You pay a premium and the integrated graphics are not for gaming.”

Frequently asked questions

Which is best: Apple MacBook Air 13 M4, Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch or Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13?

By ComparZone's weighted scoring of category-specific laptops specs, the Apple MacBook Air M5 13-inch scores highest overall (9.2/10, 0.9 points ahead of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13). It is the better all-round pick, but the right choice depends on your priorities — the spec table above shows exactly where each one wins.

What are the main differences between these laptops?

The biggest measurable differences are Processor, Battery Life, Geekbench 6 (Multi). The grouped spec sheet above marks the winner of every comparable spec.

Can I compare other laptops on ComparZone?

Yes — ComparZone supports dynamic comparison pages for any 2 to 4 laptops from the same category, with verified specs, transparent scores, and live prices. See the related comparisons below or build your own from the category page.

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