Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 vs. M1 MacBook Air: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively analyzed the technical specifications for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 and M1 MacBook Air models. Our report includes intricate details such as the CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 image

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9

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M1 MacBook Air

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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Pros

Reasons that Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is better than M1 MacBook Air.

Supports larger memory

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 supports a larger memory capacity than the M1 MacBook Air. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the M1 MacBook Air.

Max system memory size
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
32 GB
M1 MacBook Air
16 GB
Upgradable storage

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that you can replace and upgrade in the future.

SlotsLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
M.2
Yes x1
Onboard
5% larger display

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has a 14-inch screen size 5% larger than the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Air.

Display size
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
14-inch
M1 MacBook Air
13.3-inch
About 12% lighter

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 weighed 2.49 pounds, 12% lighter than the 2.8 pounds M1 MacBook Air.

WeightLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Pound
2.49 lbs.
2.8 lbs.
Kilogram
1.13 kg
1.27 kg
Has five more ports and slots

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has more ports and slots count than the M1 MacBook Air. It has eight versus three amount of ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
HDMIYesNo
headphone jackYesYes
lock slotYesNo
nanoSIM card slotYesNo
Thunderbolt 3NoYes x2
Thunderbolt 4Yes x2No
USB-AYes x2No
Total83
More versatile connectivity

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M1 MacBook Air. It has four versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M1 MacBook Air.

PortsLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
headphone jackYesYes
HDMIYesNo
Thunderbolt 3NoYes
Thunderbolt 4YesNo
USB-AYesNo

M1 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Air is better than Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.

Much faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Air has a 65% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1180G7 inside Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 7G)
7,414
M1 MacBook Air - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Intel Core i7-1180G7
4,474
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Intel Core i7-1160G7
4,238
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 - Intel Core i5-1130G7
4,079

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Price
LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon 9th Gen 9 Intel Core i7-1165G7, FHD Non-Touch Screen,16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, Backlit KYB Fingerprint Reader, Windows Pro
 LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon 9th Gen 9 Intel Core i7-1165G7, FHD Non-Touch Screen,16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, Backlit KYB Fingerprint Reader, Windows Pro
By LENOVO
$1,009.77
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Lenovo Thinkpadx1 Carbon Gen9 Intel Evo Core i7-1185G7| Windows11 Pro| 14inch WQXGA 16:10 IPS Display| Backlit Keyboard| Thunderbolt4| Wi-Fi6| Fingerprint| HDMI Cable (16GB RAM | 512GB PCIe SSD)
 Lenovo Thinkpadx1 Carbon Gen9 Intel Evo Core i7-1185G7| Windows11 Pro| 14inch WQXGA 16:10 IPS Display| Backlit Keyboard| Thunderbolt4| Wi-Fi6| Fingerprint| HDMI Cable (16GB RAM | 512GB PCIe SSD)
By Lenovo
$1,149.99
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 20XW004QUS 14" Ultrabook - WUXGA - 1920 x 1200 - Intel Core i5 i5-1135G7 Quad-core (4 Core) 2.40 GHz - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - Black - Windows 10 Pro - Intel Iris
 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 20XW004QUS 14" Ultrabook - WUXGA - 1920 x 1200 - Intel Core i5 i5-1135G7 Quad-core (4 Core) 2.40 GHz - 8 GB RAM - 256 GB SSD - Black - Windows 10 Pro - Intel Iris
By Lenovo
$670.00
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M1 MacBook Air Price
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$599.99
$647.00 7% OFF
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Apple 2020 MacBook Air Laptop M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Silver
 Apple 2020 MacBook Air Laptop M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Silver
By Apple
$726.79
$999.00 27% OFF
See at Amazon
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
 Late 2020 Apple MacBook Air with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$704.99
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Released20212020
Release Date
  • Announced on January 11, 2021 (CES 2021)
  • Available starting February 2021
Announced on November 10th, 2020
PricingStarting at $1,429
  • $999
    Apple M1 Chip (7 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,249
    Apple M1 Chip (8 cores GPU) | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Generations-

Exterior

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Size Comparison
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Dimensions12.38” x 8.72” x 0.59” (314.5 x 221.6 x 14.9 mm)
  • Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
  • Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
  • Height: 0.16–0.63 inch (0.41–1.61 cm)
WeightStarting at 2.49 lbs (1.13 kg)Starting at 2.8 pounds (1.29 kg)
Colors
Black
Optional woven carbon fiber top cover
Gold Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Spill-resistant, Backlit with white LED lighting keyboard.
  • New FN row F9-F11
  • Trackpad + TrackPoint® pointing device.
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Display

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Size14 Inches13.3 Inches
Info
  • 14" UHD+
    16:10 3840 x 2400 IPS low-power HDR400 with Dolby Vision™ DCI P3 100% 500 nits TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions
  • 14" FHD+
    16:10 1920 x 1200 IPS anti-glare low-power 100% sRGB 400 nits Low-power TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions
  • 14" FHD+ with Touch support 
    16:10 1920 x 1200 IPS anti-glare touchscreen 100% sRGB 400 nits TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions
  • 14" FHD+ with Touch & PrivacyGuard support 
    16:10 1920 x 1200 IPS anti-glare touchscreen 100% sRGB PrivacyGuard 500 nits
Retina display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1440 by 900
    • 1024 by 640
  • 16:10 aspect ratio
  • 400 nits brightness
  • Supports wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology

Ports

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Ports
Image Source: Lenovo
Left (4)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
Right (4)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x nanoSIM card slot
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Always On
  • 1 x lock slot
    Kensington Lock
M1 MacBook Air Ports
Image Source: Apple
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), Charging, DisplayPort
Right (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Processor
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1130G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.80 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1160G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 4.40 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1180G7 with vPro™
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.20 → 4.60 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
  2. Apple M1
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1130G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1160G7
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
  3. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1180G7 with vPro™
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
  1. Apple M1 (7 GPU Cores)
    Apple M1 iGPU
    7 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
  2. Apple M1
    Apple M1 iGPU
    8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB 32GB
4266 MHz Dual-channel LPDDR4x Memory.
  • 8GB
    unified memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 SSD (Replaceable).
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Wi-FiIntel® Wi-Fi 6™ AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2)
Up to 2400 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax.
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
BluetoothBluetooth 5.1Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
MoreOptional WWAN: 4x4 MIMO 5G (LTE CAT20) / 4G (LTE CAT12)-

Battery

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Size57 Wh49.9 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery LifeUp to 15 hours
Based on MobileMark® 2018 battery-life benchmark test
  • Up to 15 hours wireless web
  • Up to 18 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply65 W USB (Type-C) power adapter
Supports Rapid Charge.
30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
OS
  • Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps
Lenovo Vantage
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Camera
  • Front-facing camera with ThinkShutter privacy shutter
    720p (1280 x 720 HD) camera.
  • Optional: Hybrid Infrared (IR) & HD 720p with ThinkShutter
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Dolby Atmos™ Speaker System
  • Dolby® Voice®
  • 4 x 360-degree microphones
  • Stereo speakers
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
Sensors
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader on the palm rest
  • Optional IR Camera
  • Ambient light sensor
  • NFC
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • Power-on Touch Fingerprint Reader
  • Match on Chip Touch Fingerprint Reader
  • dTPM 2.0 chip
  • Webcam privacy shutter
  • HPD sensor with IR Camera
  • ThinkPad PrivacyGuard
  • ThinkPad PrivacyAlert
  • Kensington™ lock slot
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box
  • ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9
  • 65W AC adapter
  • 57Wh Internal battery
  • Quick Start Guide
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty1-year Depot or Carry-inYour MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More-Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9M1 MacBook Air
At Glance
Released in Early
2021
16:9 4K UHD+
14”
2400p 60Hz
Weight
2.49 lb
1.13 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1180G7
4C/8T, 2.20 → 4.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,364
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,474
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Ports
Released in Late
2020
16:10 QHD
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.8 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
8C/8T, 3.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,705
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,414
Multi-Core
With integrated
Apple M1 iGPU
8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
Unified Memory
M1 MacBook Air Ports
Starting at
$999
M1 (7 GPU Cores), 8GB, 256GB SSD
Up to
18 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
Touch ID
With T2 Chip
Dual
USB-C
USB4 & Thunderbolt 3
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.0

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