Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15") vs Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)

Compared 2 laptops: Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15"), vs Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026). Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 5 226V
- Intel Core Ultra 5 228V
- Intel Core Ultra 5 238V
- Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
- Intel Core Ultra 7 268V
n/a
Storage - 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
- 2048 GB
- 512 GB
- 1024 GB
- 2048 GB
- 4096 GB
RAM - 16 GB
- 32 GB
- 16 GB
- 24 GB
- 32 GB

Review

Key Specs Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15") and Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
System Performance
System and app performance
Gaming Performance
Graphics in popular 3D games
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Battery Life
Estimated real-world battery life
Connectivity
Ports, webcam, and interfaces
Case & Design
Appearance, materials, durability, comfort
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Performance:
Gaming:
Display:
Battery life:
Connectivity:
Portability:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Body

Design and ergonomics comparison
Weight 1.4 kg 1.51 kg
Pixel size 339.55x228.5x12.9 mm 340.4x237.6x11.5 mm
Area 776 cm² 809 cm²
Screen-to-body ratio 87.5 % 83.9 %
Side bezels 5 mm 5.4 mm
Colors Gray - Black
- Silver
- Gold
- Blue
Material Aluminum Aluminum
Transformer No No
Opening angle 180 ° 130 °
Cooling system
Cooling typeActivePassive
Vapor chamberNoNo
Liquid metalNoNo
Cooler count2n/a
Noise Level45 dBn/a

Display

Display quality comparison
Diagonal 15.3 in 15.3 in
Type OLED IPS LCD
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (30-120 Hz) No
Pixel density 222 ppi 224 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 2880x1800 pixels 2880x1864 pixels
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision Yes, Dolby Vision
Sync Tech No No
Touchscreen No No
Coating Glossy (Anti-Reflective) Glossy (Anti-Reflective)
Light sensor Yes Yes
Display test
Max brightness
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15")
500 nits
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
500 nits
Contrast1000000:11223:1
DCI-P3 gamut100 %97.5 %
sRGB gamut100 %100 %
Adobe RGB gamut94.6 %86.3 %
Response time1 ms27 ms

Battery

Capacity 80 Wh 66.5 Wh
Full Charge Time 1:55 h n/a
Battery Type Li-Po Li-Po
Removable No No
Fast Charging Yes Yes
USB PD Yes Yes, 70 W
Charge Port Location Left, Right Left
Charge Power 65 W 35/40/70 W
Cable Length n/a 2 m
Charger weight 276 g 116/80/167 g

Processor

Processor Intel Core Ultra 5 226V Apple M5 (10-Core)
Base frequency 2.1 GHz 4.61 GHz
Turbo Frequency 4.5 GHz n/a
Cores 8 (4P + 4E) 10 (4P + 6E)
Threads 8 10
L3 Cache 8 MB n/a
Integrated Graphics Intel Arc Graphics 130V Apple M5 GPU (10-core)
Process tech. 3 nm 3 nm
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15")
2381
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
4121
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15")
9266
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
17463
Cinebench
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15")
1634
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
n/a
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Gen 1 Aura Edition (15")
9454
Apple MacBook Air 15 M5 (2026)
n/a

GPU Model

GPU Model Intel Arc 130V Apple M5 GPU (10-Core)
TGP 30 W n/a
Graphics Type Integrated Integrated
Process tech. 3 nm 3 nm
GPU Frequency 600 MHz n/a
Boost GPU Frequency 1850 MHz 1620 MHz
FLOPS 3.3 TFLOPS 4.1 TFLOPS
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Tire Width n/a 128 bit
Memory speed 8.53 Gbit/s 9.6 Gbit/s
Shader Units 896 1280
TMUs n/a 80
ROPs n/a 40

RAM

RAM Size 16 GB 16 GB
Channels 2x8 GB 2x8 GB
Frequency 8533 MHz 9600 MHz
Type LPDDR5X LPDDR5X
Replaceable No No

Storage

Bus PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) Custom
Type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 1x256 GB 2x256 GB
Replaceable Yes No
Total Slots 1 n/a
NVMe Yes Yes
Storage Capacity 256 GB 512 GB

Sound

Audio Chipset Cirrus Logic CS42L43 n/a
Audio Formats 2.0 2.4
Speaker Power 2x2 W n/a
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Max Volume 87.5 dB 84.8 dB
Microphones 2 3

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version v7 v7
Bluetooth version 5.4 6.0
Fingerprint sensor Yes Yes
IR sensor Yes No
CD drive No No
Webcam Above Display Above Display
Webcam Resolution 3840x2160 1920x1080
Ports
USB-A1x3.2No
USB-C2x4.02x4.0
ThunderboltThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 4
HDMI1x2.1No
DisplayPortNoNo
VGANoNo
3.5 mm Audio JackYesYes
Ethernet (RJ45)NoNo
Card ReaderNoNo
Charging PortNoYes

Keyboard & Touchpad

Key Type Island Layout Island Layout
Numeric Keypad No No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key Travel 1.35 mm 1 mm
Touchpad
Size13.5x8.0 cmn/a
SurfaceGlassGlass
Windows PrecisionYesNo
* Attention! Ports, display type, speakers, and specs may differ by model or country.

Results

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