#ChineseLaptopWars: After Xiaomi’s ‘Air’, meet Lenovo Air 13 Pro


We’ve seen quite a bit of ‘laptop’ activity in China in the past 24 hours or so. Most of it was thanks to the Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air, the pretty-looking uninspiringly-named budget laptop.

If you thought the Mi Notebook Air was well priced, meet the Lenovo Air 13 Pro. The laptop offers a spec sheet that’s uncannily similar to that of the Mi Notebook Air; let’s have a quick look.

lair_03

Lenovo Air 13 Pro specifications:

  • 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080p display
  • Intel Core i5-6200U processor
  • NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics
  • 4GB RAM
  • 256GB SSD
  • 46Wh battery

The only difference is the RAM (4GB vs 8GB on the 13.3-inch Mi Notebook Air), a slightly larger battery (46Wh vs 40Wh). As for the pricing, the Lenovo Air 13 Pro will sell for $750, which makes it a no-deal considering the amount of RAM it has.

Gizchina News of the week


As Liliputing points out, the Air 13 Pro looks a lot like the IdeaPad 710S from earlier this year.

It’s quite interesting how companies in China work, don’t you think? Let us know what you think of the whole Mi Notebook Air vs Lenovo Air 13 Pro thing below.

lair_02

Previous Budget UMI London enters the market
Next Vernee Apollo Lite with tri-cluster CPU architecture promises energy efficient usage

86 Comments

  1. Hakim Farouk
    July 28, 2016

    It’s ironic how mi and lenovo had released an almost similar spec and similar priced laptop, almost at the same time with the word air in both model. Almost as if they were expected to compete. haha. corporate spies perhaps

    • bojan radovanovic
      July 28, 2016

      Yes, but lenovo had similar devices and before…

      By the way, 4GB is more then enough for devices like this… You cannot play games, or render video on it anyway…

      • Hakim Farouk
        July 28, 2016

        Shouldn’t be a problem for a high setting config on Dota tho. But games like GTA, you definitely shouldn’t be running it on full settings. haha. The Mi Notebook Pro version should be able to play in high settings tho(If the rumoured specs are to be true) but will be launch later on I suppose.

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      have you all seen/met the similiar LIVEFAN 13″?
      i already placed it on MY CART

  2. NextHype
    July 28, 2016

    Aknowledging the fact Lenovo has a few decades of experience in laptop building VS Xiaomi who’s a total newcomer in the business, the RAM amount probably isn’t the only difference between the two products, as we can expect more stability and lifespan from Lenovo.

    Other difference is the amount of RAM embedded in GPU : 1GB for Xiaomi, when Lenovo has 2GB, even if it’s the same Nvidia 940MX. I think it will make a sensible advantage for Lenovo, but we’ll have to wait for benchmarks ingame to confirm that point.

    Another difference should be availability, as Lenovo usally deliver massive batches from start, when Xiaomi struggle to meet the demand (especially if the info about the 300K unit first batch is true).

    And last but not least, Lenovo integrated a fingerprint scanner while Xiaomi didn’t.

    Finally, I can’t see any reason to go for Xiaomi’s, as 8GB RAM vs 4GB RAM shouldn’t make any difference for any ‘bureautic/multimedia’ task this kind of laptop can handle, while GPU RAM will make a serious difference for gaming.

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Plus point on the Xiaomi for the AKG and Dolby sound of course but that is to be tested yet.

      I think the Lenovo does have the USB Type C tho.
      http://www.lenovo.com.cn/activity/marketing/air13pro/index.html

      • NextHype
        July 28, 2016

        thx, i edited my comment. As for the AKG part, i’m affraid it may be more of a gimmick, since reviewers that went at Xiaomi’s show pointed out standard sound quality and vibrations induced in keyboard/trackpad.

        • Hakim Farouk
          July 28, 2016

          Do you have any links or sources for those reviews?

          • NextHype
            July 28, 2016

            Sorry, i read a lot of reviews today and don’t remember which one on which site reported this…

            • Hakim Farouk
              July 28, 2016

              hmm.. because I know of a rather reliable, famous local chinese blogger who was there that has a contradicting opinion to what you have just mentioned tho.

    • Muhammad Yasir
      July 28, 2016

      i want to game too .. but will go for Mi Notebook

      • NextHype
        July 28, 2016

        so you’ll wait at least 2 month more to be disappointed by perfs and cry a few month later when you’ll have hardware issues and won’t find any aftersale service in your country.

        Great choice Muhammad, congratulations ^^

        • Muhammad Yasir
          July 28, 2016

          you’re harsh and blunt af :/

          • NextHype
            July 28, 2016

            that’s how it’s fun xD
            plus i know you’re not a wimp and understand this unsubtle form of humor ^^

            • Muhammad Yasir
              July 28, 2016

              ikr 😀

              and i ain’t rich enough to buy a laptop atm … hel , i would be lucky to buy the Redmi Pro 1st version :p

        • balcobomber25
          July 28, 2016

          If there are any hardware issues you can take them to just about any repair shop and get it fixed. It’s not like Xiaomi is using brand new components that aren’t used in dozens of laptops.

          • NextHype
            July 28, 2016

            I was think of using warranty instead of paying for repair. And it seems their are more Lenovo aftersale support centers worldwide than Xiaomi.

            • balcobomber25
              July 28, 2016

              That’s assuming you’re repair is covered under you warranty and they don’t charge you extra for parts And shipping. Having dealt with Lenovo Support in the past, good luck.

            • nelsonmandala
              August 13, 2016

              ok in singapore..Lenovo service centre 5 stars..i just had my lenovo 27″ touch horizon repaired replaced panels/motherboard brand new(it was me who messed it up after changing the SSd harddrive) for zero dollars..it take around a month for the spare parts to arrive

          • nelsonmandala
            August 13, 2016

            indeed..me and my partners practically repaired everythinggie includin pads/tablets..if spareparts is availiable(80% no problemo)

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      While Xiaomi themselves are a newcomer to laptops they are using the same OEM who builds laptops for Acer, HP and even Lenovo themselves.

      The rest of your points are pretty much spot on.

      • NextHype
        July 28, 2016

        I didn’t know that, thanks. Which OEM is it ?

        • balcobomber25
          July 28, 2016

          Quanta

          • Hakim Farouk
            July 28, 2016

            Yeah, but it’s not quanta tho. it’s wistron. but the current batch is being built by a company called tian mi. the 2nd manufacturing company is expected to be wistron. Xiaomi is trying to get more manufacturing partners to meet the supply in demand

            • balcobomber25
              July 28, 2016

              I read on another site it was Quanta.

            • Hakim Farouk
              July 28, 2016

              They probably got it wrong. Check this out

              https://www.google.com/search?q=taiwan+tech+company+wiki&rlz=1C1CHBF_enMY693MY693&oq=taiwan+tech+company+wiki&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.8871j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#safe=off&q=mi+notebook+tian+mi

            • Hakim Farouk
              July 28, 2016

              Yeah, Wistron made laptops for Acer as well and many other major brands that we know. Taiwanese, apparently.

            • balcobomber25
              July 28, 2016

              Wistron and Quanta are like the Foxconn of the laptop world. They both have contracts with HP, Acer, Dell, Asus, Alienware, Lenovo and several others.

            • Hakim Farouk
              July 28, 2016

              Inventec too and all of these companies are Taiwanese. They monopoly the tech oem odm manufacturing world.

            • balcobomber25
              July 28, 2016

              It’s amazing how much of the electronics industry can be traced back to the tiny islands of Taiwan. Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, Mediatek, TSMC, Realtek, AOC, Biostar, Gigabyte, Clevo, Inventec, Leadtek, Mstar, Microtek, Pegatron, Ralink, Transcend and many more. Chances are if you have a laptop, tablet or phone it can be traced back to Taiwan.

          • NextHype
            July 29, 2016

            Digitimes says 12.3″ version is built by Inventec and 13.3″ version by Quanta. Xiaomi beeing the biggest Inventec partner for handheld products, maybe they didn’t wanna ternish their relation by contracting all of their notebook production with Quanta ^^ As funny as it gets, Quanta is producing Apple notebooks…

  3. Hakim Farouk
    July 28, 2016

    It’s ironic how mi and lenovo had released an almost similar spec and similar priced laptop, almost at the same time with the word air in both model. Almost as if they were expected to compete. haha. corporate spies leaking infos perhaps

    • bojan radovanovic
      July 28, 2016

      Yes, but lenovo had similar devices and before…

      By the way, 4GB is more then enough for devices like this… You cannot play games, or render video on it anyway…

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Shouldn’t be a problem for a high setting config on Dota tho. But games like GTA, you definitely shouldn’t be running it on full settings. haha. The Mi Notebook Pro version should be able to play in high settings tho (If the rumoured specs are to be true) but will be launched later on I suppose.

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      have you all seen/met the similiar LIVEFAN 13″?
      i already placed it on MY CART

  4. EKlipz'77
    July 28, 2016

    They should use AMD hardware to be more competitive pricewise. The latest generation AMD laptop apu’s perform nicely when paired with enough RAM.

    • Muhammad Yasir
      July 28, 2016

      nicely said !
      i agree

    • Natsumi
      July 28, 2016

      but they have to use always intel…

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      AMD is a NO no..after warrenty expired..thats where your headaches come in..trust me..i repaired computers for a livings

  5. Muhammad Yasir
    July 28, 2016

    i just have one issue with this LAptop…

    THE DAMN GPU !!!!

    we all know Lenovo Air will sell for MORE $$$$ after presale … which means its costly and has the SAME GPU as Mi PC !

    the least these LENOVO morons could have done is use a GTX 965m with 3GB VRAM FOR OPTIMUM GAMING PERFORMANCE !

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      At least they put 2GB VRAM when Xiaomi’s slacked with a ridiculous 1GB VRAM ^^

      • Muhammad Yasir
        July 28, 2016

        scant consolation..

        • Razor
          July 28, 2016

          Nvidia GTX 965m is not possible on such a small thin and light ultrabook. Besides the TDP is 50 Watt for this gpu, considering the core i5-6200U cpu itself is 15 Watt. Starting with nvidia geforce gtx 950 to 980m those gpus are for 15 to 17 inches big and heavy laptop. So gpu like 940mx is perfect for this ultrabook since the TPD is 15 to 30 Watt approximately.

          • Muhammad Yasir
            July 29, 2016

            k man , whatever , they could have ditched the thin factor for more firepower !

            • nelsonmandala
              August 13, 2016

              ello fren..when we buy thin..we meant portabilty..lightweight..if want firepower..go back to 11 or 13″ gamers laptop which will endup in weight..as for me..i do carry my laptop around daily includin flying off abroad

            • Muhammad Yasir
              August 13, 2016

              k fren

  6. NextHype
    July 28, 2016

    There are a few more differences, beside the RAM amount

    Differences in favor of Lenovo

    – aknowledging the fact Lenovo has a few decades of experience in laptop building VS Xiaomi who’s a total newcomer in the business, we probably can expect more stability and lifespan from Lenovo.

    – the amount of RAM embedded in GPU : 1GB for Xiaomi, when Lenovo has 2GB, even if it’s the same Nvidia 940MX. I think it will make a sensible advantage for Lenovo, but we’ll have to wait for benchmarks ingame to confirm that point.

    – availability, as Lenovo usally deliver massive batches from start, when Xiaomi struggle to meet the demand (especially if the info about the 300K unit first batch is true).

    – Lenovo integrated a fingerprint scanner while Xiaomi didn’t.

    Differences in favor of Xiaomi

    – Xiaomi advertised on their fast charging tech (50% in 30mn), while Lenovo doesn’t seem to offer something equivalent

    Finally, I don’t think 4GB RAM isn’t a showstopper, as 8GB RAM vs 4GB RAM shouldn’t make any difference for any ‘bureautic/multimedia’ task this kind of laptop can handle, while GPU RAM will make a serious difference for gaming. Correct me if i’m wrong.

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Plus point on the Xiaomi for the AKG and Dolby sound of course but that is to be tested yet.

      I think the Lenovo does have the USB Type C tho.
      http://www.lenovo.com.cn/activity/marketing/air13pro/index.html

    • Guest
      July 28, 2016

      i want to game too .. but will go for Mi Notebook

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      thx, i edited my comment. As for the AKG part, i’m affraid it may be more of a gimmick, since reviewers that went at Xiaomi’s show pointed out standard sound quality and vibrations induced in keyboard/trackpad.

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      so you’ll wait at least 2 month more to be disappointed by perfs and cry a few month later when you’ll have hardware issues and won’t find any aftersale service in your country.

      Great choice Muhammad, congratulations ^^

    • Guest
      July 28, 2016

      you’re harsh and blunt af :/

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Do you have any links or sources for those reviews?

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      While Xiaomi themselves are a newcomer to laptops they are using the same OEM who builds laptops for Acer, HP and even Lenovo themselves.

      The rest of your points are pretty much spot on.

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      If there are any hardware issues you can take them to just about any repair shop and get it fixed. It’s not like Xiaomi is using brand new components that aren’t used in dozens of laptops.

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      that’s how it’s fun xD
      plus i know you’re not a wimp and understand this unsubtle form of humor ^^

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      I was think of using warranty instead of paying for repair. And it seems their are more Lenovo aftersale support centers worldwide than Xiaomi.

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      I didn’t know that, thanks. Which OEM is it ?

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      Sorry, i read a lot of reviews today and don’t remember which one on which site reported this…

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      Quanta

    • Guest
      July 28, 2016

      ikr 😀

      and i ain’t rich enough to buy a laptop atm … hel , i would be lucky to buy the Redmi Pro 1st version :p

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Yeah, but it’s not quanta tho. it’s wistron. but the current batch is being built by a company called tian mi. the 2nd manufacturing company is expected to be wistron. Xiaomi is trying to get more manufacturing partners to meet the supply in demand

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      I read on another site it was Quanta. But even if it’s Wistron they are just as big and make products for all the major laptop companies.

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      hmm.. because I know of a rather reliable, famous local chinese blogger who was there that has a contradicting opinion to what you have just mentioned tho.

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      They probably got it wrong. Check this out

      https://www.google.com/search?q=taiwan+tech+company+wiki&rlz=1C1CHBF_enMY693MY693&oq=taiwan+tech+company+wiki&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.8871j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#safe=off&q=mi+notebook+tian+mi

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      That’s assuming you’re repair is covered under you warranty and they don’t charge you extra for parts And shipping. Having dealt with Lenovo Support in the past, good luck.

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Yeah, Wistron made laptops for Acer as well and many other major brands that we know. Taiwanese, apparently.

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      Wistron and Quanta are like the Foxconn of the laptop world. They both have contracts with HP, Acer, Dell, Asus, Alienware, Lenovo and several others.

    • Hakim Farouk
      July 28, 2016

      Inventec too and all of these companies are Taiwanese. They monopoly the tech oem odm manufacturing world.

    • balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016

      It’s amazing how much of the electronics industry can be traced back to the tiny islands of Taiwan. Foxconn, Quanta, Wistron, Mediatek, TSMC, Realtek, AOC, Biostar, Gigabyte, Clevo, Inventec, Leadtek, Mstar, Microtek, Pegatron, Ralink, Transcend and many more. Chances are if you have a laptop, tablet or phone it can be traced back to Taiwan.

    • NextHype
      July 29, 2016

      Digitimes says 12.3″ version is built by Inventec and 13.3″ version by Quanta. Xiaomi beeing the biggest Inventec partner for handheld products, maybe they didn’t wanna ternish their relation by contracting all of their notebook production with Quanta ^^ As funny as it gets, Quanta is producing Apple notebooks…

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      indeed..me and my partners practically repaired everythinggie includin pads/tablets..if spareparts is availiable(80% no problemo)

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      ok in singapore..Lenovo service centre 5 stars..i just had my lenovo 27″ touch horizon repaired replaced panels/motherboard brand new(it was me who messed it up after changing the SSd harddrive) for zero dollars..it take around a month for the spare parts to arrive

  7. balcobomber25
    July 28, 2016

    Xiaomi FTW.

  8. Guest
    July 28, 2016

    They should use AMD hardware to be more competitive pricewise. The latest generation AMD laptop apu’s perform nicely when paired with enough RAM.

    • Guest
      July 28, 2016

      nicely said !
      i agree

    • Natsumi
      July 28, 2016

      but they have to use always intel…

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      AMD is a NO no..after warrenty expired..thats where your headaches come in..trust me..i repaired computers for a livings

  9. Guest
    July 28, 2016

    i just have one issue with this LAptop…

    THE DAMN GPU !!!!

    we all know Lenovo Air will sell for MORE $$$$ after presale … which means its costly and has the SAME GPU as Mi PC !

    the least these LENOVO morons could have done is use a GTX 965m with 3GB VRAM FOR OPTIMUM GAMING PERFORMANCE !

    • NextHype
      July 28, 2016

      At least they put 2GB VRAM when Xiaomi’s slacked with a ridiculous 1GB VRAM ^^

    • Guest
      July 28, 2016

      scant consolation..

    • Razor
      July 29, 2016

      Nvidia GTX 965m is not possible on such a small thin and light ultrabook. Besides the TDP is 50 Watt for this gpu, considering the core i5-6200U cpu itself is 15 Watt. Starting with nvidia geforce gtx 950 to 980m those gpus are for 15 to 17 inches big and heavy laptop. So gpu like 940mx is perfect for this ultrabook since the TPD is 15 to 30 Watt approximately.

    • Guest
      July 29, 2016

      k man , whatever , they could have ditched the thin factor for more firepower !

    • nelsonmandala
      August 13, 2016

      ello fren..when we buy thin..we meant portabilty..lightweight..if want firepower..go back to 11 or 13″ gamers laptop which will endup in weight..as for me..i do carry my laptop around daily includin flying off abroad

    • Guest
      August 13, 2016

      k fren

  10. balcobomber25
    July 28, 2016

    Xiaomi FTW.