Lenovo Air 13 Pro is a direct competitor to Xiaomi's Mi Notebook Air

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.

Lenovo Air 13 Pro specifications:

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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.

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.

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

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Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91
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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

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
      - 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
  - 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 ^^
    - - 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
- 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
    - balcobomber25
      July 28, 2016
      - 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…

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
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
- 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

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
  - Muhammad Yasir
    July 28, 2016
    - 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
        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

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 ^^
- 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

balcobomber25
July 28, 2016
Xiaomi FTW.
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
- 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
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

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

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