Lenovo Yoga 510 vs Macbook Air

Associate
Joined
29 Dec 2013
Posts
2
Hello,

I will be travelling around the world for a year and would like to have a travel friendly laptop which can handle basic video editing. The programs used will ideally be premiere pro CC, but if this is too strenous (people say it will be fine, but the rendering time might be long, which doesnt matter as the editing would be done in a hotel/hostel at night anyway) I can always use others programs which require less specs.

2in1 Lenovo Yoga 510-14ISK 14"
Intel Core i7-6500U 2.5GHz
8GB RAM (Can switch to 16GB RAM)
256GB SSD
Designated Radeon R5 M430 Grapics

£600 refurbished

vs

Apple MacBook Air 2017 13 Inch
Intel i5 1.8GHz
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
Intergrated Intel HD 6000


£879 (20% student discount applied, i may be able to get it) £949 refurbished, £1099 brand new.

Now looking at them on paper I would say hands down the Lenovo would be better, designated G-card which helps, better processor, can switch out the RAM and the 2in1 function is handy. Not to mentioned the massive price difference.

However in a laptop store today (sell general laptops apple and non apple) the sales rep mentioned the Macbook airs run smoother due to the OS and would be better for "durability" as they are built better. Also, if bought new, apple is all over the world so it would be better for me if anything happens regarding repairs or damage (warranty).

Regarding using Windows or Mac OS, my girlfriend who will be doing the video editing can use both, whereas I am used to windows.

Can anyone shed some light on this and give me their opinion, or even know which will perform better?

Thank you.

 
Man of Honour
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
29,509
Location
Surrey
Welcome to the forum.

This is quite topical for me as I've been resarching location independant working due to having to hot desk at work a lot (if I have to hot desk then I may as well work remotely from a place of my choosing). It led me to find a number of articles on people working around the world, moving froum country to country while working online (look for youtube vids on Digital Nomads). There are many videos and vlogs online for Digital Nomads so take a look, especially at their videos explaining what they take with them.

Interestingly the vast majority of them use Macbook Airs or Macbook Pro's. I don't know why so many do but if so many do indeed use them then there is likely to be a reason. Will you be staying in one place or moving around? How much battery life is important to you and which of those options gives the best fit? Personally I am agnostic to either Windows or OSX and would happilly use either of the machines you give.

On the flip side of the argument for most people using Macbooks, a few other considerations may be important:

* If you have a recent Ipad then you might be able to use it as a second screen on the Macbook.
* You're less likely to have the Lenovo stolen than the Macbook.
* You could probably get the Lenovo fixed much more quickly and for less money than an Apple product if you arew going to somewhere obscure.
* If staying in mainstream places near an Apple store then Apple service is better than Lenovo.
* Which is lighter and is this significant?
* The Macbook, while more expensive, will have a greater resale value. So when it comes to upgrade time to overall cost will probably be similar.
* Does the Lenovo have a kensington lock connector (I know the Macbook doesn't) and is this significant to you?

On balance I'd probably get the MBA mainly because most people seem to (maybe they know something we don't).

Also I can highly recommend either the Roost laptop stand or the Nexstand K2 as portable laptop stands. They are very light, fold up very small ands will save your back and next if you're using the laptop for several hours, althought you'll also need an external keyboard and mouse of course. The Roost is better and lighter but the Nextstand K2 is cheaper and, to be fair, probably a copy of the Roost.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2013
Posts
2
Hello, thank you for your detailed reply.

I will be moving around from city to city and country to country for a year. I cannot seem to find if the laptop has the kengsington lock , all I've found is that "most laptops have them".

The MacBook air is lighter weighing 2.9 pounds whereas the Lenovo weighs 4.2 pounds. This wouldn't concern me too much.

I can understand the point about resale value, as Macs are more popular and in higher demand. I don't like the factor of it being a theft target, as any apple product would be.

I guess for me and my girlfriend we just want the one which will run more smoothly, and unless anyone tells me otherwise the Lenovo looks like it would ?
 
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