The Ultrabook Supremacy Battle
Tale of the Tape
The Breakdown
Battery Life
The MacBook Air M4 lasts roughly 18 hours in real-world mixed use — it's the all-day laptop that actually means it. The Yoga 9i manages around 14 hours, which is impressive for an OLED 2-in-1. The Dell XPS 14 taps out around 12 hours — its gorgeous OLED display drinks battery like water.
Display
The Dell XPS 14's 3.2K OLED panel at 120Hz is breathtaking — perfect blacks, stunning HDR, and buttery smooth scrolling. The Yoga 9i's 2.8K OLED is nearly as good and adds touch input with pen support. The MacBook Air's Liquid Retina is sharp and color-accurate but still LCD — no true blacks, no HDR impact.
Performance
Apple's M4 chip continues to embarrass Intel's latest in performance-per-watt. It runs cooler, quieter (fanless!), and faster in everyday tasks while sipping battery. The Intel Core Ultra 7 258V in both the XPS 14 and Yoga 9i is capable but can't match the M4 in sustained workloads without fans spinning up.
Portability
At 2.7 lbs and completely fanless, the MacBook Air M4 is the lightest and most portable of the three. It's thin, silent, and cool to the touch even under load. The Yoga 9i at 3.09 lbs is reasonable for a 2-in-1. The Dell XPS 14 at 3.67 lbs is the heaviest and feels it in a backpack.
Versatility
The Yoga 9i is the Swiss Army knife here — its 360-degree hinge lets it function as a laptop, tablet, tent, or presentation display. The included pen support makes it perfect for note-taking and sketching. The MacBook Air and Dell XPS 14 are traditional clamshells that do one thing well but only one thing.
The Verdict
Apple MacBook Air M4
The MacBook Air M4 Makes Ultrabooks Look Easy
The MacBook Air M4 wins because it's the laptop that makes the fewest compromises. 18 hours of battery life means you leave the charger at home. The M4 chip delivers desktop-class performance in a fanless, 2.7-pound package. macOS is mature, secure, and runs every app developers care about. Yes, the Dell XPS 14 has a better display and the Yoga 9i is more versatile — but neither can match the MacBook Air's combination of performance, battery life, and build quality at $1,099. Apple made the best laptop for most people, and it's not even close.
Quick Specs
| Spec | Apple MacBook Air M4 | Dell XPS 14 (2025) | Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 (2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 500 nits | 14.5-inch OLED 3.2K 120Hz, 400 nits | 14-inch OLED 2.8K 120Hz, touch + pen |
| Processor | Apple M4 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU) | Intel Core Ultra 7 258V | Intel Core Ultra 7 258V |
| RAM | 16GB unified | 16GB LPDDR5X | 16GB LPDDR5X |
| Storage | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB SSD | 512GB / 1TB NVMe SSD | 512GB / 1TB SSD |
| Battery Life | ~18 hours | ~12 hours | ~14 hours |
| Weight | 2.7 lbs | 3.67 lbs | 3.09 lbs |
| Ports | 2x Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe, 3.5mm | 3x Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, microSD | 3x Thunderbolt 4, USB-A |