While it might seem like a nitpick - they're not equal IMO. Putting a 13" MBA next to the T470 (I actually own one, funny enough - A1369) is not remotely the same end user experience. Also, Macbook Air is not in the same target market as Macbook Pro. What I'd ideally want is a compact machine with tech specs that align with the MBP line. CPU and RAM that the Air line will never see. I will agree that the keyboard on the MBA was pretty good. Apple truly messed that up.

In my T470 I have 32GB of RAM (user upgradeable) a dual core i7 @ 2.8GHz and an M.2 NVME slot which leaves me the flexibility for upgrade beyond the 500GB drive I bought it with. As it stands right now it's also got an open slot for a 2.5" SATA drive as well. It also has two batteries - a 3 cell 24Wh internal battery (field replaceable) and a 6 cell 72Wh external swappable battery. My one gripe is it only has one USB-C (it is Thunderbolt). I bought it in 2017 and it's still like brand new. Keyboard is still fantastic, screen hinge shows no sign of failing, I've never used a case to protect it and it continues to take a daily beating. If something fails, it's likely I can buy the parts and replace them with little to no fanfare. Honestly, if Apple sold something like this - it would sell like crazy. Lenovo now even supports Linux like a (mostly) first class citizen with regard to firmware and drivers.

For fun I just measured both and was looking at the screens side by side - the T470 has a bit more width, which is probably what I like since I do a lot of side by side comparison, and the additional pixels on the screen are at just the right scaling for how I like to work (which is probably why the higher resolution MBP I have feels jarring when switching).

For reference - what I measured... MBA: 11 5/16w x 7 1/8h (13.3" diag) T470: 12 3/16w x 6 7/8h (14" diag)

To nitpick, you'd have to compare with the similar model from when the MacBook Air came out.

The T410 (a brick with a terrible screen and battery jutting out the rear) or the X201 (a nicer brick and a tiny trackpad

I definitely agree with you that the current T470/80/90 is a pretty nice machine, it's wolrds ahead of what the ThinkPad was when the Air was 'new'

^ And I will, by the way, continue to insist that this was and is a great machine. People liked to hate on the screen but it was fine.

Great keyboard, great touchpad, pretty small, stellar battery life. I'm currently typing on the 11 inch variation.