The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) excels in portability, battery life, and build quality, which makes it suitable for on-the-go use, general work tasks, and for those in the Apple ecosystem. Its M1 chip provides solid performance; however, it's not ideal for high-end gaming or engineering software. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6", with its AMD Ryzen processor and Nvidia RTX graphics, is better suited for gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks. It offers a larger screen and higher storage capacity but is heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable than the MacBook Pro. Both are similarly priced, so your choice should depend on whether you prioritize mobility and battery life or require more power for specialized tasks. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.7/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 for general use, engineering and design, and software development, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
For general use, the MacBook Pro 13's Retina display provides crisp images, vibrant colors, and high brightness, making everyday tasks enjoyable visually, while the Legion Slim 7 offers a good balance between resolution and brightness for a pleasant viewing experience. In engineering and design, the MacBook's display covers a wide range of color gamuts, ensuring accurate color reproduction that professionals need, whereas the Legion Slim 7, while good, doesn't quite match the MacBook in color fidelity. When it comes to 3D usage, the Legion Slim 7's lower refresh rate holds it back compared to other gaming-oriented laptops, and even though the MacBook Pro 13 has a sharp display, its refresh rate and responsiveness are not ideal for fast-paced 3D rendering or gaming.
Battery
20.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Good
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) with its M1 chip offers excellent performance for everyday tasks and has a high-quality, high-resolution screen suitable for a range of general activities; it's also light and has a long battery life, making it very portable and convenient for on-the-go use without the need for frequent charging.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
7.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 with its M1 chip offers excellent CPU and GPU performance for design tasks and benefits from a high-resolution screen, making it suitable for precise engineering work. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 packs a more powerful CPU and dedicated GPU, bigger RAM, and a higher refresh rate screen, suited for both design and more demanding engineering software, but it falls short in terms of screen resolution and portability compared to the MacBook Pro.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.7/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.8/10
7.5/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Cost
$1,249
$1,200
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" costs $1,200.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" compare to other laptops
"The MacBook Pro 13 is still a very good subnotebook. The 2022 MacBook Pro 13 might look like recycling at first, because the device is completely identical to the old model expect for the new M2 SoC. We have to admit that we were surprised to see another iteration of the MBP 13 as well. The laptop is obviously familiar, but this does not change the fact that it is still a very good subnotebook. You get an excellent chassis with good stability, a very good display, good input devices and the new M2 chip is very powerful and efficient."
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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