The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has better portability, a longer battery life, and is excellent for general use, while the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, with its Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU and more RAM, offers significantly better performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering applications. If gaming or intensive graphics tasks are a priority, the Legion 5 Pro also excels in those areas with hardware ray tracing and DLSS support, but it is less portable and has a shorter battery life. The MacBook Pro provides a silent, fanless operation and is more suited to everyday tasks and multimedia work where its screen color accuracy and high build quality shine. If cost is a concern, the MacBook Pro generally comes at a somewhat lower price compared to the Legion. Choose based on whether performance in demanding applications or portability and battery life are your primary needs. Give Feedback
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Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022)
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 Pro 5
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
8.4/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) 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.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.5/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.3/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.0/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
340.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 for software development, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 offers a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and color accuracy, making it suitable for general tasks and ensuring that engineering and design work benefit from wide color gamuts. However, its refresh rate is lower than what is ideal for 3D applications, which can make fast-moving images less smooth. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5, while also providing a quality display for general and design tasks, falls short for gaming and 3D due to its limitations in achieving the higher refresh rates that are crucial for an optimal, stutter-free visual experience in these areas.
Battery
20.0 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has 3.5 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
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) is ideal for general use due to its high-quality IPS screen, long battery life, and excellent portability, complemented by the efficient Apple M2 CPU and 8 GB of RAM, making it suitable for day-to-day tasks. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro with a high-performing AMD Ryzen CPU, double the RAM at 16 GB, and an Nvidia RTX graphics makes it well-suited for more demanding general use and gaming, though it is less portable and has shorter battery life.
Content Creation
7.9/10
7.8/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5 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
7.6/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5 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
$1,219
$1,120
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has a price of $1,219 and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 costs $1,120.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 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."
"It doesn't quite match its Legion Pro 7i sibling as an Editors' Choice winner, but Lenovo's AMD-powered Legion Pro 5 Gen 8 is a stylish, well-built gaming laptop with solid performance at both 1080p and its sharper native resolution. It's cheaper than some comparably equipped machines and better than some similarly priced ones. That's a recipe for success, even without its frequent availability of discounts or sales. A brighter screen and longer battery life would be nice, but even as is the Legion Pro 5 earns a solid recommendation."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) or the Lenovo Legion Pro 5
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
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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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.