The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) offers premium performance suitable for intensive tasks, with better color accuracy on its display, which is important for design and video editing. It also has a higher build quality and better speakers. However, it comes at a higher cost and less portability. The Lenovo Flex 5 14, on the other hand, is more affordable and comes with a touchscreen. It provides good performance for general use and has a longer battery life, but it's not as powerful for heavy engineering or demanding 3D work, and the display is less suited for color-critical tasks. It's also lighter, making it more portable than the MacBook Pro. 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 14 (2021)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Flex 5 14
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.7/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.3/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in general use due to its superior CPU and GPU performance, higher quality Mini LED screen, and longer battery life, alongside better portability, making it well-suited for demanding tasks, though at a premium price.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
6.2/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) offers better 3D performance mainly due to its more powerful GPU and higher screen refresh rate, enhancing visual fidelity and fluidity compared to the Lenovo Flex 5 14, whose GPU is integrated and less capable, paired with a lower refresh rate display. However, those looking to play a wide range of popular games might find the Lenovo Flex 5 14 more appealing despite its fair performance, as many games are not compatible with the MacOS on the MacBook Pro.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
7.0/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 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.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.6/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
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
8.3/10
7.4/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
6.4/10
14.2in
SIZE
14.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 boasts a high-resolution display with excellent brightness and wide color gamuts, making texts sharper and colors more accurate, which is crucial for both general use and professional engineering and design work. The Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers a decent resolution and acceptable brightness that suffices for routine tasks but lacks the wide color gamut necessary for precision in color-critical engineering and design applications. Neither are ideal for 3D tasks where high refresh rates are key; the MacBook Pro prioritizes resolution and color over refresh rate, and the Flex 5 does not offer the high refresh rates needed for smooth 3D rendering.
Battery
13.5 Hours
11.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has 11.5 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.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$470
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has a price of $1,905 and the Lenovo Flex 5 14 costs $470.
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
"The highlight of the latest IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is clearly its AMD CPU. The octa-core Ryzen 7 5700U is insanely fast even when compared to the best Tiger Lake Ultrabooks in the market or even Core H CPUs in many gaming laptops. It's a lot of raw processing power for what is supposed to be a budget 14-inch convertible. If your daily workloads can benefit from extra multi-thread CPU performance, then look no further than the inexpensive AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14. For regular on-the-road browsing or video streaming, however, a slimmer and lighter 10th gen Core Yoga, Spectre, or XPS would be a more balanced option."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Lenovo Flex 5 14
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
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
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Laptops Expert
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