Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" depends on your needs and budget. The MacBook Pro is more expensive but provides superior performance, build quality, and better screen technology with higher brightness and color accuracy, making it ideal for professional creative work, intensive engineering tasks, and everything in between. It also offers a longer battery life. On the other hand, the IdeaPad is more affordable, has a touchscreen, and is still suitable for general use and some level of engineering, although it falls short in display quality and performance compared to the MacBook Pro. If portability is crucial, both are similar in weight, but the MacBook has a slightly smaller footprint. 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
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15"
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.3/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use due to its superior CPU (Apple M1 Pro), more RAM, high-resolution Mini LED screen with exquisite color accuracy, and longer battery life, all packaged in a highly portable design with an excellent keyboard. The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is deemed just good for general use, offering reasonable performance with its AMD Ryzen CPU and ample screen size, but it falls short in screen quality, battery life, and the overall build and input quality making it a bulkier and less refined option.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
6.1/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is equipped with a powerful Apple M1 Pro GPU and a high 120Hz screen refresh rate, tailored for smooth 3D rendering and a fluid visual experience; additionally, the widespread compatibility of Windows with popular games provides an advantage over the MacBook's MacOS.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
6.6/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
12.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is better suited for engineering and design due to its powerful M1 Pro processor, higher RAM, and superior GPU which are crucial for demanding applications, along with a high-quality Mini LED screen that offers impressive brightness and color accuracy. In contrast, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15” is less capable for these tasks, with a less robust AMD Ryzen 7 processor, less RAM, and its GPU is integrated rather than dedicated, and it has an IPS screen with lower resolution, brightness, and color accuracy, making it less ideal for precision work.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.4/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
12.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" 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
7.3/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
12.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" 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
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a high-resolution display with vivid colors and excellent brightness, making it ideal for general use and tasks that require precise color representation, such as engineering and design. However, for 3D applications, its standard refresh rate is less favorable when compared to specialized gaming laptops with higher refresh rates. The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15", while offering a fair display for everyday tasks and engineering work, doesn't provide the high color accuracy or the fast refresh rates needed for optimal 3D or gaming experiences.
Battery
13.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has 10 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
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
6.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$741
$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 IdeaPad 1 15" costs $741.
"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 Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15" is affordable and pretty efficient. At the end of the day, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 (15″, 2023) is one of the better affordable laptops money can buy right now. It has a decent performance, albeit coming from a CPU that is based on old architecture. Playing low-intensity games is possible but at low to medium settings. We are really happy with the cooling setup, but the main event here is the battery life. We got 9 hours of either Web browsing or video playback, which is a great result. Especially if you compare this device with the ASUS E410."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 15"
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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