The Apple MacBook Pro 14 is designed for high performance with its advanced Apple M1 Pro chip, making it an excellent choice for professionals who require powerful computing for tasks like video editing, 3D rendering, or running complex software. It also offers a high-quality Mini LED display and better battery life, which can be particularly valuable for users who need a reliable machine while on the move. On the other hand, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" comes with an AMD Ryzen chip that is less powerful but still capable of handling general use and lighter engineering tasks. Its larger screen size might appeal to those who prefer a bigger display for multitasking or entertainment, though it results in lesser portability and battery life compared to the MacBook Pro. If budget is a concern and your tasks are not as intensive, the Lenovo might suit your needs, but if you seek top-tier performance and build quality and are willing to invest more, the MacBook Pro is the better choice. 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 3 17"
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" 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
307.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.1/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in general use with a powerful CPU, more RAM, superior screen quality, better portability through lighter weight and longer battery life, making it very good for a variety of tasks. In comparison, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" also performs well for general use, but with a less powerful CPU and less RAM, which may affect multitasking and demanding applications, though it offers a larger screen and a numeric keypad, which might be beneficial for some users.
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 3 17" are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is somewhat better.
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
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
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in engineering and design use due to its superior CPU, RAM, and GPU (all part of the powerful Apple M1 Pro chip), coupled with excellent screen quality (Mini LED with high brightness and color accuracy). In contrast, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" has a fair CPU and GPU setup for lighter tasks, its screen is less impressive (lower brightness and color accuracy), and it offers less RAM, which combined makes it less optimal for demanding engineering and design applications.
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
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" 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
7.2/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 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 3 17" 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
6.7/10
14.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
307.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 excels in screen quality for general use and engineering due to its high-resolution display and wide color gamut, providing sharp images and accurate colors essential for design work. On the other hand, its lower refresh rate compared to specialized gaming devices makes it less optimal for 3D tasks where smoother motion is key. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" offers a good display for general use and design with decent resolution and color reproduction, but its screen characteristics fall short for gaming and 3D work where a higher refresh rate and more robust gaming features are preferred.
Battery
13.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" 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
14.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
6.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17" 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
$784
$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 3 17" costs $784.
"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 3 17" defies expectations. Indeed, it is just a minor upgrade over last year. However, this doesn’t make the laptop any less terrific. It’s got a great performance, courtesy of the Ryzen 5x25U processors. In addition, you get a pretty good battery life. Perhaps, the 2-hour decrease in video playback, compared to last year is not great, but still, 10 hours of Web browsing and 7 hours of video playback is okay for 17-inch notebooks."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17"
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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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Laptops Expert
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