The MacBook Pro 14 is at a higher price range, but offers a higher quality build, better screen colors, and slightly better portability. It's great for general use and has good performance for engineering and creative tasks, along with a long battery life. However, the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i, while cheaper and less portable, provides superior engineering performance due to its dedicated Nvidia graphics, making it more suitable for 3D rendering, machine learning, and even gaming. Both have equal RAM and storage, but the MacBook's M1 Pro chip is optimized for MacOS, while Lenovo's Intel processor and RTX GPU excel in Windows environments. 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 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 Pro 5i
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.7/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
409.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in general use due to its powerful M1 Pro chip, high-quality Mini LED display with superior color accuracy and brightness, and excellent battery life, all packed in a lightweight and portable design. In contrast, the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i, while also good for general use, has a strong Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, a quality IPS display, and additional storage expansion, but falls short in battery life and is slightly heavier, making it less portable.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
7.4/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.7/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 with its M1 Pro GPU is designed to handle 3D graphics efficiently, yet its macOS may limit gaming options as many titles aren't compatible, although the high-quality Mini LED display with 120 Hz screen refresh rate is beneficial for both tasks.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.7/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
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 IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.7/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i 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
7.8/10
14.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
409.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 boasts a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and color accuracy, making it optimal for general use and visually demanding engineering or design work where vivid colors and crisp detail are essential. The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i offers a very good display with adequate brightness and resolution suitable for general use, and it's capable of a reliable color representation for engineering and design tasks. However, for 3D environments where fluid motion is critical, neither laptop is ideal due to modest refresh rates that might not keep up with the rapid on-screen action typical in 3D applications.
Battery
13.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has 6 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
16.0in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$860
$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 Pro 5i costs $860.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 is ideal for engineering and design due to its powerful M1 Pro chip, paired with a high-quality Mini LED screen, while the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i matches this suitability with its high-performance Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, alongside a sharp IPS display, making both laptops capable contenders for demanding tasks that require both processing power and screen clarity. However, the MacBook's Mini LED screen may offer better color accuracy and brightness, beneficial for design work, whereas the IdeaPad Pro 5i's inclusion of a dedicated Nvidia graphics card could be advantageous for engineering applications that leverage GPU acceleration.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i compare to other laptops
"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."
"Lenovo’s IdeaPad Pro 5i represents an impressive opening salvo for Meteor Lake in the ultraportable space against familiar foes from AMD and Apple. Not only does the Core Ultra 5 125H processor provide good performance across the board, but battery life remains a strong point against the Acer Swift Edge 16 with its AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor. It can’t quite match the endurance of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, but the gap is shrinking."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
103,095
Recommendations made
22,338
Consumer hours saved
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.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
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.