When choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7, consider your primary use cases. The MacBook Pro offers superior build quality, display, and speaker quality. Its operating system, MacOS, is preferred by creative professionals but may not be compatible with all software. The Legion Slim 7, while less expensive, excels in gaming with its high refresh rate screen and dedicated graphics card. It runs Windows, making it suitable for a broader range of software, including many engineering applications. The MacBook Pro is more portable with longer battery life, making it better for on-the-go use, whereas the Lenovo offers more versatility at a lower cost but with a trade-off in build and screen quality. 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 Legion Slim 7 15.6"
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
7.7/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is highly regarded for general use because it offers exceptional battery life, a lightweight and slim design for excellent portability, and a Mini LED screen that provides superior image quality with high brightness and color accuracy.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
7.4/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is geared towards 3D applications with its powerful integrated GPU and high-quality Mini LED display, but its native operating system doesn't support many popular games. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" comes with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a higher refresh rate screen, better suited for gaming and compatible with a wider range of game titles.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.7/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
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 Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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
7.5/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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
7.7/10
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a high-resolution display with exceptional color accuracy and brightness, making it ideal for general use and satisfying the stringent color gamut requirements needed for engineering and design. However, its refresh rate isn't as high as what's required for the best 3D experiences. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7, while offering a decent resolution and color representation for general use and engineering tasks, falls short in providing the high refresh rate that's crucial for smooth 3D rendering and gaming.
Battery
13.5 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 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
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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 Legion Slim 7 15.6" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$1,200
$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 Legion Slim 7 15.6" costs $1,200.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) to be very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 with its custom M1 Pro chip and higher screen resolution provides exceptional performance and screen quality for engineering and design tasks, but at the cost of a higher price and less gaming-oriented hardware. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7, on the other hand, balances good engineering performance with an Nvidia RTX GPU better suited for gaming and a more affordable price, though with a lower screen resolution and color accuracy than the MacBook.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6" 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."
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 15.6"
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.