The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) offers high build quality, excellent speakers, very good keyboard, and a brilliant display that excels in color reproduction, making it suitable for professional creative work. It has a longer battery life and is lighter, which enhances portability. However, it is generally pricier. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a larger screen and superior gaming capabilities due to a dedicated Nvidia graphics card. It provides more storage and has a higher refresh rate display for smoother visuals in fast-paced games. Lenovo's keyboard and build quality are very good, but slightly below the Apple's. Its battery life is shorter and it's heavier, making it less ideal for frequent travel but better suited for gaming and engineering tasks. 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)
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 16"
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
8.2/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is suited for 3D tasks due to its high-quality GPU and Mini LED screen which provides superior screen quality. However, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" excels in gaming and 3D because of its powerful Nvidia GPU capable of high-end graphics performance and a higher screen refresh rate, which is crucial for smooth gaming experiences, along with a good-quality IPS display. Keep in mind that some games may not run on the Apple MacBook Pro due to the limitations of MacOS compared to the more widely compatible Windows 11 Home on the Lenovo.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
8.7/10
14.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
502.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 for general use, engineering and design, and software development, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) boasts a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and wide color gamuts, making it excellent for general use and engineering and design tasks where color accuracy and clarity are paramount. However, its refresh rate is lower, which is less ideal for 3D applications where smoother visuals are crucial. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" also offers a high-quality display with ample resolution and brightness for general tasks and good coverage of color gamuts for creative work, but its gaming and 3D performance may be hindered by a lower refresh rate compared to specialized gaming laptops.
Battery
13.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 7 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
4.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" 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 16" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$1,680
$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 16" costs $1,680.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in general use largely due to its high-quality screen, long battery life and remarkable portability, enhanced by its relatively light weight and smaller dimensions. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" offers a larger screen and more robust CPU for intensive tasks, but trades off with a shorter battery life and slightly heavier build, making it less portable but still versatile for general use.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
8.6/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 is tailored for engineering and design thanks to its powerful M1 Pro processor, sufficient RAM, and high-quality Mini LED screen that excels in color accuracy, making it ideal for precision work. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 offers a larger screen and dedicated Nvidia RTX graphics, catering to demanding engineering tasks and design work that may benefit from the added GPU power, though it trades off some portability and screen color fidelity compared to the MacBook Pro.
Content Creation
8.4/10
8.3/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for content creation.
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
8.0/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for software development.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" 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 16"
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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