The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) offers a balance of performance and portability with a focus on creative work, thanks to its high-quality Mini LED screen and strong battery life, but it comes at a premium price. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is geared more towards gaming and engineering with dedicated graphics, a high refresh rate screen, and potent processing power, but it may have less battery life and is heavier, affecting its portability. Consider the MacBook if your priority is video editing or general use with a need for a vibrant screen, while the Lenovo is better if you require more intensive processing capabilities for tasks like gaming or 3D rendering. 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 (2023)
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
7.0/10
8.2/10
5.2/10
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 (2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is equipped with Apple's own high-performance GPU and a screen with a high refresh rate, making it suitable for 3D work; however, it runs on macOS, which does not support many popular games. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" features a powerful Nvidia GPU and a very high screen refresh rate, providing an advantage for gaming and 3D applications, especially since it runs on Windows, which supports a broader range of games.
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
489.0 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, software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro's screen has high resolution and brightness, with advanced panel technology that provides excellent color accuracy and wide color gamuts for crisp, vibrant images, making it ideal for both general use and demanding engineering and design tasks. However, it typically does not offer the high refresh rates preferred for smooth 3D and gaming experiences. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim's screen also delivers high resolution and adequate brightness for everyday use and professional tasks, but similarly falls short on the higher refresh rates needed for optimal 3D performance and gaming.
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 (2023) 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 (2023) 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.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Engineering and Design
8.4/10
8.6/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) excels in engineering and design due to its powerful M2 Pro processor and high-resolution Mini LED display, which offers exceptional screen quality for detailed visual work, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is favored for similar tasks with its capable Ryzen CPU and RTX 4060 GPU combination, in addition to a larger IPS screen with a higher refresh rate, benefitting dynamic design applications. However, the MacBook Pro's superior speaker and build quality, alongside a quieter operating noise, contrast with the Legion's better port selection and hardware expandability, accommodating varied engineering needs.
Content Creation
8.5/10
8.3/10
7.8/10
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 (2023) 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
8.4/10
8.0/10
7.8/10
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 (2023) 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.
Cost
$1,700
$1,680
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has a price of $1,700 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" costs $1,680.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) 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 (2023) 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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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
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