As your sales manager, I'd suggest considering your needs carefully when choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro. The MacBook Pro is an excellent choice for creative professionals who rely on specific macOS applications, appreciate a high-resolution display, and prefer a sleek design with a focus on build quality. However, it may not perform as well in gaming or hardware-intensive tasks compared to the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro, which is designed with gaming and high performance in mind, offering superior graphics and processing capabilities that are more suited to demanding applications like 3D rendering, machine learning, and modern gaming. The tradeoff is that the Legion is typically bulkier and may have a shorter battery life than the MacBook Pro, making it less portable. Moreover, if budget is a significant consideration, the notably lower price of the MacBook Pro can be a decisive factor. 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 16 (Late 2019)
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Very good battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
8.0/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is only fair.
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
7.5/10
8.4/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
The Lenovo Legion 5i Pro surpasses the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) with a more capable CPU for multitasking and computational tasks, a superior GPU for graphics demands of engineering and design software, and a higher refresh rate screen for smoother visuals. Conversely, the MacBook Pro 16 offers greater portability, a higher-resolution display for detailed work, and has a longer battery life, which may benefit users who require mobility and extended use without charging.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.1/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
477.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i for engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) boasts an excellent Retina display that offers brilliant resolution and brightness, coupled with wide color gamuts that enhance the precision required for engineering and design tasks. However, its screen's refresh rate isn't optimized for 3D applications, which demand rapid frame updates for smooth visuals. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i, while offering similar benefits in terms of high resolution and true-to-life color reproduction for general use and professional design work, falls short for gaming and 3D due to its less than ideal refresh rate despite its intentions to cater to a gaming audience.
Battery
12.0 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has 3.5 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
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$540
$1,000
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has a price of $540 and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i costs $1,000.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i are both 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.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.6/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) to be very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 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
7.9/10
7.5/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i are both 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 16 (Late 2019) and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
"The midpriced Lenovo Legion Pro 5i Gen 8 follows some of our favorite gaming machines, including last year's model and the higher-end Legion Pro 7i Gen 8 tested earlier this year. But pedigree doesn't count for much in the computer world, and gaming laptops require a certain level of power and graphics performance to justify their prices. The Pro 5i Gen 8 just doesn't do that, offering middling CPU and GPU performance rather than the sort of muscle that would make it a great value."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) or the Lenovo Legion 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.
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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
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