The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is less expensive and offers solid performance for general use with good battery life and a high-resolution display. It's also lightweight and has a sleek design, making it highly portable. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 9i is a more powerful laptop with a significant performance advantage, particularly for 3D applications, machine learning, and gaming due to its high-end graphics card. However, it comes with a higher price tag, weighs more, and typically has shorter battery life. If cost and portability are your main concerns, the MacBook could be the right choice, while if you need top performance for demanding tasks and are okay with a heftier device and cost, the Legion 9i would be suitable. 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)
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Very good battery life
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 9i
Very good for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Best in class overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
8.4/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
477.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Lenovo Legion 9i is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) offers a balance of good portability and battery life with solid performance and screen quality, making it suitable for general use, whereas although the Lenovo Legion 9i provides exceptional performance with superior RAM and a more vibrant screen, it is less portable and has shorter battery life, making it less ideal for on-the-go use but excellent for demanding tasks.
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
9.2/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
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 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is only fair.
The Lenovo Legion 9i outperforms the Apple MacBook Pro 16 for gaming and 3D tasks due to its superior Nvidia RTX 4080 GPU and higher screen refresh rate of 165 Hz, compared to the MacBook's AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU and 60 Hz refresh rate. Additionally, the MacBook Pro runs MacOS, which does not support many popular games, while the Legion 9i runs Windows 11 Home, which is compatible with a wider range of gaming titles.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
9.6/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 9i is best in class for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
The Lenovo Legion 9i excels in engineering and design due to its more powerful processor, double the RAM, and superior GPU compared to the Apple MacBook Pro 16, which, while offering a high-quality display and solid performance, is outpaced by the Legion's top-tier hardware. While the MacBook Pro is more portable and has a reputation for a quality keyboard and low operating noise, those prioritizing sheer power and screen quality for complex tasks may find the slightly heavier and bulkier Legion 9i to be the better option.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.7/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Lenovo Legion 9i and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) are both very good for content creation, though the Lenovo Legion 9i is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
9.7/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
477.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
If you prioritize a crisp and bright display for everyday tasks, then the Lenovo Legion 9i stands out due to its high resolution and luminosity, enhancing your viewing experience for documents, web browsing, and media consumption. For engineering and design, the MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) offers a wide color spectrum, making it well-suited for tasks requiring accurate color representation, but the Lenovo Legion 9i exceeds in this regard with even broader color gamuts. However, if refresh rates are critical for your work in 3D applications or gaming, neither laptop excels; you might want to look for alternatives specifically tailored with high refresh rates for smoother visuals in these scenarios.
Battery
12.0 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 9i has 3 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
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$540
$3,420
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has a price of $540 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion 9i to be very good for software development, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) 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.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and the Lenovo Legion 9i 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 Lenovo Legion 9i is meant as a top-end flagship showcase for enthusiasts, and on that, it delivers. You'll find flashier designs in this price tier—Razer’s all-metal build in a similarly sized laptop like the Blade 16, or monstrous 18-inch machines—but this is a well-thought-out laptop. The chassis is trim for a 16-inch powerhouse, the lid is unique, and bespoke liquid cooling takes performance to the next level."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) or the Lenovo Legion 9i
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
102,795
Recommendations made
22,273
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.