Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i largely depends on your priorities. The MacBook Pro excels in battery life, display quality, and is better for MacOS-specific applications, while being highly portable with a slim design. The Legion Slim 5i, on the other hand, offers a more affordable price and better gaming performance due to its dedicated Nvidia graphics, at the expense of slightly heavier weight and shorter battery life. If you do design work or value the Apple ecosystem, the MacBook Pro is a strong candidate. If you prefer Windows and prioritize gaming or cost-effectiveness, the Legion Slim 5i is ideal. 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 (2021)
Excellent for general use
Very good for software development
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
9.0/10
7.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
343.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is considered very good for general use because it offers a high-quality CPU, a large amount of RAM, and an excellent Mini LED screen with a long battery life, wrapped in a portable design, enhancing its overall performance in everyday tasks. Conversely, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, while good for general use, offers less battery life and its IPS screen isn't as color-accurate or bright, and though it has a gaming-capable graphics card, it compromises on portability and has a somewhat louder operating noise.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
8.0/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
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 Slim 5i is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with high screen quality and a capable GPU, excels in 3D tasks but its lower screen refresh rate and limited gaming compatibility due to operating system constraints make it less ideal for gaming. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, on the other hand, with its superior screen refresh rate and a very good GPU, offers a better experience for gaming, especially for titles not available on Macs, while still handling 3D tasks effectively.
Content Creation
8.8/10
8.0/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i are both very good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) 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.
Software Development
8.9/10
7.8/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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
9.4/10
8.0/10
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
343.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 boasts a Retina display known for its high resolution and brightness, which, along with an excellent panel type, makes for vibrant images and crisp text, ideal for general use. For engineering and design, it offers wide color gamuts providing color accuracy important in detailed design work. However, for 3D applications and gaming, its lower refresh rate compared to dedicated gaming laptops makes it less suitable where smooth motion and rapid visuals are key.
Battery
17.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i 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
Good
Fair
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 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 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,949
$1,055
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has a price of $1,949 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i costs $1,055.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) stands out in engineering and design use due to its powerful Apple M1 Pro chip with a high-core CPU and GPU, substantial RAM, and exceptional display with high brightness and wide color coverage, enhancing performance in demanding tasks and visual accuracy. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, while offering a high-core Intel CPU, dedicated Nvidia graphics for rendering, and a generously sized SSD, prioritizes balance between performance and portability with its lighter build and somewhat lower screen quality, making it a strong contender for those needing mobility with their engineering and design work.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 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 Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 acknowledges that a gaming laptop doesn’t have to be as thick as possible and can still ensure adequate cooling when the muscles need flexing. To this end, in the Slim 5 Gen 8, it finds a neat balance of refined, trimmed-down design that still lets its internals cruise (even above their max power ratings). Lenovo then added in some high-end build quality with an altogether excellent keyboard that’s useful for both work and play."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the Lenovo Legion Slim 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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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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