Based on your preferences between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16", you should consider the following: the MacBook Pro offers higher build quality, screen color accuracy, and a larger battery capacity which may result in longer battery life, suitable for professional photo and video editing. It also comes with MacOS and is generally more expensive. The Legion Slim 7, on the other hand, is priced lower, offers a high refresh rate display making it suitable for gaming, and includes an Nvidia GPU which is capable of hardware ray tracing and DLSS, relevant for more intensive gaming and 3D tasks. It comes with Windows 11 and has options for expandable memory and storage. The MacBook Pro is slightly heavier but celebrated for its keyboard and speaker quality, while the Legion Slim 7 is lighter with a high-quality keyboard and competent performance. Choose the MacBook Pro for intensive creative work or prefer MacOS, and opt for the Legion Slim 7 if you want a gaming-capable laptop with Windows and better portability. 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
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Best in class 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
General Use
9.0/10
8.2/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
502.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers high-end CPU performance and RAM, along with superior screen quality for vibrant visuals, enhanced by its long battery life and good speakers, but it is less portable and typically more expensive. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 provides solid CPU and ample RAM for smooth multitasking, comes with a quality screen, and is more portable due to its slimmer design, though it may not match the MacBook's battery longevity and has more audible operating noise during heavy use.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
8.2/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
3456 x 2234
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 16 (2021) is good.
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.
Content Creation
8.8/10
8.3/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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 7 16" 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
8.0/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for software development, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is somewhat better.
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
8.7/10
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
502.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 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.
When considering the Apple MacBook Pro 16 for general use, its high-resolution display and exceptional brightness offer crisp and clear visuals, while the color accuracy due to wide color gamuts makes it excellent for engineering and design tasks. However, its lower refresh rate compared to gaming-optimized screens makes it less ideal for 3D applications where fluid motion is key. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7's very good screen quality suits general use and design well, though its suboptimal refresh rate and possibly lower color gamut coverage compared to the MacBook Pro make it less than perfect for gaming and 3D tasks.
Battery
17.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (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
$1,949
$1,680
$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 7 16" costs $1,680.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Portability
Good
Good
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" 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 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 16 (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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Joe Golden, Ph.D
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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
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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