The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is priced higher and offers better portability, screen quality, and battery life, lasting significantly longer than the Lenovo Legion 9i on a full charge. If price is a concern, the Legion might be more favorable as it is generally less expensive. Assess your priorities in terms of mobility, battery life, and specific performance needs when choosing between these two options. 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 (2023)
Excellent for general use
Excellent for software development
Excellent for content creation
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 9i
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Best in class overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
9.4/10
8.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Lenovo Legion 9i is very good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) shines in general use due to its outstanding screen quality, superb keyboard, exceptional speaker quality, and strong battery life, all packaged in a highly portable form factor. Meanwhile, the Lenovo Legion 9i, while offering very good general use capabilities, with excellent keyboard quality and powerful speakers, is less portable and has significantly shorter battery life, making it less suited for on-the-go usage compared to the MacBook Pro.
Gaming and AI
8.5/10
9.2/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
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 9i is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is very good.
The MacBook Pro 16 offers a high-quality GPU and screen, making it suitable for 3D work, but has limitations in gaming due to compatibility issues with many popular games. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 9i combines a powerful GPU and a high screen refresh rate, catered to offer an optimal gaming experience and good 3D performance, with a broader range of game compatibility.
Content Creation
9.3/10
8.7/10
8.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 9i is very 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
9.2/10
8.3/10
8.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for software development, while the Lenovo Legion 9i is very 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
9.3/10
9.7/10
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
682.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 9i for software development, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 9i has a better screen for general use, and gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a high-resolution display that offers crisp visuals with vibrant colors and excellent brightness, which, along with its wide color gamut, makes it ideal for both general use and tasks that require precise color representation like engineering and design. However, its lower refresh rate compared to specialized gaming laptops means it’s less optimal for 3D applications where fluid motion is crucial. On the other hand, while the Lenovo Legion 9i also offers a display with great resolution, brightness, and color accuracy that suits general use and professional design work, it might not deliver the high refresh rates expected by gamers and those heavily involved in 3D rendering.
Battery
17.5 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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
$2,423
$3,420
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has a price of $2,423 and the Lenovo Legion 9i costs $3,420.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion 9i to be best in class for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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.
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