The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is a premium laptop that excels in general use, has a high-quality display with great color accuracy, and offers long battery life, making it a solid choice for professionals and creative users who prioritize performance and screen quality for tasks like photo and video editing. However, it comes at a higher price. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro is more affordably priced and is specifically tailored for gaming and engineering tasks, with a dedicated graphics card that supports hardware ray tracing and DLSS, and a higher screen refresh rate suited for fast-motion activities. Its battery life is substantially shorter, and it's heavier, which impacts portability. If gaming or intensive engineering applications are your priority, and you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro might be a better fit. However, for a blend of performance, display quality, and battery life in a sleek package, especially if budget is less of a concern, the MacBook Pro 16 is an attractive choice. 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
Very good for software development
Excellent for content creation
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 Pro 5i
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
9.1/10
7.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) excels in general use due to its superior CPU, large high-quality Mini LED screen, long battery life, and higher portability thanks to its lighter weight and thinner design, which contributes to its excellent portability rating; it also has high marks for keyboard and speaker quality.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
8.0/10
5.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
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 Pro 5i is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has a high-quality Mini LED screen and a powerful integrated GPU suited for 3D tasks, supported by a long battery life, but it runs MacOS which limits its gaming capabilities as many popular games are not compatible. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i features a dedicated high-end Nvidia GPU and a higher screen refresh rate, ideal for smooth gaming and 3D performance, but it has a reduced battery life and runs on Windows, providing broader game compatibility.
Content Creation
9.1/10
7.6/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent 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
8.9/10
7.5/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
16.0 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 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 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
9.3/10
8.1/10
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16's screen offers excellent resolution, brightness, and supports wide color gamuts like DCI-P3, making it ideal for precision tasks required in engineering and design, though its standard refresh rate is less suitable for 3D applications where higher refresh rates are crucial. The Lenovo Legion Pro 5i also boasts high resolution and adequate brightness for general use, with good color range for engineering and design, but its screen may not offer the fast refresh rate desired by gamers and professionals working with 3D content. Overall, MacBook Pro 16 excels in screen quality for visual accuracy, while the Legion Pro 5i provides a robust display for various tasks but may fall short for high-end gaming and 3D work.
Battery
17.5 Hours
3.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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
$2,423
$1,000
$500
$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 Pro 5i costs $1,000.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i 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.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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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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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