The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) will cost more but offers superior screen technology with Mini LED, higher resolution, and superior color coverage making it ideal for professional creative work. It also has better battery life, making it more suitable for long work sessions without charging. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is less expensive and provides high refresh rates and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics card which is a better fit for gaming and 3D rendering. It's also slightly lighter, enhancing its portability. So, the MacBook Pro leans towards professionals in need of display accuracy and longevity, whereas the Legion Slim favors gaming and affordability. 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 content creation
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
9.1/10
8.2/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 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 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) excels in general use due to its high-quality Mini LED screen, long battery life, and strong CPU and GPU performance appropriate for a variety of tasks, coupled with a lightweight design for portability. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16", while also good for general use, offers a solid CPU, ample RAM, a high-quality IPS display, and good speaker and keyboard quality, but has shorter battery life and is slightly lighter than the MacBook, which makes it a bit more portable.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
8.2/10
5.8/10
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 (2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is equipped with its own Apple M2 Pro GPU and offers a high screen refresh rate of 120Hz, which is great for smooth 3D rendering; however, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" harbors an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and an even higher screen refresh rate of 240Hz, enhancing gaming experiences significantly, though it’s important to note that many popular games may not be compatible with the MacBook Pro’s operating system.
Content Creation
9.1/10
8.3/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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 Slim 7 16" 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
8.9/10
8.0/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for software development, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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
9.3/10
8.7/10
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
487.0 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.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) offers a vibrant display with high resolution and brightness, making it suitable for general use, and covers a wide spectrum of colors which is crucial for engineering and design applications. However, its refresh rate may not be high enough to satisfy the requirements of 3D applications which depend on smooth visuals for rendering and animation. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" provides a similar high-quality visual experience for general use and engineering tasks but falls short in the gaming and 3D departments due to a less optimal refresh rate.
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 (2023) 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
$2,423
$1,680
$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 Slim 7 16" costs $1,680.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) excels in engineering and design use due to its high-resolution Mini LED screen and powerful M2 Pro chipset with a robust CPU and GPU integrated, making it ideal for tasks requiring great color accuracy and processing power. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" also performs well in similar tasks, supported by a strong AMD CPU and dedicated Nvidia GPU, but with a lower screen resolution compared to the MacBook Pro; however, it offers a higher refresh rate screen which is beneficial for smooth visuals in fast-paced applications.
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 (2023) and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) 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 (2023) 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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
102,495
Recommendations made
22,208
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.