The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers superior performance ideal for intensive engineering tasks, 3D rendering, and professional use, along with a high-quality display and longer battery life, making it well-suited for users needing power and best-in-class features, albeit at a premium price and with a heavier build. On the other hand, the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is more affordable, offers a touchscreen with flexible use cases, generally good performance for everyday use and casual creative work, better portability, and is adequate for gaming, but it may fall short in demanding tasks and display quality compared to the MacBook Pro. Consider the MacBook Pro if your work demands top-tier performance and display quality, or the Flex 5 if you seek a versatile, cost-effective laptop for general use or if touchscreen functionality is a priority. 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 (Late 2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good 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 Flex 5 16
The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
6.2/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its strong GPU suited for 3D tasks and high screen refresh rate, offers better 3D and gaming capabilities than the Lenovo Flex 5 16, which, while versatile as a 2-in-1 convertible device for general use, has a more modest GPU and lower screen refresh rate. However, gamers should consider that the MacBook Pro may not support many popular Windows-based games that the Lenovo with its Windows operating system would.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) stands out for engineering and design due to its powerful CPU and GPU, larger RAM, superior Mini LED screen with higher resolution and color accuracy, and longer battery life; factors crucial for complex tasks and visual work.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 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
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 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
7.3/10
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 16 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 boasts a high-resolution display and exceptional brightness, making it ideal for everyday tasks and offering a vivid experience for engineering and design with its wide color gamut. The Lenovo Flex 5 16, with its good resolution and decent brightness, also serves general use and engineering well but falls short of the MacBook's color range. However, both laptops are not optimized for 3D applications as they lack high refresh rates, which are crucial for smooth rendering and gameplay.
Battery
17.5 Hours
11.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Flex 5 16 has 11.5 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.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Flex 5 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$779
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the Lenovo Flex 5 16 costs $779.
"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 IdeaPad Flex 5 is a solidly equipped, 2-in-1 in the lower price segment. Performance is definitely sufficient for everyday tasks and in tests the battery proved itself to be very economical. That aside, there is a lot of standard fare on show and a search for real highlights ends in vain. The low color coverage and reflective display can be avoided by going for an optional 2.5K display but this also presumably results in poorer battery life. The cooling uses only one fan and leads to a raised temperature on one side of the device under load. Additionally, there is very loud fan noise, also under load or when gaming. On top of that, we also occasionally noticed electronic noises."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Lenovo Flex 5 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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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.
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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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Laptops Expert
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