The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is a premium option that excels in performance for intensive engineering tasks, 3D/machine learning, and has a high-resolution Mini LED display. However, it's more expensive and heavier, affecting portability. Its battery life is outstanding, and it's built well for general usage, but its lack of a touchscreen may be a downside for some. On the other hand, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is much more affordable with a good balance for general use, has touchscreen capabilities, and is lighter, enhancing portability. Its performance is suitable for everyday tasks, but it may not handle demanding engineering software as well as the MacBook Pro. 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 14
Very good portability
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.7/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.3/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its more powerful M3 Pro CPU and greater RAM, offers higher performance for demanding general use tasks, complemented by a superior Mini LED screen for exceptional visual quality; its portability is balanced by a significantly longer battery life. In contrast, the Lenovo Flex 5 14's AMD Ryzen CPU and ample RAM handle general use well, and its touchscreen IPS display and 2-in-1 convertible design add versatility, though it's lightweight and more portable with a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
6.2/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
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 14 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its higher-end GPU and faster screen refresh rate outperforms the Lenovo Flex 5 for 3D tasks, but it runs on MacOS which limits game compatibility compared to the Flex 5's Windows OS. While the Lenovo Flex 5 offers fair performance for gaming and 3D with its integrated GPU and standard screen refresh rate, it is more compatible with a wide range of games.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
7.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
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 14 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers top-tier CPU and GPU performance, a large amount of high-speed RAM, and a superior Mini LED screen quality, making it very well-suited for demanding engineering and design tasks, though it’s less portable due to its size and weight. In comparison, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 provides good performance with a capable CPU and integrated GPU, plenty of storage, and a quality IPS touchscreen that adds versatility for design, all in a more portable and flexible 2-in-1 form factor, but it compromises on sheer processing power and screen quality.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
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 14 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
7.4/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
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 14 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
6.4/10
16.2in
SIZE
14.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 likely offers a high-resolution display with vibrant colors and brightness suitable for both everyday tasks and professional design work, underpinned by its likely inclusion of wide color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB that are crucial for accurate color representation in engineering and design. The Lenovo Flex 5 14 provides a modestly fair screen experience adequate for day-to-day use and entry-level design work but falls short in professional settings due to less coverage of professional color gamuts and lower screen specifications. For 3D work and gaming, where fast refresh rates are paramount to ensure smooth motion, both laptops fall short, with the MacBook Pro prioritizing resolution and color accuracy over refresh rate, a secondary consideration for Lenovo Flex 5, which focuses on general use.
Battery
17.5 Hours
11.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Flex 5 14 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.
Portability
Good
Very Good
16.2in
SIZE
14.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$950
$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 14 costs $950.
"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 highlight of the latest IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is clearly its AMD CPU. The octa-core Ryzen 7 5700U is insanely fast even when compared to the best Tiger Lake Ultrabooks in the market or even Core H CPUs in many gaming laptops. It's a lot of raw processing power for what is supposed to be a budget 14-inch convertible. If your daily workloads can benefit from extra multi-thread CPU performance, then look no further than the inexpensive AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14. For regular on-the-road browsing or video streaming, however, a slimmer and lighter 10th gen Core Yoga, Spectre, or XPS would be a more balanced option."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Lenovo Flex 5 14
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
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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