The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is a high-end choice with a premium price, offering a very powerful processor, excellent battery life, and a high-quality Mini LED display that's suitable for professional creative tasks, such as video editing, 3D rendering, and design work. It weighs a bit more and is less portable compared to the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15". On the other hand, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is budget-friendly and provides sufficient performance for everyday use, including general productivity and light gaming, with its built-in Vega graphics. It's also portable and features a touchscreen. However, its lower performance and screen quality make it less ideal for intensive tasks and professional creative work. So, if you prioritize high performance and screen quality and can manage less portability and a higher price, go for the MacBook Pro. Conversely, if you prefer affordability, touch capability, and portability for general use, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 is suitable. 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 IdeaPad 5 15"
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
341.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 boasts a high-quality screen, a powerful CPU, and ample RAM, ensuring smooth and responsive performance for demanding tasks, but it's less portable and comes at a higher cost. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15", while still delivering solid performance for everyday use with a decent CPU and RAM, is lighter on the wallet and easier to carry around, but it may fall short for more intensive applications and the screen isn't as superior as the MacBook's.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
6.2/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
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 IdeaPad 5 15" is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for 3D due to its high-performance GPU and a screen refresh rate that supports smoother on-screen motion, enhancing 3D visual experiences; however, note that it may not be compatible with many popular games.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
6.7/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
18.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in engineering and design use due to its more powerful CPU, a high amount of RAM, superior GPU, and a Mini LED screen with high resolution and color accuracy, which are crucial for complex tasks and detailed work.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
18.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" 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
7.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
18.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" 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
6.5/10
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
341.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16" typically offers a high-resolution display and excellent brightness, making it ideal for general use with clear and vibrant visuals. For engineering and design, it covers a wide color spectrum, including DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, ensuring accurate color representation critical for detailed work. However, it often has a standard refresh rate, which is less suitable for 3D applications where smoother motion from higher refresh rates is essential.
Battery
17.5 Hours
11.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" has 11 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 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$690
$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 IdeaPad 5 15" costs $690.
"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 5 is convincing due to its long battery life. The device scores points especially with its large battery and long battery runtimes combined with its low consumption. The CPU and GPU perform in the test as one would expect, and in line with what was familiar from the somewhat smaller 14-inch sister model, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 14."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15"
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.