The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its high price, offers a high-quality display, long battery life, and is more suitable for tasks like video editing or music production thanks to its powerful Apple M3 Pro processor and integrated GPU. It also excels in general use and is very portable. On the other hand, the more affordably priced Lenovo Legion 5i Pro features a dedicated Nvidia graphics card suitable for gaming and 3D rendering, and its Intel processor is capable of handling engineering applications. However, it has shorter battery life and is heavier, which impacts its portability. Choose the MacBook Pro for premium build and creative tasks, or the Legion for gaming and intensive computations at a lower cost. 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 software development
Very good 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
8.8/10
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 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its high-quality Mini LED screen, more RAM, superior CPU for multitasking, and longer battery life, along with its light weight, makes it very good for general use. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro, while having a good IPS screen and ample RAM, falls short in portability due to its heavier weight, and its shorter battery life, but it stands out with its dedicated graphics for gaming or creative work, although this is more than needed for general use applications.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
8.0/10
6.2/10
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 (Late 2023) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its Mini LED display and high color accuracy is optimized for 3D design and video editing, though its macOS may limit gaming options due to compatibility; on the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i, with its higher refresh rate display and dedicated Nvidia graphics, is better suited for high-frame-rate gaming experiences and is fully compatible with a wide range of games available on Windows.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
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 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
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
18.0 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 (Late 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's screen offers high resolution and bright, vibrant displays that enhance general use, like browsing and media consumption, making it suitable for users who prioritize visual fidelity. Its display also covers a wide range of color gamuts, which is crucial for engineering and design professionals that require color accuracy for their work. However, for 3D applications and gaming, where a high refresh rate is essential for smooth motion, the MacBook Pro falls short, making it less ideal for users focused on these activities.
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 (Late 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 (Late 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
$2,499
$1,000
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the Lenovo Legion Pro 5i costs $1,000.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is highly suitable for engineering and design due to its high-performance Apple M3 Pro processor, abundant RAM, and superior screen quality with high resolution and color accuracy, making it ideal for detailed visuals and multitasking. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro offers robust engineering and design capabilities with a powerful Intel i7 processor, dedicated Nvidia RTX GPU for demanding graphics tasks, and an excellent screen, while also providing the flexibility of a Windows operating system and extra slots for RAM and storage expansion.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 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 (Late 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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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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
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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