The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is typically more expensive but offers better battery life, performance for general use, and screen quality with higher brightness and color accuracy. Its Mini LED display with a high refresh rate is excellent for professional photo and video work. The slim design and MacOS may appeal to those in creative industries or who prefer Apple's ecosystem.
Conversely, the Lenovo Legion 7, while less expensive, excels in gaming performance with its dedicated Nvidia graphics card and higher refresh rate screen. Windows 11 may offer more compatibility for certain applications and games. It offers more storage and a full RGB backlit keyboard but has a shorter battery life and is heavier, which may affect portability.
Choose the MacBook Pro if you prioritize battery life, screen quality, and general use performance in a premium, lightweight design. Opt for the Legion 7 if you need a gaming-capable machine with good engineering performance, prefer Windows, and are looking for value. 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
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 7
The Lenovo Legion 7 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
469.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion 7 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.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
8.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.4/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Lenovo Legion 7 are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its Apple M3 Pro processor and integrated GPU is designed for performance in engineering and design with a high-resolution Mini LED display; however, it prioritizes portability with a thinner and lighter build, making it more suitable for on-the-go professionals. In contrast, the Lenovo Legion 7 offers a more powerful AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU combination preferred for intensive tasks but has an IPS screen and while still of high quality, the laptop is bulkier, catering to those who may require higher compute power and prioritize performance over portability.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.9/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
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 7 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
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion 7 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
8.3/10
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
469.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 7 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16's screen, with its high resolution and brightness paired with excellent color accuracy, excels for tasks like photo editing, creating a vibrant and detailed canvas that professionals in engineering and design would appreciate. Its impressive coverage of color gamuts ensures that the hues you see on screen are precise and wide-ranging, which is crucial for those fine-tuning visuals in their work. However, for 3D applications or gaming where the fluidity of motion is key, the MacBook Pro falls short due to a lower refresh rate compared to models specifically tailored for those activities, like gaming laptops with screens that refresh more quickly.
Battery
17.5 Hours
6.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 7 has 6.5 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
Good
16.2in
SIZE
16.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.5 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Lenovo Legion 7 both have good portability, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 7 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,500
$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 7 costs $1,500.
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) are both good for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its high-quality Mini LED display and efficient Apple GPU is geared towards 3D creativity and applications, but its lower screen refresh rate and macOS can limit its gaming capabilities since many popular games are not available for Mac. Conversely, the Lenovo Legion 7 boasts a higher refresh rate which is crucial for gaming responsiveness and an Nvidia RTX GPU favored for gaming, complemented by its Windows operating system that supports a wide array of games.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the Lenovo Legion 7 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 7 is a fast 16-inch gamer with 165 Hz display. The new Lenovo Legion 7 is a very good gaming notebook that, despite its comparatively compact compact 16-inch case, does not have to do without the most powerful components. Thanks to good cooling, no compromises are made in terms of performance. Both the Core i9-12900HX and the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti perform at a very high level."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Lenovo Legion 7
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
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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.
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.