If your priority is performance for engineering tasks or 3D/machine learning applications and you prefer a high-quality, color-accurate screen, the Apple MacBook Pro is an excellent choice, although it comes at a higher price and is slightly less portable. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i provides good performance for gaming and engineering and is more affordable, but it also has a shorter battery life and lower screen color accuracy. If portability and battery life are important, and you're looking for a more general-use laptop, the MacBook Pro has the edge with longer battery life and a higher portability score. 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
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 Slim 5i
Very good for gaming and AI
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
343.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in general use due to its high-resolution Mini LED display, superior battery life, and portability along with a high-performance CPU and abundant RAM, making multitasking and media consumption a premium experience. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i, while offering good general use performance with a capable CPU and ample RAM, prioritizes gaming elements such as a high-refresh-rate IPS display and dedicated graphics card, thus it has a heavier build and shorter battery life, which might limit its portability and off-the-charger usage time.
Content Creation
8.9/10
8.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
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) and Lenovo Legion Slim 5i are both very good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is somewhat better.
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
7.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
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 Slim 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
8.0/10
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
343.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion Slim 5i for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 shines for general use and engineering tasks with its high-resolution display, which offers vivid colors and high brightness, creating an excellent viewing experience. It excels in design work due to a wide color gamut that covers a broad spectrum of DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, ensuring accurate color reproduction essential for professional photo and video editing. However, for 3D and gaming, its screen's lower refresh rate may not be as smooth as specialized gaming laptops, which can limit the fluidity of motion-intensive visuals and gameplay.
Battery
17.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 5i has 7 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
5.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 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 Slim 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
$1,055
$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 Slim 5i costs $1,055.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion Slim 5i to be very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
8.4/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
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 Slim 5i are both very good for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the Lenovo Legion Slim 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 Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 acknowledges that a gaming laptop doesn’t have to be as thick as possible and can still ensure adequate cooling when the muscles need flexing. To this end, in the Slim 5 Gen 8, it finds a neat balance of refined, trimmed-down design that still lets its internals cruise (even above their max power ratings). Lenovo then added in some high-end build quality with an altogether excellent keyboard that’s useful for both work and play."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Lenovo Legion Slim 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.
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.