Lenovo ThinkPad vs. MacBook Pro: Which Brand Wins the Laptop Battle?

Planning to buy a new laptop?

If you want to buy a new laptop, you might wonder which brands are at the top. After all, you want to ensure that you get the most out of your monetary investment.

Do you go for a Lenovo ThinkPad or do you opt for the popular MacBook Pro? The latter released an updated model, after all.

There’s no need to fret; with this guide, you’ll learn the differences between Lenovo ThinkPad vs. MacBook Pro. These are two of the best laptop brands in the market, but let’s find out which gives you more bang for your buck.

Read on and find out what makes them distinct from each other:

Design

This is the first thing you see when you look for laptops. The designs can play a role in the convenience it offers. Thus, when comparing the Lenovo ThinkPad vs Apple MacBook Pro, here are some things you’ll consider for design:

MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro 13’s last change in design happened in late 2016. Apple used the same aluminum chassis coupled with its elegant but simplistic design, but with a thinner profile. This made it thinner than ever, with a more modern display using smaller bezels.

With this, the MacBook Pro will look great regardless of where you put it. You can expect it to receive Apple’s consistent attention to detail with this laptop’s overall fit and finish. The best part is that its granite-like solid build makes you feel secure.

Lenovo ThinkPad

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s design changes through the years are relatively subtle. It feels rock-solid when carried in hand since its finish is from a carbon material. This also gives it a softer touch with zero flex for its entire chassis.

With its usual black color, the ThinkPad gives this aggressive, business-like aesthetic. Its branding got a subtler update, but it remains distinct and undeniable. Its 4K display coupled with a carbon fiber weave will add a degree of panache.

Winner: Tie

Both notebooks come with iconic designs, with build qualities that make them worth their premium price tags. The ThinkPad has a little edge over its Apple counterpart since it succeeded in fitting a 14” display into a chassis almost as thick and big as the MacBook’s. They do this while weighing half a pound less.

But when it comes down to it, the aesthetic taste is subjective. It’s because their appearances have an even match. With that, think about your design essentials and see which brand works better for you.

Display

Your user experience largely depends on how well your laptop displays graphics and other things on the screen. This is especially important when you’re one of the 43% of Americans playing video games regularly. Here some things you must look into when comparing Lenovo ThinkPad vs. MacBook Pro for gaming:

MacBook Pro

Apple’s laptops are famous for offering some of the best displays in the market. That’s why you’ll find MacBook Pro 13 consistent with this trait. It offers a 13.3” display with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution.

This 227ppi display is bright while sporting a wider color spectrum with a great degree of accuracy and strong contrast. It isn’t 4K, but its sharpness and crispness are great enough. This makes it great for people who want to enjoy their video games.

Lenovo ThinkPad

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon offers some display options, depending on the model. If you get its entry-level model, it has a full HD panel with an above-average color spectrum coupled with good accuracy and contrast. Its low brightness can be a drawback, but it has an anti-glare coating that helps when used in areas with bright ambient light.

If you want a better model, opt for the one with a full 4K display panel. It’s because this option also supports Dolby Vision HDR. The only drawback is that this wreaks havoc on your laptop’s battery life.

Winner: MacBook Pro

An HDR-enabled UHD display promises incredible and dynamic colors for the Lenovo laptop. But the MacBook Pro gives a superior display regardless of the model. This makes it the best option if you want your game to look wonderful without paying more.

Performance

Even with a good display, poor laptop performance is hard to mask. The good news is that both brands offer great performance options for their laptops. Examine the difference and see what works for you:

MacBook Pro

This laptop got an update in 2019, which meant acquiring quad-core 8th-generation processors as well as the Touch Bar. It uses a fast PCIe NVMe solid-state drive (SSD), with up to 2TB worth of storage. With this, you can count on it to have a fast storage performance.

As for its built-in graphics, you can get Intel Iris Plus Graphics. Depending on the model you buy, this can either be the 645 or 655 variants.

Lenovo ThinkPad

The ThinkPad Carbon X1 has a more updated CPU with Intel’s 10th-generation Comet Lake model. Like its MacBook counterpart, this laptop uses the PCIe NVMe SSD storage. The only drawback is that the ThinkPad only has a maximum of 1TB worth of storage.

ThinkPad uses the Intel UHD Graphics 620 for its built-in graphics card. This is what you get regardless of the model you opt for.

Winner: MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro might lack the speed for productivity tasks, but it beats the ThinkPad with storage options and built-in graphics card options. What you must remember is that it costs a lot more to get 2TB worth of storage for your Apple laptop. Also, neither of these are suitable if you intend to play Triple-A games.

Peripherals

Input options may not be as important as display and performance, but these two offer different peripheral features. Here are some things you must look out for:

MacBook Pro

People either love or hate Apple’s efforts in doing their best to keep their title as the thinnest laptop. For example, people considered MacBook keyboards the epitome of perfection for typing. Now, this laptop has a more modern key mechanism, making it clicky but has a very short travel.

Its huge touchpad is remarkable, and people argue that it’s one of the best you’ll find on laptops. Also, each MacBook 13 has an OLED Touch Bar strip running along the top of the keyboard. It gives more task-specific touch input capabilities.

There are 9 million victims of identity theft each year. With that in mind, you’ll appreciate the MacBook Pro’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner. It enables you to log in on your device and verify your purchases without a password.

Lenovo ThinkPad

This laptop is consistent with its keyboard, excellent with its superior travel and precise tactile feeling. It ensures you have a fast, accurate typing experience. It’s a welcome upgrade over the MacBook, especially when you intend to write a lot of text content.

The ThinkPad comes with a TrackPoint nubbin, located at the middle of the keyboard. This might be an old-school input option for some of the more forward-thinking people. But most longtime users will find the feature a welcome one.

The TrackPoint buttons invade the touchpad’s space, making it smaller and less desirable if you swipe and make gestures. But this isn’t a big drawback since it offers precision because of the Microsoft Precision touchpad support. For more convenience, you can opt for a touch display.

Winner: Lenovo ThinkPad

The keyboard alone is already enough to tip the scales to the ThinkPad’s favor. But with its Windows 10 Hello feature, you enjoy the same security as its MacBook counterpart. It’s because it allows you to login without using a password—either use its infrared camera or fingerprint scanner to verify your identity.

Lenovo ThinkPad vs. MacBook Pro: Who Wins?

Apple made the MacBook Pro 13 more competitive because of its 2019 update. It offers better performance and display than before. Also, you need not pay a fortune to get the Touch Bar.

But this isn’t enough to top Lenovo since the ThinkPad X1 Carbon can offer the same strengths in areas where the MacBook usually excels, like design and durability. All the while, you get better performance, a reliable and precise keyboard, and great connectivity.

Regardless, it’s unlikely for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon to win over a big crowd of dedicated MacBook fans. But if you think about it, Lenovo’s efforts in upgrading their laptop are laudable. It’s because they made the right decisions on areas to focus on, meaning you’ll find more value for your money if you spend it buying this laptop on lenovo.com.

Regardless of your choice, you have lots of options when picking between the MacBook and the ThinkPad. To save more, wait for sales and deals to appear. This will allow you to get a bargain on your desired laptop.

Apple MacBook vs. Lenovo ThinkPad: Choose One Today!

These are some of the comparisons between Lenovo ThinkPad vs. MacBook Pro. Use these facts to ensure that you pick your preferred laptop.

Did you find this in-depth comparison guide informative? If so, consider reading our other posts and learn more tech-related tips and tricks today.