The 14-inch laptop has been enjoying something of a renaissance lately. It seems users, or at least manufacturers, see a ton of value in a laptop that’s slightly larger than a 13-inch machine but considerably smaller than a 15-inch one. There’s a bit more room for better thermals and a bigger screen without creating a huge chassis.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 represents cutting-edge design in 14-inch laptops, with an incredibly solid build, solid performance, and phenomenal battery life. But it’s not the only one. Lenovo’s Slim 9i is a great laptop in its own right, offering the same level of build quality with good performance and battery life that strongly rivals other Windows laptops, if not the MacBook Pro 14. So, which of these outstanding high-end 14-inch laptops is right for you?
Specifications
Lenovo Slim 9i | Apple MacBook Pro 14 | |
Dimensions | 12.40 inches by 8.44 inches by 0.59 inches | 12.31 inches by 8.71 inches by 0.61 inches |
lester | 3.02 pounds | 3.5 pounds |
Processor | Intel Core i7-1280P | Apple M1 Pro Apple M1 Max |
Chart | Intel Iris Xe | Integrated |
RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB 32 GB 64 GB |
Display | 14.0 inch 16:10 OLED UHD+ (3840 x 2400) | 14.2 inch 16:10 Liquid Retina XDR 3024 x 1964 |
Storage | 512 GB solid state drive 1TB SSD |
512 GB SSD 1TB SSD 2TB SSD 4TB SSD 8TB SSD |
To touch | Yes | Nope |
Ports | 3 USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 1 x 3.5mm audio jack |
3 USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 1 HDMI 2.0 port 1 x 3.5mm audio jack SD card reader |
Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 | WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 |
webcam | 1080p with infrared camera for Windows Hello | 1080p |
Operating system | Windows 11 | macOS Monterey |
Battery | 75 watt hour | 70 watt hour |
Price | $1,760+ | $1,999+ |
Evaluation | 4 out of 5 stars | 5 out of 5 stars |
Price and configuration
The Slim 9 only has two configurations as this comparison is being written, all built around the 12th Gen Core i7-1280P processor, 28 watts, 14 cores/20 threads, 32GB of RAM and a display UHD+ OLED. It’s $1,760 with a 512GB SSD and $1,819 with a 1GB SSD. That’s a bit less than when we reviewed the laptop.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 offers the same 14.2-inch Liquid Retina display on all configurations, with the choice of different Apple M1 Pro and Max processors. The entry-level configuration with an M1 Pro eight-core CPU/14-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD costs $1,999. At the high end, you can get a 10-core M1 Max CPU/32-core GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SS for $3,299.
The MacBook Pro 14 starts at more than the top-end Slim 9i configuration, making it a significantly more expensive laptop.
Design
There’s no denying that the MacBook Pro 14 is an incredibly well-built laptop, with a CNC-machined aluminum chassis that feels like a solid piece of metal. There’s absolutely no flexing, flexing, or twisting anywhere, not in the lid, keyboard, or bottom chassis. And the MacBook Pro 14’s aesthetic is the usual extreme minimalism, with blocky lines that somehow manage to exude elegance.
The Slim 9i is also extremely strong with a CNC aluminum chassis. It’s equal to the MacBook in this regard. Lenovo has coated the lid in glass, which adds an exciting element to both the look and feel. Its chassis has incredibly comfortable rounded edges that make the Slim 9i more comfortable to hold. It’s a more extravagant aesthetic that’s also stylish.
The MacBook Pro 14 benefits from Apple’s exceptional Magic Keyboard, which has limited travel but still manages to deliver a fast and precise bottom-up action that enables fast typing from the first moment you start using it. And its Force Touch haptic trackpad is large and precise, easily the best trackpad on a 14-inch laptop. The Slim 9i’s keyboard is also low-travel, but it lacks the precision of the MacBook’s version and isn’t as comfortable. The touchpad is fine but nothing special, especially compared to Apple’s.
Both laptops have passwordless login capabilities. The Slim 9i uses an infrared camera and facial recognition to support Windows 11 Hello, while the MacBook Pro 14 leverages a Touch ID sensor built into the power supply. Both worked equally well. The Slim 9i also uses its infrared camera to support privacy features such as Zero Touch Lock, which shuts down the laptop and puts it to sleep when the user leaves the area, then wakes it up and logs in automatically when the user leaves the area. user returns. It’s a level of convenience and privacy that the MacBook Pro 14 lacks.
Additionally, both laptops are equipped with 1080p webcams that provide detailed images in various lighting conditions. They’re both excellent, but the Slim 9i benefits from a switch that electronically closes the webcam for more privacy. Lenovo uses an inverted physical notch to insert the webcam while keeping the bezels relatively thin, while Apple has built a notch into the screen that is destructive for some.
Finally, the MacBook Pro 14 offers better physical connectivity, with three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support, a full-size HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a full-size SD card reader. That’s all a creator needs. The Slim 9i only has three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support and a 3.5mm audio jack. The Slim 9i has more up-to-date wireless connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 compared to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Performance
The Slim 9i uses Intel’s fastest 28-watt 12th Gen processor, and it offers solid productivity performance and enough power to handle some low-end creative tasks. It competes well with the MacBook Pro 14 with the entry-level M1 Pro processor in our usual benchmarks, performing faster in Geekbench 5, our Handbrake test that encodes 420MB video in H.265 and Cinebench R23. The Slim 9i can be switched between balanced and performance modes for quieter and slower or faster and louder operation, and it’s even faster than the low-end MacBook Pro 14 in performance mode.
These benchmarks don’t tell the whole story, however. The 10-core CPU/16-core M1 Pro GPU is around 25 per cent faster across the board, and then there’s the option for the even faster M1 Max which would blow those results out of the water. And in the Pugetbench benchmark for Premiere Pro running in a live version of Adobe’s Premiere Pro, the faster M1 Pro scored 911. That’s competitive with the fastest laptops you’ll find, and well Although we didn’t test the Slim 9i using this benchmark, similar Intel machines with integrated Iris Xe graphics scored around 300. The MacBook Pro 14 benefits hugely from an incredibly fast processor (and GPU) in real-world applications, far more than is apparent in synthetic benchmarks.
For creators, the MacBook Pro 14 is therefore much more efficient. Both can handle demanding productivity tasks, though even then, as you crank up the processor, the MacBook Pro 14 gains a significant advantage.
Lenovo Slim 9i (Core i7-1280P) |
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Apple M1 Pro 8/14) |
|
Geek Bench 5 (single / multiple) |
Balance: 1,720 / 10,115 Performance: 1,726 / 11,074 |
Balance: 1,728 / 9,955 Performance: N/A |
Hand brake (seconds) |
Ball: 114 Performance: 95 |
Ball: 123 Performance: |
Cinebench R23 (single / multiple) |
Balance: 1,795 / 9,467 Performance: 1,824 / 11,301 |
Balance: 1,531 / 9,519 Performance: N/A |
Display
The Slim 9i comes with just one display option, a 14-inch 16:10 UHD+ OLED panel that’s incredibly crisp, bright and colorful, delivering the inky blacks of OLED. It’s one of the best Windows displays you can buy. The MacBook Pro 14 also comes with just one display option, a 14.2-inch 16:10 mini-LED panel at 3024 x 1964, which isn’t quite as sharp as the Slim 9i’s display but still sharper. clear enough. It’s much brighter and has better high dynamic range (HDR) support, with wide colors that fall short of the Slim 9i while being slightly less accurate. Its contrast is even higher, however.
Both screens are excellent for creators, with the Slim 9i having an edge in wider, more accurate colors. Both are spectacular displays for everyone, including productivity workers and media consumers (where the MacBook Pro 14 shines, literally). You can’t go wrong with either display.
Lenovo Slim 9i (Core i7-1280P) |
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Apple M1 Pro) |
|
Brightness (nits) |
389 | 511 |
AdobeRGB Range | 95% | 89% |
sRGB gamut | 100% | 100% |
Precision (DeltaE, lower is better) |
0.89 | 1.13 |
Contrast ratio | 24 310:1 | 35 450:1 |
Portability
The two laptops are remarkably close in size, with the Slim 9i being slightly thinner and considerably lighter. Both offer plenty of power and great designs in a reasonably sized chassis and can be carried around without too much hassle.
However, even with a slightly smaller battery, the MacBook Pro 14 delivers spectacular battery life that’s in a whole different category. In our web and video browsing tests, the MacBook Pro 14 doubled the Slim 9i’s web browsing longevity and nearly doubled its video playback time. The Slim 9i is unlikely to last a full day of typical productivity work on a charge, while the MacBook Pro 14 can last two days. That’s a huge plus, especially given the performance of the MacBook.
Lenovo Slim 9i (Core i7-1280P) |
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Apple M1 Pro) |
|
web browsing | 6 hours, 28 minutes | 15 hours, 29 minutes |
Video | 12 hours, 36 minutes | 22 hours, 3 minutes |
The Slim 9i fights well, but the MacBook Pro 14 wins
There is no doubt that these are two excellent laptops. In terms of design, they are different but equally attractive and well-built. But the MacBook Pro 14 is considerably faster, especially when you crank up the processor, and its battery life is out of this world. It also gets a better keyboard and touchpad, with the Slim 9i only getting its touchscreen.
At the same time, the MacBook Pro 14 is also significantly more expensive. It matters in this comparison, but if you have the money, then Apple has the best 14-inch laptop you can buy today.
Editors’ Recommendations