Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
57
out of 100
VS
74
out of 100
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
You can adjust the importance of each feature to more precisely determine which laptop better suits your personal needs.
Key Differences
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5
- Includes an old-school USB-A port
- Easier to carry: weighs 220 grams less (around 0.49 lbs)
- Around 40% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench R23 test
- User-upgradable RAM (up to 64GB) and an SSD
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 2
- Thinner bezels and 6% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Features a bigger (~11%) battery – 100 against 90 watt-hours
- 79% sharper screen – 254 versus 142 pixels per inch (PPI)
- Provides 67% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 300 nits
Value for money
Please input the prices of the laptops (with selected configurations) and press the "Calculate" button to determine which one offers better value for money.
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
| Weight | 1.88 kg (4.15 lbs) | 2.1 kg (4.63 lbs) |
| Dimensions | 359.5 x 253.8 x 17.9 mm 14.15 x 9.99 x 0.7 inches |
355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm 14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches |
| Area | 912 cm2 (141.4 inches2) | 882 cm2 (136.8 inches2) |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~81.4% | ~86.2% |
| Side bezels | 7.4 mm | 3.4 mm |
| Colors | Black | Silver, Gray |
| Material | Top: Carbon fiber Middle: Aluminum Bottom: Aluminum |
Aluminum |
| Transformer | No | No |
| Opening angle | 180° | 135° |
Size comparison
| Cooling system | Active | Active |
| Vapor chamber | Yes | No |
| Liquid metal | No | - |
| Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
| Noise level (max. load) | 45.5 dB | 37.4 dB |
Display
| Size | 16 inches | 16.2 inches |
| Type | IPS LCD | Mini LED |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz |
| PPI | 142 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| HDR support | No | Yes, Dolby Vision |
| Sync technology | No | No |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Coating | Matte | Glossy (Antireflective) |
| Ambient light sensor | No | Yes |
Screen space comparison
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
16.2″ (16:10 ratio) = 118 in2
ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5
16″ (16:10 ratio) = 115.1 in2
~2% more screen space
| Contrast | 1200:1 | 25700:1 |
| sRGB color space | 100% | 100% |
| Adobe RGB profile | - | 88% |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | - | 99.1% |
| Response time | - | 67 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
| Full charging time | 1:40 hr | 1:25 hr |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
| USB Power Delivery | Yes | Yes |
| Charging port position | Left | Left, Right |
| Charge power | 135 / 170 / 230 W | 140 W |
| Cable length | - | 2 meters |
| Weight of AC adapter | 878 grams | 353 grams |
CPU
CPU name
| Base frequency | 2.3 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
| Turbo frequency | 4.7 GHz | - |
| Cores | 14 (6P + 8E) | 10 (8P + 2E) |
| Threads | 20 | 10 |
| L3 Cache | 24 MB | - |
| Integrated GPU | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU) | Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) |
| Fabrication process | 10 nm | 5 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
| TGP | 95 W | 30 W |
| Nvidia Optimus | MUX | - |
| Type | Dedicated | Integrated |
| Fabrication process | 8 nm | 5 nm |
| GPU base clock | 1463 MHz | 450 MHz |
| GPU boost clock | 1695 MHz | 1296 MHz |
| FLOPS | 8.7 TFLOPS | 5.2 TFLOPS |
| Memory size | 4 GB | System Shared |
| Memory type | GDDR6 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory bus | 128 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory speed | 12 Gbps | 6.4 Gbps |
| Shading units (cores) | 2560 | 2048 |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 80 | 128 |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 48 | 64 |
GPU performance
RAM
RAM size
| Channels | 2x8 GB | 4x4 GB |
| Clock | 4800 MHz | 6400 MHz |
| Type | DDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| Total slots | 2 | - |
| Max. ram size | 64 GB | - |
Storage
Storage size
| Bus | PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) | Custom |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
| Channels | 1x256 GB | 1x512 GB |
| Upgradable | Yes | No |
| Total slots | 2 | - |
| NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Audio chip | Realtek ALC3306 | - |
| Speakers | 2.0 | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) |
| Power | 2x2W | - |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
| Loudness | ~81.4 dB | ~84.7 dB |
| Microphones | 2 | 3 |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | v6E | v6 |
| Bluetooth | v5.2 | v5 |
| Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared sensor | Optional | No |
| Optical drive | No | No |
| Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| USB-A | 2x USB 3.2 | No |
| USB Type-C | 2x USB 4.0 | 3x USB 4.0 |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 4 |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.1 | 1x HDMI 2.0 |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| VGA | No | No |
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
| SD card reader | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | Yes |
Input
| Keyboard type | Island | Island |
| Numpad | No | No |
| Backlight | Yes | Yes |
| Key travel | 1.5 mm | 1 mm |
| Size | 11.5 x 6.7 cm | 15.5 x 9.9 cm |
| Surface | Glass | Glass |
| Windows Precision | Yes | No |
Further details
Notes on ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5:
- The RTX 3060/3070 Ti/3080 Ti models have a single M.2 SSD slot supporting up to 4TB, whereas the more budget-friendly RTX 3050 Ti model features two such slots.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 23