We’ve looked at all the differences in features and performance for each MacBook Pro model.
Apple recently introduced its refreshed 2023 MacBook Pro product line with the implementation of the M2 Pro and M2 Max processors. The latest generation of Apple laptops was revealed to the world through a press release and the high performance of these MacBook Pros have attracted the attention of a large number of consumers. But are they really a better option than the previous generation MacBook Pro?
The last time Apple launched a MacBook Pro in the market was relatively recently with its MacBook Pro 2021. This equipment was presented during the month of October 2021, while The new MacBook Pros arrived mid-January 2023So it’s only been a year and a few months.
Considering this premise and the characteristics of each model of MacBook Pro… Is it worth the generational leap?Should you buy a new MacBook Pro in 2023? Should we wait for future generations before renewing our MacBook Pro 2021? We answer these and other questions in this comparative analysis.
Index
Design
Starting with 2023 MacBook Pro models.
Whereas the design of the previous generation MacBook Pro was radically renovated in 2021, the 2023 update follows the same line. No major design changes were implemented except for minor details. The differences in this regard are barely noticeable.
All versions are available in colors Silver and space gray. Both MacBook Pro models have a display with an upper bezel (notch) which houses the FaceTime HD front camera, a feature Touch IDMagic Keyboard with scissor system, Force Touch Trackpad and have three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, and a MagSafe port. However, some features of these ports are more advanced in the 2023 model.
For example, the new MacBook Pro’s HDMI port now supports external monitors with displays up to 8K and 60Hz. Another big difference is that 2023 computers have connectivity Bluetooth 5.3 there Wi-Fi 6Eoffering a much higher connection speed, especially in more densely populated areas, although these are not product design differences.
Screen
The MacBook Pro screen has a refresh rate of 120Hz.
This is another section where you will hardly find any difference between MacBook Pro 2021 and MacBook Pro 2023. This provides us with very valuable data for the final evaluation.
The two MacBook Pro models offer two versions with screens XDR Liquid Retina (extreme dynamic range) of 14.2 inches and of 16.2 inches with technology Promotion and both generations have the exact same resolution, pixel density, and refresh rate of up to 120Hz. No news in this category.
| MacBook Pro 14″ | MacBookPro 16″ | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 models | 3024 x 1964 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| 2023 models | 3024 x 1964 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
Drums
MacBook Pro in Space Gray from an overhead view.
The generational leap from the 2021 MacBook Pro to the 2023 MacBook Pro offerings a huge improvement in battery life. Apple has increased the autonomy of its laptops thanks to the efficiency of its latest generation processors.
The MacBook Pro product line launched in 2021 offered a battery of up to 21 hours of video playback and 14 hours of web browsing.
For its part, the range of MacBook Pro 2023 equipment offers a battery of up to 22 hours of video playback and 15 hours of web browsing.
Processor
It’s here, in processor performance, that the most notable differences between the 2021 and 2023 MacBook Pros lie.
- M1 Pro chip: 10-core processor and 16-core GPU.
- M2 Pro chip: 12-core processor and 19-core GPU.
- M1 Max chip: 10-core processor and 32-core GPU.
- M2 Max chip: 12-core processor and 38-core GPU.
M1 Pro vs. M2 Pro
Promotional image of the M2 Pro chip.
The 2023 M2 Pro chip has 40 billion transistors (20% more than M1 Pro chip) and its performance runs multi-threaded tasks 20% faster than M1 Pro chip of 2021. At the graphics level, the performance of the M2 Pro processor is a 30% higher to that of the M1 Pro chip.
With the new MacBook Pro 2023, the M2 Pro chip incorporates a highly efficient and advanced multimedia engine, with hardware acceleration for H.264, HEVC and video encoding and decoding ProReswhich allows you to play multiple 4K and 8K ProRes video streams while consuming very little power.
M1 Max versus M2 Max
Promotional image of the M2 Max chip.
As for the M2 Max chip – the most powerful Apple Silicon processor ever – it has 67 billion transistorswhile the M1 Max chip has 57 billion transistors. It has twice the bandwidth of the M2 Pro and its graphics processing speed is 30% faster than that of the M1 Max processor.
In addition, the powerful M2 Max processor integrates two video encoding engines and two ProRes enginesso it is able to encode video twice as fast as the M2 Pro.
On the other hand, the neural engine The 16-core processor in the 2023 MacBook Pro is capable of speeds of up to 40% higher to the previous generation.
Finally, the RAM of the new MacBook Pro is logically much higher than that of the previous generation. Basic Unified Memory options remain the same, with 16 GB and 32 GB of RAM in both models. But the 2023 MacBook Pro has an option of up to 96GB RAM while the 2021 line ends with a 64GB RAM configuration.
technical specifications
Consult the table of technical specifications and the hardware features of the MacBook Pro released in 2021 and the latest generation MacBook Pro to learn all their differences.
MacBook Pro 2021
The technical sheet of the MacBook Pro released in 2021 offers many similarities regarding the hardware components of the MacBook Pro of this year 2023. Check the following table to find out all its hardware characteristics.
| MacBook Pro 14″ | MacBookPro 16″ | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | XDR Liquid Retina | XDR Liquid Retina |
| Resolution | 3024 x 1964 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| display technology | ProMotion with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. | ProMotion with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. |
| Processor | M1 Pro, M1 Max | M1 Pro, M1 Max |
| CPU | 8 cores (M1 Pro), 10 cores (M1 Max) | 10 cores (M1 Pro), 10 cores (M1 Max) |
| GPUs | 14 cores (M1 Pro), 32 cores (M1 Max) | 16 cores (M1 Pro), 32 cores (M1 Max) |
| Memory | 16 GB of unified memory (expandable to 64 GB) | 16 GB and 32 GB of unified memory (expandable to 64 GB) |
| Operating system | macOS 13 is coming | macOS 13 is coming |
| basic ability | 512 GB SSD storage | 512 GB SSD storage |
| capacity configuration | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage |
| Camera | FaceTime HD in 1080p | FaceTime HD in 1080p |
| Drums | 17 hours of video playback and 11 hours of web browsing | 21 hours of video playback and 14 hours of web browsing |
| ports | 1 HDMI port, 3 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, 1 MagSafe 3 port and 3.5 mm jack. | 1 HDMI port, 3 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, 1 MagSafe 3 port and 3.5 mm jack. |
| Colors | Silver and space gray | Silver and space gray |
| starting price | $2,249 | $2,749 |
MacBook Pro 2023
The MacBook Pro hit the market in 2023 with the same screen, ports, and FaceTime camera, but it has built-in highly advanced hardware innovations which you can check in this technical specification table.
| MacBook Pro 14″ | MacBook Pro 16″ | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | XDR Liquid Retina | XDR Liquid Retina |
| Resolution | 3024 x 1964 pixels | 3456 x 2234 pixels |
| display technologies | ProMotion with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. | ProMotion with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. |
| Processor | M2 Pro, M2 Max | M2 Pro, M2 Max |
| CPU | 12 cores (M2 Pro), 12 cores (M2 Max) | 12 cores (M2 Pro), 19 cores (M2 Max) |
| GPUs | 19 cores (M2 Pro), 30 cores (M2 Max) | 19 cores (M2 Pro), 38 cores (M2 Max) |
| RAM | 16 GB and 32 GB of unified memory (expandable to 96 GB) | 16 GB and 32 GB of unified memory (expandable to 96 GB) |
| Operating system | macOS 13 is coming | macOS 13 is coming |
| basic ability | 512 GB, 1 TB SSD storage | 512 GB, 1 TB SSD storage |
| capacity configuration | 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage | 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB SSD storage |
| Camera | FaceTime HD in 1080p | FaceTime HD in 1080p |
| Drums | 18 hours of video playback and 12 hours of web browsing | 22 hours of video playback and 15 hours of web browsing |
| ports | 1 HDMI port, 3 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, 1 MagSafe 3 port and 3.5 mm jack. | 1 HDMI port, 3 Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, 1 MagSafe 3 port and 3.5 mm jack. |
| Colors | Silver and space gray | Silver and space gray |
| starting price | $2,449 | $3,049 |
Price
MacBook Pro 2021
This is the list of prices of the two MacBook Pro models introduced in 2021:
| MacBook Pro 14″ | MacBookPro 16″ | |
|---|---|---|
| M1 Pro (512 GB) | 2.249 $ | 2.749 $ |
| M1 Pro (1TB) | 2.749 $ | 2.979 $ |
| M1 Max (1TB) | – | 3.849 $ |
MacBook Pro 2023
Below is the table of prices among the basic configuration options of the new MacBook Pro range released in 2023:
| MacBook Pro 14″ | MacBookPro 16″ | |
|---|---|---|
| M2 Pro (512 GB) | 2.449 $ | 3.049 $ |
| M2 Pro (1TB) | 3.049 $ | 3.279 $ |
| M2 Max (1 TB) | 3.749 $ | 4.199 $ |
MacBook Pro 14″ and 16″ | To book
Conclusion: Which model should you buy?
After knowing everything differences from comparative Between the 2021 MacBook Pro and the 2023 MacBook Pro, we’re left with plenty of ratings that depend on a variety of factors to consider.
First of all, if you already have a 2021 MacBook Pro, maybe the best thing to do would be continue to keep the same team and not upgrade to the 2023 MacBook Pro as they share many similarities in both design and hardware.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a MacBook Pro or your model is more than 3 years old, we invite you to buy the MacBook Pro 2023 before the MacBook Pro 2021, then the price differences are not that big on most models.
In general, perhaps the most appreciable differences can be seen in the drums and in the processor performance. In the case of the battery, each new generation model of 2023 offers 1 hour of additional autonomy. But in terms of performance, the differences between the different MacBook Pros are abysmal.
This article suggests objective and independent products and services that may be of interest to readers. When the user makes a purchase through the specific links that appear in this news, iPadizate receives a commission. Join the iPadizate deals channel to find the best deals before anyone else.
Table of Contents
