Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) compared with MacBook Pro 14″ (M3)
AppleMacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3)
Overview
ReleasedFebruary 2011November 2023
Display
Screen size13.3″14.2″
Resolution1280 × 8003024 × 1964 (better)
PanelTN LCDMini-LED
Refresh rate–120 Hz
Brightness–600 nits
HDR peak brightness–1,600 nits
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLED-backlit glossy widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel explicitly confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact Early 2011 2.7 GHz review. No antiglare or higher-resolution option. Apple does not publish refresh rate or brightness.Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting
Pixel density–254 ppi
Colour range–Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Display features–1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen HDR brightness; ProMotion adaptive refresh up to 120 Hz; fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone
Performance
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2415M or Intel Core i7-2620MApple M3
CPU cores28
CPU threads4–
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics 300010-core GPU
Memory4 GB or 8 GB8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage128 GB to 750 GB512 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPUDual-core Intel Core i5-2415M at 2.3 GHz with 3 MB shared L3 cache or Core i7-2620M at 2.7 GHz with 4 MB cache. Exact identities confirmed by Notebookcheck's respective 2.3 GHz and 2.7 GHz reviews.8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPUIntel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; media engine supports H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, video and ProRes encode/decode, and AV1 decode
AI engine–16-core Neural Engine
Memory type4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GBUnified memory; 8 GB or 16 GB, configurable to 24 GB
Memory bandwidth–100 GB/s
Storage typeCore i5 base has 320 GB and Core i7 base has 500 GB, both 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drives. Configurable 500 GB or 750 GB 5400-rpm hard drive, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. Storage capacity rows use HDD for 320/500/750 GB and SSD for 128/256/512 GB; memory upgrades apply to either processor. Macworld confirms 750 GB upgrades on both bases; Apple's configure-to-order list includes it despite the shorter Storage subsection omitting it. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.SSD; 512 GB or 1 TB, configurable to 2 TB
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 7 hoursUp to 22 hours
Battery capacity63.5 Wh69.6 Wh (better)
Weight2.04 kg1.55 kg (better)
Thickness24.1 mm15.5 mm (better)
Width × depth325 × 227 mm312.6 × 221.2 mm
Battery life detailBuilt-in 63.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.Up to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 70 Wh, with actual rating 69.6 Wh in Apple’s footnote
Charger60 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management70 W USB-C Power Adapter
Fast charging–With optional 96 W USB-C Power Adapter
MaterialsAluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad100% recycled aluminium enclosure
ColoursSilverSilver, Space Grey
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet2 × Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/gWi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth2.1 + EDR5.3
Webcam720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)1080p FaceTime HD
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailTwo USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, combined headphone/line input with digital output, and Kensington lock slot. Native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI audio/video through separate adapters.Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone support
External displaysBuilt-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroringOne external display with the built-in screen active; macOS Sonoma 14.6 or later supports two with the lid closed: primary up to 6K 60 Hz (or 4K 144 Hz), secondary up to 5K 60 Hz (or 4K 100 Hz), according to Apple’s updated display support page; original tech specs state HDMI up to 4K 120 Hz
KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keysBacklit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys
TrackpadGlass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and dragForce Touch trackpad
SpeakersStereo speakers with subwooferSix-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos
MicrophonesOmnidirectional microphoneStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming
Biometrics–Touch ID
In the boxMacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’1114-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)

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