Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)

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MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)

	AppleMacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2012	March 2015
Display
Screen size
Screen size	13.3″	13.3″
Resolution
Resolution	1280 × 800	2560 × 1600 (better)
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	–	300 nits
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy display, 1280 × 800 native resolution and millions of colours. TN panel identified by Notebookcheck’s exact-model review; brightness and refresh rate unpublished by Apple.	Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	227 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	–	Standard colour gamut (sRGB)
Display features
Display features	–	Apple specifies a 900:1 contrast ratio; scaled resolutions of 1680 × 1050, 1440 × 900 or 1024 × 640
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-3210M or Intel Core i7-3520M	Intel Core i5-5257U, Intel Core i5-5287U or Intel Core i7-5557U
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	4
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000	Intel Iris Graphics 6100
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 1 TB	128 GB to 1 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz and 3 MB L3 cache, or 2.9 GHz dual-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz and 4 MB L3 cache. i5-3210M identified by Notebookcheck; i7-3520M by EveryMac.	Dual-core Intel Core i5 at 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz, Core i5 at 2.9 GHz with up to 3.3 GHz, or Core i7 at 3.1 GHz with up to 3.4 GHz. Exact i5-5257U, i5-5287U and i7-5557U identifiers confirmed by Notebookcheck; Core i5 processors have 3 MB shared L3 cache and Core i7 has 4 MB.
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4000	Intel Iris Graphics 6100 integrated graphics
Memory type
Memory type	1600 MHz DDR3 in two SO-DIMM slots. Core i5 has 4 GB, configurable to 8 GB; Core i7 has 8 GB.	8 GB of 1866 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB
Storage type
Storage type	Core i5 has a 500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 750 GB or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. Core i7 has a 750 GB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB or the same SSD capacities. Rows follow the CPU-specific maker storage sections. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.	PCIe-based flash storage; Apple lists 128 GB and 256 GB bases with 2.7 GHz processors, each configurable to 2.9 GHz Core i5 or 3.1 GHz Core i7. The 512 GB base has a 2.9 GHz processor, configurable to Core i7 and 1 TB storage. Its general configure-to-order list also says up to 1 TB without specifying every processor/storage combination.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 7 hours	Up to 10 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	63.5 Wh	74.9 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	2.06 kg	1.58 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	24.1 mm	18 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	325 × 227 mm	314 × 219 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in 63.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web in Apple’s test. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	Lithium-polymer battery; up to 10 hours wireless web, 12 hours iTunes movie playback or 30 days standby. Apple tested 2.9 GHz Core i5 systems for web and movie playback, and 2.7 GHz Core i5 systems for standby. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	60 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management	60 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management system
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet, Thunderbolt	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 2 × USB-A, HDMI, headphone jack, SD card slot, MagSafe 2
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	Wi-Fi 5
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD camera	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	One Thunderbolt port up to 10 Gb/s, two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, one FireWire 800 port up to 800 Mb/s, Gigabit Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, headphone port with digital/analogue audio line output and iPhone headset support and Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt provides native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require separate adapters.	Two Thunderbolt 2 ports up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort video, two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, HDMI, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 2 power and 3.5 mm headphone jack with digital/analogue line output and iPhone headset support; separate Thunderbolt Ethernet and FireWire adaptors available
External displays
External displays	Built-in display plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both at millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring.	Two external displays up to 3840 × 2160 alongside the built-in screen; HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz, 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz. Mini DisplayPort adaptors provide DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensor, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, inverted-T arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Multi-Touch trackpad supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three- and four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag.	Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers with subwoofer	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone	Dual microphones
In the box
In the box	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, 60 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife.	MacBook Pro; MagSafe 2 Power Adapter; power cord; AC wall plug