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Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2023November 2016
Display
Screen size14.2″15.4″
Resolution3024 × 19642880 × 1800
PanelMini-LEDIPS LCD
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness600 nits500 nits
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlightingRetina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours
Pixel density254 ppi220 ppi
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion coloursWide colour (P3)
Display features1,000,000:1 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 ToneScaled resolutions of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 or 1024 × 640
Performance
ProcessorApple M3 Pro or Apple M3 MaxIntel Core i7-6700HQ, Intel Core i7-6820HQ or Intel Core i7-6920HQ
CPU cores11, 12, 14 or 164
CPU threads–8
Graphics14-core GPU, 18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPUAMD Radeon Pro 450, AMD Radeon Pro 460 or AMD Radeon Pro 455
Memory18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB16 GB
Storage512 GB to 8 TB256 GB to 2 TB
CPUM3 Pro: 11-core CPU (5 performance, 6 efficiency) or 12-core CPU (6 performance, 6 efficiency); M3 Max: 14-core CPU (10 performance, 4 efficiency) or 16-core CPU (12 performance, 4 efficiency)Quad-core Intel Core i7 at 2.6 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz and 6 MB shared L3 cache, or at 2.7 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 8 MB cache; both configurable to 2.9 GHz with up to 3.8 GHz and 8 MB cache. Ars confirms the i7-6700HQ, i7-6820HQ and i7-6920HQ identifiers.
GPUM3 Pro: 14-core or 18-core GPU; M3 Max: 30-core or 40-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW media engine with AV1 decode; M3 Max has two video encode and two ProRes encode/decode enginesIntel HD Graphics 530 with automatic switching to discrete Radeon graphics. The 2.6 GHz base has Radeon Pro 450 with 2 GB GDDR5; the 2.7 GHz base has Radeon Pro 455 with 2 GB GDDR5; each is configurable to Radeon Pro 460 with 4 GB GDDR5.
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory; M3 Pro supports 18 GB or 36 GB; 14-core M3 Max supports 36 GB or 96 GB; 16-core M3 Max supports 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB16 GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory. Apple publishes this system speed; Intel lists LPDDR3-1866 in its generic processor specifications.
Memory bandwidth150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max)–
Storage typeSSD; M3 Pro starts at 512 GB and supports up to 4 TB; M3 Max starts at 1 TB and supports up to 8 TBPCIe-based onboard SSD; 256 GB base with 2.6 GHz processor configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB; 512 GB base with 2.7 GHz processor configurable to 1 TB or 2 TB. The optional 2.9 GHz processor retains its base configuration's graphics and storage choices.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 18 hoursUp to 10 hours
Battery capacity–76 Wh
Weight1.61 kg1.83 kg
Thickness15.5 mm15.5 mm
Width × depth312.6 × 221.2 mm349.3 × 240.7 mm
Battery life detailUp to 12 hours wireless web; Apple’s main specification states 72.4 Wh, but the generic footnote gives 69.6 Wh for the 14-inch model; capacity omitted from the main comparison because these figures conflictLithium-polymer battery; up to 10 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and 30 days standby. Apple's October 2016 tests used the 2.6 GHz Core i7, 16 GB memory and 256 GB SSD. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger70 W USB-C adapter with 11-core M3 Pro; 96 W adapter with 12-core M3 Pro or M3 Max, optional on the entry configuration87 W USB-C Power Adapter
Fast chargingWith 96 W USB-C Power Adapter–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosureAluminium enclosure
ColoursSilver, Space BlackSilver; Space Grey
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack4 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6EWi-Fi 5
Bluetooth5.34.2
Webcam1080p FaceTime HD720p FaceTime HD
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailThree Thunderbolt 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone supportFour Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack. VGA, HDMI and Thunderbolt 2 output require separate adaptors.
External displaysM3 Pro supports two at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt or one at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz over HDMI; M3 Max supports three at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz, or two at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; HDMI alone supports 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 HzBuilt-in screen plus two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours, or four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keysFull-size backlit keyboard with 64 US or 65 ISO keys, four arrow keys, Touch Bar and ambient light sensor; second-generation butterfly mechanism
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadForce Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures
SpeakersSix-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby AtmosStereo speakers with high dynamic range
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingThree microphones
BiometricsTouch IDTouch ID fingerprint sensor; Apple T1 chip
In the box14-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W or 96 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)15-inch MacBook Pro; 87 W USB-C Power Adapter; 2 m USB-C Charge Cable

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