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Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3)AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2023February 2011
Display
Screen size14.2″15.4″
Resolution3024 × 19641440 × 900
PanelMini-LEDTN LCD
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness600 nits–
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlightingLED-backlit glossy widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel explicitly confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact Early 2011 2.0 GHz glossy review. Apple does not publish refresh rate or brightness.
Screen finish–Base glossy 1440 × 900; optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare displays. Higher-resolution options are described here rather than assigned an unverified panel type in the configuration rows.
Pixel density254 ppi–
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion colours–
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 Tone–
Performance
ProcessorApple M3Intel Core i7-2635QM, Intel Core i7-2720QM or Intel Core i7-2820QM
CPU cores84
CPU threads–8
Graphics10-core GPUAMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M
Memory8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB4 GB or 8 GB
Storage512 GB to 2 TB128 GB to 750 GB
CPU8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency coresQuad-core Intel Core i7-2635QM at 2.0 GHz or Core i7-2720QM at 2.2 GHz, with 6 MB shared L3 cache. The 2.2 GHz base is configurable to Core i7-2820QM at 2.3 GHz with 8 MB cache. Exact identities are confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld confirms the faster processor is an upgrade of the higher base.
GPU10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; media engine supports H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, video and ProRes encode/decode, and AV1 decodeAutomatic switching between Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB shared main memory and AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256 MB GDDR5 on the 2.0 GHz base, or Radeon HD 6750M with 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.2 GHz base and its 2.3 GHz upgrade
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory; 8 GB or 16 GB, configurable to 24 GB4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB
Memory bandwidth100 GB/s–
Storage typeSSD; 512 GB or 1 TB, configurable to 2 TBCore i7-2635QM base has a 500 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; Core i7-2720QM base has a 750 GB 5400-rpm drive. Both bases support 750 GB 5400-rpm or 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. The 500 GB row on the lower base includes its standard 5400-rpm and optional 7200-rpm drives; on the higher base and its processor upgrade it represents the 7200-rpm option. Memory and storage upgrades apply to either base. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 22 hoursUp to 7 hours
Battery capacity69.6 Wh77.5 Wh
Weight1.55 kg2.54 kg
Thickness15.5 mm24.1 mm
Width × depth312.6 × 221.2 mm364 × 249 mm
Battery life detailUp to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 70 Wh, with actual rating 69.6 Wh in Apple’s footnoteBuilt-in 77.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger70 W USB-C Power Adapter85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Fast chargingWith optional 96 W USB-C Power Adapter–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosureAluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
ColoursSilver, Space GreySilver
Connections
Ports2 × Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth5.32.1 + EDR
Webcam1080p FaceTime HD720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailTwo 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 supportTwo 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, separate digital/analogue audio line input and line output/headphone minijacks, and Kensington lock slot. Native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI audio/video through separate adapters.
External displaysOne 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 HzBuilt-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keysFull-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadGlass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
SpeakersSix-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby AtmosStereo speakers with subwoofers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingOmnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box14-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11

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