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Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 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, Late 2011)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2023October 2011
Display
Screen size14.2″15.4″
Resolution3024 × 19641440 × 900
PanelMini-LED–
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness600 nits–
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440 × 900 native resolution and millions of colours. Optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare display. Panel technologies, refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple; higher-resolution screens remain in details rather than unverified panel variants.
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 i7-2675QM, Intel Core i7-2760QM or Intel Core i7-2860QM
CPU cores84
CPU threads–8
Graphics10-core GPUAMD Radeon HD 6750M (512 MB) or AMD Radeon HD 6770M (1 GB)
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 at 2.2 GHz or 2.4 GHz with 6 MB L3 cache; optional 2.5 GHz with 8 MB L3 cache. Exact i7-2675QM and i7-2860QM identities confirmed by EveryMac; i7-2760QM by Notebookcheck’s tested upper model. Optional 2.5 GHz rows retain the upper AMD graphics combination; unproven lower-GPU pairings omitted.
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 decodeLower model: AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB GDDR5. Upper model: AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1 GB GDDR5. Both also use Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB DDR3 shared memory and automatic graphics switching.
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory; 8 GB or 16 GB, configurable to 24 GB4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 in two SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 8 GB.
Memory bandwidth100 GB/s–
Storage typeSSD; 512 GB or 1 TB, configurable to 2 TBLower base: 500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive; upper base: 750 GB 5400-rpm hard drive. Maker CTO options: 750 GB at 5400 or 7200 rpm, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. Configuration rows distinguish capacities and CPUs/GPUs; both 750 GB speeds share one capacity row. 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 in Apple’s test. 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, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet, Thunderbolt
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth5.32.1 + EDR
Webcam1080p FaceTime HDFaceTime HD camera
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 supportOne Thunderbolt port up to 10 Gb/s, two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, one FireWire 800 port up to 800 Mb/s, Gigabit Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, separate audio line-in and headphone/audio line-out ports, and Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt provides native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require 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 display plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both at 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 trackpadMulti-Touch trackpad supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three- and 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, 85 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife.

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