Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Pro 14″ (M3) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	June 2012
Display
Screen size
Screen size	14.2″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	3024 × 1964 (better)	1440 × 900 or 1680 × 1050
Panel
Panel	Mini-LED	TN LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	600 nits	–
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	1,600 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting	15.4-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, millions of colours; TN technology identified in Macworld's comparison test of its Mid-2012 non-Retina unit. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Standard glossy screen; configurable to a 1680 × 1050 higher-resolution glossy or antiglare screen
Pixel density
Pixel density	254 ppi	–
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	–
Display features
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
Processor
Processor	Apple M3	Intel Core i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (512 MB GDDR5) or NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB (better)	4 GB or 8 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 2 TB (better)	128 GB to 1 TB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	Quad-core Intel Core i7-3615QM at 2.3 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz and 6 MB L3 cache, or Core i7-3720QM at 2.6 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 6 MB cache; the higher base is configurable to Core i7-3820QM at 2.7 GHz with up to 3.7 GHz and 8 MB cache. Exact identities documented by EveryMac.
GPU
GPU	10-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	Intel HD Graphics 4000 plus NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with automatic graphics switching; 512 MB GDDR5 on the 2.3 GHz base or 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.6 GHz base and its 2.7 GHz upgrade
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory; 8 GB or 16 GB, configurable to 24 GB	1600 MHz DDR3 memory; 4 GB on the 2.3 GHz base, configurable to 8 GB as two 4 GB modules; 8 GB on the 2.6 GHz base. Configurations retain the maker-supported 8 GB ceiling, excluding larger aftermarket upgrades.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	100 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; 512 GB or 1 TB, configurable to 2 TB	2.3 GHz base has a 500 GB 5400 rpm hard drive; 2.6 GHz base has 750 GB at 5400 rpm. Either offers 750 GB at 7200 rpm, 1 TB at 5400 rpm or 128/256/512 GB SSD; the lower base also offers 750 GB at 5400 rpm. Configurations list the distinct capacities; the two 750 GB rotational-speed options remain explicit here. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 22 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	69.6 Wh	77.5 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.55 kg (better)	2.56 kg
Thickness
Thickness	15.5 mm (better)	24.1 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	312.6 × 221.2 mm	364 × 249 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 70 Wh, with actual rating 69.6 Wh in Apple’s footnote	Built-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.
Charger
Charger	70 W USB-C Power Adapter	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Fast charging
Fast charging	With optional 96 W USB-C Power Adapter	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium unibody enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Grey	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, Ethernet, headphone jack, SD card slot
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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	Two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, SDXC, MagSafe and separate digital/analogue audio line input and output; Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone supported. Kensington lock slot and built-in SuperDrive; no HDMI port.
External displays
External displays	One 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	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, with millions of colours; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI or HDMI audio/video through separate Mini DisplayPort adapters
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers with subwoofer
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming	Omnidirectional microphone
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	14-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, with a free Mountain Lion upgrade offered to eligible launch buyers