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

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

	AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 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)	2880 × 1800
Panel
Panel	Mini-LED	IPS 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	Retina LED-backlit IPS display with millions of colours; native 2880 × 1800 and scaled modes of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 and 1024 × 640. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Pixel density
Pixel density	254 ppi	220 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 (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB (better)	8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 2 TB (better)	256 GB to 768 GB
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 shared L3 cache, or Core i7-3720QM at 2.6 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 6 MB cache. The upper base can upgrade to Core i7-3820QM at 2.7 GHz with up to 3.7 GHz and 8 MB cache; exact identities documented by Notebookcheck.
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 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1 GB GDDR5 memory; automatic graphics switching
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory; 8 GB or 16 GB, configurable to 24 GB	8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB at purchase
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	100 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; 512 GB or 1 TB, configurable to 2 TB	Flash storage; the 2.3 GHz base has 256 GB without a storage upgrade at launch. The 2.6 GHz base has 512 GB, configurable to 768 GB, and offers the 2.7 GHz processor upgrade. These restrictions are documented by both contemporary reviews alongside Apple's base specifications.
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	95 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	1.55 kg (better)	2.02 kg
Thickness
Thickness	15.5 mm (better)	18 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	312.6 × 221.2 mm	358.9 × 247.1 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 95 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web or 30 days standby under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	70 W USB-C Power Adapter	85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Fast charging
Fast charging	With optional 96 W USB-C Power Adapter	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Grey	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI
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, two Thunderbolt ports up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 2 and headphone jack with audio line output and support for Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone. Ethernet and FireWire require separate Thunderbolt adapters.
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 up to two external displays at 2560 × 1600, with millions of colours; DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI adapters sold separately
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
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming	Dual microphones
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 with Retina display, MagSafe 2 Power Adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Lion and iLife apps; eligible for a free upgrade to the then-upcoming OS X Mountain Lion