Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M4) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

MacBook Pro 14″ (M4) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)
AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M4)AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2012)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2024October 2012
Display
Screen size14.2″13.3″
Resolution3024 × 1964 (better)2560 × 1600
PanelMini-LEDIPS LCD
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness1,000 nits–
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR displayRetina LED-backlit IPS display with millions of colours; native 2560 × 1600 and scaled modes of 1680 × 1050, 1440 × 900 and 1024 × 640. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Pixel density254 ppi227 ppi
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion colours–
Screen finishStandard, or nano-texture as an option–
Display features1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen XDR brightness; ProMotion up to 120 Hz, with fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone–
Performance
ProcessorApple M4Intel Core i5-3210M or Intel Core i7-3520M
CPU cores102
CPU threads–4
Graphics10-core GPUIntel HD Graphics 4000
AI engine (NPU)38 TOPS–
Memory16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)8 GB
Storage512 GB to 2 TB (better)128 GB to 768 GB
CPU10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency coresDual-core Intel Core i5-3210M at 2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache, or Core i7-3520M at 2.9 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 4 MB cache. Exact processor identities documented by Ars Technica.
GPU10-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decodeIntel HD Graphics 4000 integrated graphics
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory; no higher memory option
Memory bandwidth120 GB/s–
Storage typeSSD, configurable up to 2 TBFlash storage; 128 GB base configurable to 256 GB, 512 GB or 768 GB, and 256 GB base configurable to 512 GB or 768 GB. Both bases offer the Core i7 upgrade.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 24 hoursUp to 7 hours
Battery capacity72.4 Wh74 Wh (better)
Weight1.55 kg (better)1.62 kg
Thickness15.5 mm (better)19 mm
Width × depth312.6 × 221.2 mm314 × 219 mm
Battery life detailUp to 16 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer batteryBuilt-in 74 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.
Charger70 W USB-C Power Adapter included60 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Materials–Aluminium enclosure
Fast chargingWith the 96 W USB-C Power Adapter–
ColoursSpace Black, SilverSilver
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth5.34.0
Webcam12MP Center Stage720p FaceTime HD
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detail3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40 Gb/s); HDMI with multichannel audio output; SDXC card slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone supportTwo 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/optical digital audio output. Supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone. Ethernet and FireWire require separate Thunderbolt adapters.
External displaysUp to two at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt, or one at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt and one at 4K 144 Hz over HDMI; or one at up to 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz over HDMI; alongside the built-in displayBuilt-in screen plus up to two external displays at 2560 × 1600, with millions of colours; DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI adapters sold separately
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 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, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
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 sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosStereo speakers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingDual microphones
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box14-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only)MacBook Pro with Retina display, MagSafe 2 Power Adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Mountain Lion and iLife apps

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