Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M4) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Pro 14″ (M4) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M4)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2024	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	1,000 nits	–
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	1,600 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina XDR display	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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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	–
Screen finish
Screen finish	Standard, or nano-texture as an option	–
Display features
Display features	1,000,000:1 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
Processor
Processor	Apple M4	Intel Core i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	38 TOPS	–
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 2 TB (better)	256 GB to 768 GB
CPU
CPU	10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 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; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration 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 of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB at purchase
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	120 GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD, configurable up 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 24 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	72.4 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 16 hours wireless web; lithium-polymer battery	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 included	85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	–	Aluminium enclosure
Fast charging
Fast charging	With the 96 W USB-C Power Adapter	–
Colours
Colours	Space Black, Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 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	12MP Center Stage	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	3 × 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 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	Up 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 display	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, 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 sound 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), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only)	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