Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) | AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | November 2016 | October 2013 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 15.4″ | 15.4″ |
| Resolution | 2880 × 1800 | 2880 × 1800 |
| Panel | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
| Brightness | 500 nits | – |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | Retina display; LED-backlit IPS; millions of colours | Retina LED-backlit IPS display, millions of colours; native 2880 × 1800, with scaled modes of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 and 1024 × 640. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple. |
| Pixel density | 220 ppi | 220 ppi |
| Colour range | Wide colour (P3) | – |
| Display features | Scaled resolutions of 1920 × 1200, 1680 × 1050, 1280 × 800 or 1024 × 640 | – |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core i7-6700HQ, Intel Core i7-6820HQ or Intel Core i7-6920HQ | Intel Core i7-4750HQ, Intel Core i7-4850HQ or Intel Core i7-4960HQ |
| CPU cores | 4 | 4 |
| CPU threads | 8 | 8 |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon Pro 450, AMD Radeon Pro 460 or AMD Radeon Pro 455 | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 or NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2 GB GDDR5) |
| Memory | 16 GB | 8 GB or 16 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB to 2 TB (better) | 256 GB to 1 TB |
| CPU | Quad-core Intel Core i7 at 2.6 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz and 6 MB shared L3 cache, or at 2.7 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 8 MB cache; both configurable to 2.9 GHz with up to 3.8 GHz and 8 MB cache. Ars confirms the i7-6700HQ, i7-6820HQ and i7-6920HQ identifiers. | Quad-core Intel Core i7-4750HQ at 2 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz, i7-4850HQ at 2.3 GHz with up to 3.5 GHz, or i7-4960HQ at 2.6 GHz with up to 3.8 GHz; all with 6 MB shared L3 cache. Exact identities documented by EveryMac and cross-checked against Intel. |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 530 with automatic switching to discrete Radeon graphics. The 2.6 GHz base has Radeon Pro 450 with 2 GB GDDR5; the 2.7 GHz base has Radeon Pro 455 with 2 GB GDDR5; each is configurable to Radeon Pro 460 with 4 GB GDDR5. | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 on all configurations; the higher base adds NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2 GB GDDR5 and automatic graphics switching. Upgrading the lower base processor does not add the NVIDIA GPU. |
| Memory type | 16 GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory. Apple publishes this system speed; Intel lists LPDDR3-1866 in its generic processor specifications. | 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory; 8 GB with the Iris Pro-only base, configurable to 16 GB; 16 GB with the NVIDIA-equipped base |
| Storage type | PCIe-based onboard SSD; 256 GB base with 2.6 GHz processor configurable to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB; 512 GB base with 2.7 GHz processor configurable to 1 TB or 2 TB. The optional 2.9 GHz processor retains its base configuration's graphics and storage choices. | PCIe-based flash storage; Iris Pro-only base has 256 GB, configurable to 512 GB or 1 TB, with any of its three processor choices. NVIDIA-equipped base has 512 GB, configurable to 1 TB, with the 2.3 GHz or 2.6 GHz processor. |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 10 hours | Up to 8 hours |
| Battery capacity | 76 Wh | 95 Wh (better) |
| Weight | 1.83 kg (better) | 2.02 kg |
| Thickness | 15.5 mm (better) | 18 mm |
| Width × depth | 349.3 × 240.7 mm | 358.9 × 247.1 mm |
| Battery life detail | Lithium-polymer battery; up to 10 hours wireless web or iTunes movie playback and 30 days standby. Apple's October 2016 tests used the 2.6 GHz Core i7, 16 GB memory and 256 GB SSD. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. | Built-in 95 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 8 hours wireless web, 8 hours iTunes movie playback or 30 days standby under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. |
| Charger | 87 W USB-C Power Adapter | 85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management |
| Materials | Aluminium enclosure | Aluminium enclosure |
| Colours | Silver; Space Grey | Silver |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 4 × Thunderbolt 3, headphone jack | 2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt 2, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 5 | 802.11ac (draft specification); compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| Webcam | 720p FaceTime HD | 720p FaceTime HD |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports support charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; 3.5 mm headphone jack. VGA, HDMI and Thunderbolt 2 output require separate adaptors. | Two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, two Thunderbolt 2 ports up to 20 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, HDMI, SDXC, MagSafe 2 and headphone jack; support for digital/analogue audio line output and Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone. Ethernet and FireWire require separate Thunderbolt adapters. |
| External displays | Built-in screen plus two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours, or four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with over a billion colours | Built-in screen plus up to two external displays at 2560 × 1600, with millions of colours; HDMI supports 1080p at up to 60 Hz, 3840 × 2160 at 30 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz. DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI adapters sold separately. |
| Keyboard | Full-size backlit keyboard with 64 US or 65 ISO keys, four arrow keys, Touch Bar and ambient light sensor; second-generation butterfly mechanism | Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor |
| Trackpad | Force Touch trackpad with pressure sensing, Force clicks and Multi-Touch gestures | Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers with high dynamic range | Stereo speakers |
| Microphones | Three microphones | Dual microphones |
| Biometrics | Touch ID fingerprint sensor; Apple T1 chip | – |
| In the box | 15-inch MacBook Pro; 87 W USB-C Power Adapter; 2 m USB-C Charge Cable | MacBook Pro with Retina display, MagSafe 2 Power Adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Mavericks, iLife apps and qualifying free iWork apps |
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