Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2011	October 2011
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	1440 × 900
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit glossy widescreen LCD, millions of colours; TN panel explicitly confirmed by Notebookcheck's exact Early 2011 2.0 GHz glossy review. Apple does not publish refresh rate or brightness.	15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1440 × 900 native resolution and millions of colours. Optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare display. Panel technologies, refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple; higher-resolution screens remain in details rather than unverified panel variants.
Screen finish
Screen finish	Base glossy 1440 × 900; optional 1680 × 1050 high-resolution glossy or antiglare displays. Higher-resolution options are described here rather than assigned an unverified panel type in the configuration rows.	–
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i7-2635QM, Intel Core i7-2720QM or Intel Core i7-2820QM	Intel Core i7-2675QM, Intel Core i7-2760QM or Intel Core i7-2860QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	8	8
Graphics
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M	AMD Radeon HD 6750M (512 MB) or AMD Radeon HD 6770M (1 GB)
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	4 GB or 8 GB
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 750 GB	128 GB to 750 GB
CPU
CPU	Quad-core Intel Core i7-2635QM at 2.0 GHz or Core i7-2720QM at 2.2 GHz, with 6 MB shared L3 cache. The 2.2 GHz base is configurable to Core i7-2820QM at 2.3 GHz with 8 MB cache. Exact identities are confirmed by Notebookcheck; Macworld confirms the faster processor is an upgrade of the higher base.	Quad-core Intel Core i7 at 2.2 GHz or 2.4 GHz with 6 MB L3 cache; optional 2.5 GHz with 8 MB L3 cache. Exact i7-2675QM and i7-2860QM identities confirmed by EveryMac; i7-2760QM by Notebookcheck’s tested upper model. Optional 2.5 GHz rows retain the upper AMD graphics combination; unproven lower-GPU pairings omitted.
GPU
GPU	Automatic switching between Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB shared main memory and AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256 MB GDDR5 on the 2.0 GHz base, or Radeon HD 6750M with 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.2 GHz base and its 2.3 GHz upgrade	Lower model: AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB GDDR5. Upper model: AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1 GB GDDR5. Both also use Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 384 MB DDR3 shared memory and automatic graphics switching.
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 in two SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 8 GB.
Storage type
Storage type	Core i7-2635QM base has a 500 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; Core i7-2720QM base has a 750 GB 5400-rpm drive. Both bases support 750 GB 5400-rpm or 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. The 500 GB row on the lower base includes its standard 5400-rpm and optional 7200-rpm drives; on the higher base and its processor upgrade it represents the 7200-rpm option. Memory and storage upgrades apply to either base. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.	Lower base: 500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive; upper base: 750 GB 5400-rpm hard drive. Maker CTO options: 750 GB at 5400 or 7200 rpm, or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. Configuration rows distinguish capacities and CPUs/GPUs; both 750 GB speeds share one capacity row. 8× slot-loading SuperDrive supports DVD±R DL, DVD±RW and CD-RW.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 7 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	77.5 Wh	77.5 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.54 kg	2.54 kg
Thickness
Thickness	24.1 mm	24.1 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	364 × 249 mm	364 × 249 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	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.	Built-in 77.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web in Apple’s test. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet	2 × USB-A, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet, Thunderbolt
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)	FaceTime HD camera
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, separate digital/analogue audio line input and line output/headphone minijacks, and Kensington lock slot. Native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI audio/video through separate adapters.	One Thunderbolt port up to 10 Gb/s, two USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, one FireWire 800 port up to 800 Mb/s, Gigabit Ethernet, SDXC card slot, MagSafe, separate audio line-in and headphone/audio line-out ports, and Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt provides native Mini DisplayPort output; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and HDMI require separate adapters.
External displays
External displays	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both with millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring	Built-in display plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both at millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag	Multi-Touch trackpad supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three- and four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers with subwoofers	Stereo speakers with subwoofers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille
In the box
In the box	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, software DVDs and documentation; Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ’11	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, 85 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife.