Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

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

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2011	July 2014
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	2880 × 1800 (better)
Panel
Panel	TN LCD	IPS 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.	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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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
Pixel density	–	220 ppi
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 i7-4770HQ, Intel Core i7-4870HQ or Intel Core i7-4980HQ
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	8	8
Graphics
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6490M or AMD Radeon HD 6750M	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 or NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 750 GB	256 GB to 1 TB (better)
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 i7-4770HQ at 2.2 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz), i7-4870HQ at 2.5 GHz (up to 3.7 GHz), or i7-4980HQ at 2.8 GHz (up to 4.0 GHz); all with 6 MB shared L3 cache. Exact identities documented by Primate Labs. Lower base offers either faster processor; higher base offers the 2.8 GHz upgrade.
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	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, as distinguished in Macworld's exact-model review.
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3, two 2 GB SO-DIMMs; two slots support up to 8 GB	16 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory
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.	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 2.5 GHz or 2.8 GHz processor.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 7 hours	Up to 8 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	77.5 Wh	95 Wh (better)
Weight
Weight	2.54 kg	2.02 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	24.1 mm	18 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	364 × 249 mm	358.9 × 247.1 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 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
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management	85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet	2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt 2, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	802.11ac (draft specification); compatible with 802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	720p FaceTime HD (Macworld)	720p FaceTime HD
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.	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
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 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
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, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
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 with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers with subwoofers	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille	Dual microphones
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 with Retina display, MagSafe 2 Power Adapter, AC wall plug and power cord; OS X Mavericks, iLife apps and qualifying free iWork apps