Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2011	June 2012
Display
Screen size
Screen size	15.4″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1440 × 900	2880 × 1800 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	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 Panel technologies, refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple; higher-resolution screens remain in details rather than unverified panel variants.	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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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	–	220 ppi
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i7-2675QM, Intel Core i7-2760QM or Intel Core i7-2860QM	Intel Core i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	8	8
Graphics
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6750M (512 MB) or AMD Radeon HD 6770M (1 GB)	NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 750 GB	256 GB to 768 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	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.	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	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.	Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1 GB GDDR5 memory; automatic graphics switching
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 in two SO-DIMM slots; configurable to 8 GB.	8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB at purchase
Storage type
Storage type	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.	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 7 hours	Up to 7 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 in Apple’s test. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	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	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, MagSafe, headphone jack, SD card slot, Ethernet, Thunderbolt	2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI
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	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	FaceTime HD camera	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	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.	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	Built-in display plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, both at millions of colours; dual display and video mirroring.	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	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	Multi-Touch trackpad supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three- and four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag.	Glass 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, 85 W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife.	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