Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009) compared with MacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max)
AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max)
Overview
ReleasedJune 2009November 2024
Display
Screen size15.4″16.2″
Resolution1440 × 9003456 × 2234 (better)
PanelTN LCDMini-LED
Refresh rate–120 Hz
Brightness–1,000 nits
HDR peak brightness–1,600 nits
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeGlossy LED-backlit widescreen display with millions of colours. TN panel technology is identified by the exact-model Notebookcheck review; maker refresh rate and brightness are unpublished.Liquid Retina XDR display
Pixel density–254 ppi
Colour range–Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Screen finish–Standard, or nano-texture as an option
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
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2008), Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009), Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2008) or Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009)Apple M4 Pro or Apple M4 Max
CPU cores214 or 16
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce 9400M, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (256 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M or NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPU
Memory4 GB or 8 GB24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB or 128 GB (better)
Storage128 GB to 500 GB512 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPUIntel Core 2 Duo at 2.53 or 2.66 GHz with 3 MB shared L2 cache, or 2.8 and optional 3.06 GHz with 6 MB; 1066 MHz frontside bus. The optional 3.06 GHz processor belongs to the upper discrete-graphics group. No unverified Intel SKU assumptions.M4 Pro: 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; M4 Max: 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPUThe 2.53 GHz model has GeForce 9400M integrated graphics only. The 2.66 GHz model also has GeForce 9600M GT with 256 MB GDDR3; 2.8 and 3.06 GHz have 512 MB. GeForce 9400M uses 256 MB shared system memory.20-core (M4 Pro), 32-core or 40-core (M4 Max) GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; Media Engine with H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration and AV1 decode, with two video encode and two ProRes engines on M4 Max
AI engine–16-core Neural Engine
Memory type1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots, supplied with 4 GB and configurable to 8 GB.Unified memory; M4 Pro takes 24GB or 48GB; M4 Max takes 36GB (14-core CPU) or 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (16-core CPU)
Memory bandwidth–273 GB/s (M4 Pro), 410 GB/s (M4 Max with 32-core GPU) or 546 GB/s (M4 Max with 40-core GPU)
Storage typeBase hard drives are 250 GB at 2.53 GHz, 320 GB at 2.66 GHz and 500 GB at 2.8 GHz, all 5400 rpm. Configurable 320 GB and 500 GB hard drives offer 5400 or 7200 rpm; 128 GB and 256 GB are SSD options. Higher processor groups omit an unconfirmed 250 GB choice. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.SSD, configurable up to 4 TB (M4 Pro) or 8 TB (M4 Max)
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 7 hoursUp to 24 hours
Battery capacity73 Wh99.6 Wh (better)
Weight2.49 kg2.14 kg (better)
Thickness24.1 mm16.8 mm (better)
Width × depth364 × 249 mm355.7 × 248.1 mm
Battery life detailBuilt-in lithium-polymer battery. Apple reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.M4 Pro up to 24 hours video streaming and 17 hours wireless web; M4 Max up to 21 hours video streaming and 14 hours wireless web; 100-watt-hour (99.6 Wh actual) lithium-polymer battery
Charger60 W MagSafe Power Adapter for 2.53 GHz; 85 W for 2.66, 2.8 and 3.06 GHz configurations.140 W USB-C Power Adapter included
Fast charging–With the included 140 W USB-C Power Adapter
MaterialsAluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 40% recycled content overall
ColoursSilverSpace Black, Silver
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-FiAirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/gWi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth2.1 + EDR5.3
WebcamBuilt-in iSight camera12MP Center Stage
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailTwo USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, SD card slot, combined optical digital audio input/line input and combined optical digital audio output/headphone output. No ExpressCard slot.3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with charging, DisplayPort 2.1, Thunderbolt 5 and USB 4 (up to 120 Gb/s); HDMI (up to 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz) with multichannel audio output; SDXC card slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support
External displaysSupports the built-in display and an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels simultaneously. Mini DisplayPort adapters for DVI, dual-link DVI or VGA are sold separately.M4 Pro 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 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz over HDMI; M4 Max up to four (three at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt and one at 4K 144 Hz over HDMI), or three (two at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz over HDMI); all alongside the built-in display
KeyboardBacklit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys
TrackpadGlass Multi-Touch trackpad supporting two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three/four-finger gestures.Force Touch trackpad
SpeakersBuilt-in stereo speakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
MicrophonesOmnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille.Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming
Biometrics–Touch ID
In the boxMacBook Pro, MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, display cleaning cloth, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Leopard and iLife ’09; Apple Remote and display adapters sold separately.16-inch MacBook Pro, 140 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only)

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