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Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012) 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

AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max)
Overview
ReleasedJune 2012November 2024
Display
Screen size15.4″16.2″
Resolution1440 × 900 or 1680 × 10503456 × 2234
PanelTN LCDMini-LED
Refresh rate–120 Hz
Brightness–1,000 nits
HDR peak brightness–1,600 nits
TouchscreenNoNo
Display type15.4-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, millions of colours; TN technology identified in Macworld's comparison test of its Mid-2012 non-Retina unit. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.Liquid Retina XDR display
Pixel density–254 ppi
Colour range–Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours
Screen finishStandard glossy screen; configurable to a 1680 × 1050 higher-resolution glossy or antiglare screenStandard, 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 i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QMApple M4 Pro or Apple M4 Max
CPU cores414 or 16
CPU threads8–
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (512 MB GDDR5) or NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPU
Memory4 GB or 8 GB24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB or 128 GB
Storage128 GB to 1 TB512 GB to 8 TB
CPUQuad-core Intel Core i7-3615QM at 2.3 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz and 6 MB L3 cache, or Core i7-3720QM at 2.6 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 6 MB cache; the higher base is configurable to Core i7-3820QM at 2.7 GHz with up to 3.7 GHz and 8 MB cache. Exact identities documented by EveryMac.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
GPUIntel HD Graphics 4000 plus NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with automatic graphics switching; 512 MB GDDR5 on the 2.3 GHz base or 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.6 GHz base and its 2.7 GHz upgrade20-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 type1600 MHz DDR3 memory; 4 GB on the 2.3 GHz base, configurable to 8 GB as two 4 GB modules; 8 GB on the 2.6 GHz base. Configurations retain the maker-supported 8 GB ceiling, excluding larger aftermarket upgrades.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 type2.3 GHz base has a 500 GB 5400 rpm hard drive; 2.6 GHz base has 750 GB at 5400 rpm. Either offers 750 GB at 7200 rpm, 1 TB at 5400 rpm or 128/256/512 GB SSD; the lower base also offers 750 GB at 5400 rpm. Configurations list the distinct capacities; the two 750 GB rotational-speed options remain explicit here. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive.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 capacity77.5 Wh99.6 Wh
Weight2.56 kg2.14 kg
Thickness24.1 mm16.8 mm
Width × depth364 × 249 mm355.7 × 248.1 mm
Battery life detailBuilt-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.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
Charger85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management140 W USB-C Power Adapter included
Fast charging–With the included 140 W USB-C Power Adapter
MaterialsAluminium unibody enclosure100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 40% recycled content overall
ColoursSilverSpace Black, Silver
Connections
Ports2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, Ethernet, headphone jack, SD card slot3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack
Wi-Fi802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/gWi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth4.05.3
Webcam720p FaceTime HD12MP Center Stage
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailTwo USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, SDXC, MagSafe and separate digital/analogue audio line input and output; Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone supported. Kensington lock slot and built-in SuperDrive; no HDMI port.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 displaysBuilt-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, with millions of colours; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI or HDMI audio/video through separate Mini DisplayPort adaptersM4 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
KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensorBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys
TrackpadGlass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and dragForce Touch trackpad
SpeakersStereo speakers with subwooferHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
MicrophonesOmnidirectional microphoneStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming
Biometrics–Touch ID
In the boxMacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife, with a free Mountain Lion upgrade offered to eligible launch buyers16-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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