Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M1 Pro / M1 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

MacBook Pro 16″ (M1 Pro / M1 Max) compared with MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)
AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M1 Pro / M1 Max)AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2009)
Overview
ReleasedOctober 2021June 2009
Display
Screen size16.2″17″
Resolution3456 × 2234 (better)1920 × 1200
PanelMini-LED–
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness500 nits–
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting17-inch LED-backlit widescreen display at 1920 × 1200, glossy or optional antiglare. Exact panel technology, brightness and refresh rate are unpublished in the maker sources read.
Pixel density254 ppi–
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion colours–
Display features1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen HDR brightness; ProMotion adaptive refresh up to 120 Hz; fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone–
Performance
ProcessorApple M1 Pro or Apple M1 MaxIntel Core 2 Duo 2.8 GHz (MacBook Pro Late 2008) or Intel Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2009)
CPU cores102
Graphics16-core GPU, 24-core GPU or 32-core GPUNVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3) + GeForce 9400M
Memory16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)4 GB or 8 GB
Storage512 GB to 8 TB (better)128 GB to 500 GB
CPUM1 Pro or M1 Max with 10-core CPU, comprising 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency coresIntel Core 2 Duo at 2.8 GHz or optional 3.06 GHz, with 6 MB shared L2 cache and a 1066 MHz frontside bus. Maker-clock records avoid unverified Intel SKU assumptions.
GPUM1 Pro with 16-core GPU; M1 Max with 24-core or 32-core GPU; hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW with video decode and encode engines and ProRes acceleration; M1 Max has two ProRes acceleratorsNVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with 512 MB GDDR3 plus GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared system memory. Switching between integrated and discrete graphics requires logout, as described by Macworld.
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory; 16 GB or 32 GB with M1 Pro, 32 GB or 64 GB with M1 Max4 GB or 8 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots.
Memory bandwidth200 GB/s (M1 Pro); 400 GB/s (M1 Max)–
Storage typeSSD; M1 Pro starts at 512 GB with 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB options; Apple lists M1 Max starting at 1 TB with 2 TB, 4 TB or 8 TB options500 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drive or 128 GB or 256 GB SSD with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 21 hoursUp to 8 hours
Battery capacity99.6 Wh (better)95 Wh
Weight2.1 kg (better)2.99 kg
Thickness16.8 mm (better)25 mm
Width × depth355.7 × 248.1 mm393 × 267 mm
Battery life detailUp to 21 hours Apple TV app movie playback or 14 hours wireless web; marketed as 100 Wh, with actual rating 99.6 Wh in Apple's footnoteBuilt-in lithium-polymer battery. Apple reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger140 W USB-C power adapter included85 W MagSafe Power Adapter
Fast chargingWith the included 140 W USB-C adapter and USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosureAluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
ColoursSilver, Space GreySilver
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth5.02.1 + EDR
Webcam1080p FaceTime HDBuilt-in iSight camera
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detailThree Thunderbolt 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone supportThree USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and optical digital audio output/headphone output. No SD card slot.
External displaysM1 Pro supports up to two external displays at 6K 60 Hz; M1 Max up to three at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 60 Hz; HDMI supports one at 4K 60 HzSupports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels alongside the built-in display. Mini DisplayPort to DVI, dual-link DVI or VGA adapters are sold separately.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keysBacklit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadGlass Multi-Touch trackpad supporting two-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate and three/four-finger gestures.
SpeakersSix-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in stereo speakers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingOmnidirectional microphone beneath the left speaker grille.
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box16-inch MacBook Pro, 140 W USB-C adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)MacBook Pro, 85 W 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.

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