Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M1 Pro / M1 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Pro 16″ (M1 Pro / M1 Max) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M1 Pro / M1 Max)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2021	June 2012
Display
Screen size
Screen size	16.2″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	3456 × 2234 (better)	2880 × 1800
Panel
Panel	Mini-LED	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	1,600 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting	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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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	254 ppi	220 ppi
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	–
Display features
Display features	1,000,000:1 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
Processor
Processor	Apple M1 Pro or Apple M1 Max	Intel Core i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	10	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	16-core GPU, 24-core GPU or 32-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)	8 GB or 16 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 8 TB (better)	256 GB to 768 GB
CPU
CPU	M1 Pro or M1 Max with 10-core CPU, comprising 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores	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	M1 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 accelerators	Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1 GB GDDR5 memory; automatic graphics switching
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory; 16 GB or 32 GB with M1 Pro, 32 GB or 64 GB with M1 Max	8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB at purchase
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	200 GB/s (M1 Pro); 400 GB/s (M1 Max)	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; 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 options	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 21 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	99.6 Wh (better)	95 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.1 kg	2.02 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	16.8 mm (better)	18 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	355.7 × 248.1 mm	358.9 × 247.1 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up 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 footnote	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	140 W USB-C power adapter included	85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Fast charging
Fast charging	With the included 140 W USB-C adapter and USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Grey	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Three 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 support	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	M1 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 Hz	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	Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming	Dual microphones
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	16-inch MacBook Pro, 140 W USB-C adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)	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