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Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)

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

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max)AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2024May 2006
Display
Screen size16.2″17″
Resolution3456 × 22341680 × 1050
PanelMini-LED–
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness1,000 nits300 nits
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR displayWidescreen TFT display; matte at launch, with glossy option added later in May 2006 with millions of colours. Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.
Pixel density254 ppi–
Colour rangeWide colour (P3); 1 billion colours–
Screen finishStandard, or nano-texture as an option–
Display features1,000,000:1 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
ProcessorApple M4 Pro or Apple M4 MaxIntel Core Duo 2.16 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006)
CPU cores14 or 162
Graphics20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPUATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)
Memory24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB or 128 GB1 GB or 2 GB
Storage512 GB to 8 TB100 GB to 120 GB
CPUM4 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 coresDual-core Intel Core Duo at 2.16 GHz, with 2 MB shared L2 cache and 667 MHz frontside bus. The record retains the maker’s clock and model rather than copying an unverified retail-chip specification.
GPU20-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 MaxATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory typeUnified memory; M4 Pro takes 24GB or 48GB; M4 Max takes 36GB (14-core CPU) or 48GB, 64GB or 128GB (16-core CPU)667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots; 1 GB standard, configurable to 2 GB.
Memory bandwidth273 GB/s (M4 Pro), 410 GB/s (M4 Max with 32-core GPU) or 546 GB/s (M4 Max with 40-core GPU)–
Storage typeSSD, configurable up to 4 TB (M4 Pro) or 8 TB (M4 Max)120 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive, configurable to 100 GB at 7200 rpm. 8× SuperDrive with 2.4× double-layer DVD+R writing.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 24 hoursUp to 5.5 hours
Battery capacity99.6 Wh68 Wh
Weight2.14 kg3.1 kg
Thickness16.8 mm25.9 mm
Width × depth355.7 × 248.1 mm392 × 265 mm
Battery life detailM4 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 batteryRemovable 68 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 5.5 hours in Apple’s test. Maker 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 Power Adapter–
Materials100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 40% recycled content overallAluminium enclosure
ColoursSpace Black, SilverSilver
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 5, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6EAirPort Extreme 802.11g
Bluetooth5.32.0 + EDR
Webcam12MP Center StageBuilt-in iSight camera
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Port detail3 × 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 support3 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, dual-link DVI, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and combined optical digital audio output/headphone output, and Kensington lock slot. VGA adapter included; composite/S-video adapter optional.
External displaysM4 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 displayOne external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen through dual-link DVI; included VGA adapter, optional composite/S-video adapter.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 78 (US) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keysFull-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys; embedded numeric keypad
TrackpadForce Touch trackpadScrolling trackpad with a separate button; two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap and drag.
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in stereo speakers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingBuilt-in omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille
BiometricsTouch ID–
In the box16-inch MacBook Pro, 140 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m), polishing cloth (nano-texture display only)MacBook Pro, removable battery, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Apple Remote and DVI-to-VGA adapter included. Mac OS X 10.4.6 Tiger and iLife ’06. Apple’s 24 April 2006 notice states shipping the following week, supporting May month precision without an exact delivery day. The optional glossy screen was introduced later in May and is not treated as an original launch configuration.

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