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Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M4 Pro or M4 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010)

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, Mid 2010)
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2024April 2010
Display
Screen size16.2″17″
Resolution3456 × 22341920 × 1200
PanelMini-LEDTN LCD
Refresh rate120 Hz–
Brightness1,000 nits–
HDR peak brightness1,600 nits–
TouchscreenNoNo
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR displayGlossy LED-backlit display; an antiglare option is available. TN technology is named by the exact-model Notebookcheck review. Glossy and antiglare options retain 1920 × 1200 resolution.
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 i5 2.53 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2010) or Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz (MacBook Pro Mid 2010)
CPU cores14 or 162
Graphics20-core GPU, 32-core GPU or 40-core GPUNVIDIA GeForce GT 330M (512 MB GDDR3) + Intel HD Graphics
Memory24 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB or 128 GB4 GB or 8 GB
Storage512 GB to 8 TB128 GB to 512 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 i5 at 2.53 GHz with 3 MB shared L3 cache, or optional Core i7 at 2.66 GHz with 4 MB. Maker-clock records avoid unverified Intel SKU assumptions; unpublished peak clock fields are omitted.
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 MaxAutomatic switching between Intel HD Graphics (256 MB shared system memory) and GeForce GT 330M. All 17-inch configurations have 512 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)4 GB or 8 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots.
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)500 GB Serial ATA hard drive at 5400 or optional 7200 rpm; optional 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. All storage choices are available with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)Up to 24 hoursUp to 9 hours
Battery capacity99.6 Wh95 Wh
Weight2.14 kg2.99 kg
Thickness16.8 mm25 mm
Width × depth355.7 × 248.1 mm393 × 267 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 batteryBuilt-in lithium-polymer battery; Apple claims 8–9 hours of wireless productivity. 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 unibody enclosure and glass trackpad
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 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth5.32.1 + 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 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, Mini DisplayPort, ExpressCard/34 slot, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and optical digital audio output/headphone output.
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 displaySupports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 pixels alongside the built-in screen. DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI and third-party HDMI adapters are sold separately; HDMI carries audio.
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard, 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 with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate and three/four-finger gestures.
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; Spatial Audio with Dolby AtmosBuilt-in stereo speakers with subwoofers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with directional beamformingOmnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille; supports an iPhone headset microphone.
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, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with AC wall plug and power cord, display cleaning cloth, software DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife; Apple Remote and display adapters sold separately.

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