Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006) vs Apple PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

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MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006) compared with PowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)

	AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2006)	ApplePowerBook G4 17-inch (Early 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2006	March 2003
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	1680 × 1050 (better)	1440 × 900
Brightness
Brightness	300 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Widescreen 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 Exact panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the maker sources read.	17-inch TFT widescreen; exact panel technology, brightness and built-in refresh unpublished.
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core Duo 2.16 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2006)	PowerPC G4 1 GHz (PowerBook 17-inch Early 2003)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
Graphics
Graphics	ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB DDR)
Memory
Memory	1 GB or 2 GB (better)	512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	100 GB to 120 GB (better)	60 GB
CPU
CPU	Dual-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.	1 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 1 MB DDR SRAM L3 cache and 167 MHz system bus. Exact silicon supplier/SKU omitted.
GPU
GPU	ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 (256 MB GDDR3)	NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go, AGP 4 × with 64 MB DDR video memory.
Memory type
Memory type	667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots; 1 GB standard, configurable to 2 GB.	512 MB PC2700 DDR333 standard; two SO-DIMM slots and maker-supported maximum 1 GB. Unofficial 2 GB in EveryMac is excluded from configurations.
Storage type
Storage type	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.	60 GB 4200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 and slot-loading SuperDrive. Maker UK launch sheet specifies DVD-R 1 × write/8 × read, CD-R 8 × write, CD-RW 4 × write and CD 24 × read; later EveryMac 2 × DVD-R and Macworld 16 × CD-R figures differ, so launch maker specification retained.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 5.5 hours	Up to 4.5 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	68 Wh (better)	55 Wh
Weight
Weight	3.1 kg	3.1 kg
Thickness
Thickness	25.9 mm (better)	26 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	392 × 265 mm	392 × 259 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Removable 68 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 5.5 hours in Apple’s test. Maker reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	55 Wh lithium-ion, up to 4.5 hours maker claim. Published 3.1 kg includes battery and optical drive and varies by configuration/manufacturing process; closed metric dimensions 39.2 × 25.9 × 2.6 cm.
Charger
Charger	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure	Anodised aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme 802.11g	AirPort Extreme 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	1.1
Webcam
Webcam	Built-in iSight camera	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	3 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.	Two 12 Mbps USB 1.1 ports, one FireWire 400 and one FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, Type I/II PC Card/CardBus, DVI, S-video, line input and headphone output. Support table mislabels FireWire MBps; UK sheet explicitly states Mbps.
External displays
External displays	One external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen through dual-link DVI; included VGA adapter, optional composite/S-video adapter.	Dual display or mirroring up to 2048 × 1536 externally; DVI and included VGA/composite adapters.
Keyboard
Keyboard	Full-size backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors, 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys; embedded numeric keypad	Full-size keyboard with fibre-optic backlighting and ambient light control; 79 ISO keys and embedded numeric keypad.
Trackpad
Trackpad	Scrolling trackpad with a separate button; two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap and drag.	–
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers	Two built-in stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille	Internal omnidirectional microphone under left speaker grille
In the box
In the box	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.	65 W power adapter, cord, modem cable, DVI-to-VGA and S-video-to-composite adapters. January announcement expected February; Macworld reported actual customer arrivals in March 2003. Month retained without inventing first delivery day.