Apple MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011) vs Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011) compared with MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)	AppleMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2011	June 2012
Display
Screen size
Screen size	17″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1200	2880 × 1800 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	17-inch LED-backlit glossy or optional antiglare display at 1920 × 1200. Exact panel technology, brightness and refresh rate are unpublished in the maker sources read.	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 Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.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	–	220 ppi
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i7 2.2 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2011) or Intel Core i7 2.3 GHz (MacBook Pro Early 2011)	Intel Core i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	AMD Radeon HD 6750M (1 GB GDDR5) + Intel HD Graphics 3000	NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	4 GB or 8 GB	8 GB or 16 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	128 GB to 750 GB	256 GB to 768 GB (better)
CPU
CPU	Quad-core Intel Core i7 at 2.2 GHz with 6 MB shared L3 cache or optional 2.3 GHz with 8 MB. Generic maker-clock records avoid an unverified Intel SKU assumption. TechRadar identifies Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz for the tested 2.2 GHz model; unpublished optional-processor peak clocks are omitted.	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	AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1 GB GDDR5 plus Intel HD Graphics 3000 using at least 384 MB shared DDR3 memory; automatic graphics switching.	Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1 GB GDDR5 memory; automatic graphics switching
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB or 8 GB of 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM in two SO-DIMM slots.	8 GB of 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB at purchase
Storage type
Storage type	750 GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 500 GB 7200-rpm hard drive or 128 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD with either processor. 8× SuperDrive with double-layer DVD writing.	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 7 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	95 Wh	95 Wh
Weight
Weight	2.99 kg	2.02 kg (better)
Thickness
Thickness	25 mm	18 mm (better)
Width × depth
Width × depth	393 × 267 mm	358.9 × 247.1 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Built-in lithium-polymer battery; up to seven hours in Apple wireless-web testing. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.	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	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter	85 W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter with cable management
Materials
Materials	Aluminium unibody enclosure and glass trackpad	Aluminium enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, headphone jack, MagSafe	2 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt, MagSafe 2, headphone jack, SD card slot, HDMI
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	AirPort Extreme 802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	FaceTime HD camera (720p, Macworld)	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	One Thunderbolt port up to 10 Gbps, three USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, MagSafe, ExpressCard/34, separate combined optical digital audio input/line input and optical digital audio output/headphone output. No SD card slot.	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	Supports an external display up to 2560 × 1600 alongside the built-in screen. Thunderbolt provides native Mini DisplayPort output; optional DVI, VGA or dual-link DVI adapters and third-party HDMI adapters provide other connections.	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 keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys and four arrow keys.	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate and three/four-finger gestures.	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers with subwoofers	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Omnidirectional microphone under the left speaker grille; supports an iPhone headset microphone.	Dual microphones
In the box
In the box	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, iLife ’11 and FaceTime; Apple Remote and display adapters sold separately.	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