If you prioritize gaming or need specialized software for creativity that relies on high-end graphics, the Acer Nitro 16 with its dedicated graphics card would serve you better. However, the Apple MacBook Pro 14 is known for its superior build quality, longer battery life, and is favored by professionals in fields like music production, video editing, and software development, particularly those who prefer macOS or need to use Apple-exclusive applications. It’s also more lightweight and has a higher resale value, but it comes at a higher price point. Choose the Acer for gaming and more demanding graphics tasks at a lower cost, or the MacBook Pro if you need a premium experience, better battery life, and work within the Apple ecosystem. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Nitro 16
Very good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
8.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
494.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
489.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
13.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
8.0/10
7.0/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Acer Nitro 16 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is good.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.5/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
8.4/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Acer Nitro 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
8.3/10
9.2/10
16.0in
SIZE
14.2in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
494.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
489.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Acer Nitro 16 for general use, AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the Apple MacBook Pro 14 excels with a high-resolution, bright display offering crisp visuals, while the Acer Nitro 16 also has a good screen but may not be as vibrant and sharp. For engineering and design tasks, both laptops have quality screens with wide color gamuts, ensuring accurate color representation, with the MacBook Pro edging ahead with its superior color accuracy and range. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both fall short due to lower refresh rates, which are crucial for smooth motion and graphics in fast-paced scenarios.
Battery
9.0 Hours
13.5 Hours
The Acer Nitro 16 has 9 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Fair
Very Good
16.0in
SIZE
14.2in
5.9 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has very good portability, while the Acer Nitro 16 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
10.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Nitro 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,050
$1,700
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Acer Nitro 16 has a price of $1,050 and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) costs $1,700.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and Acer Nitro 16 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Acer Nitro 16, with its powerful AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, excels at graphics-intensive engineering and design tasks, while its IPS screen offers a good mix of color accuracy and brightness necessary for detailed work. On the other hand, the Apple MacBook Pro 14 benefits from the efficient M2 Pro chip and an excellent Mini LED display providing exceptional color accuracy and contrast, plus its lighter build and longer battery life make it highly portable for on-the-go professionals.
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How the Acer Nitro 16 and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) compare to other laptops
"Video editing, rendering and, of course, gaming represent the Nitro 16's core competencies with a Ryzen 7 7735HS and GeForce RTX 4070 providing the necessary power. Both chips run at consistently high clock speeds. A fast PCIe 4 SSD (1 TB) provides the required storage space and ensures short loading times. With the Nitro 16 AN16-41, Acer has a well-specced, mid-range gaming laptop in its portfolio."
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 16 or the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
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