If price sensitivity is a key factor for you, the MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is a smarter choice as it's notably less expensive. However, you'll sacrifice screen size, performance, and newer features. The MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023), while more costly, offers a larger, better-quality display, significantly stronger performance suitable for demanding tasks like 3D work, machine learning, or heavy multitasking, and it has a more future-proof design with additional ports. Its larger battery allows for longer usage, but it's less portable due to its increased size and weight. Consider the 13-inch model for general use and portability, and the 16-inch if high performance and screen real estate are priorities despite the higher price. 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 Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020)
Very good portability
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
487.0 nits
20.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
17.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The MacBook Pro 13 (2020) offers a balance of performance, battery life, and portability with an Apple M1 CPU and 8GB RAM, making it well-suited for general tasks; however, its smaller screen and lower screen quality compared to the MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) may be less appealing for those who prioritize display and increased CPU and RAM, which the latter includes alongside better speaker and keyboard quality, although it is less portable and has slightly less battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
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.
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
6.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
18.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design due to its superior CPU (Apple M3 Pro vs. Apple M1), higher RAM capacity, and more powerful GPU, which are crucial for intensive tasks, and the Mini LED screen offers better contrast and higher resolution for detailed work. The MacBook Pro 13 (2020), while portable and boasting silent operation thanks to its fanless design, offers less raw performance and a smaller screen, making it good but not as optimal for demanding engineering and design applications where screen real estate and computational power are paramount.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
8.0 GB
RAM
18.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) 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
7.8/10
8.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
18.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) 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
7.6/10
9.3/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.2in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
487.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 for general use, AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a high-resolution display with great brightness and color accuracy, making it excellent for browsing, streaming, and productivity. On the other hand, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) ups the ante with a larger, even more vibrant and brighter screen, which is more immersive, plus wider color gamut coverage that's ideal for precise engineering and design work. However, neither are geared towards 3D applications as they lack the high refresh rates needed for fluid motion and fast-paced rendering.
Battery
20.0 Hours
17.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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
Very Good
Good
13.3in
SIZE
16.2in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.7 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,249
$2,299
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) costs $2,299.
"The MacBook Pro 13 is still a very good subnotebook. The 2022 MacBook Pro 13 might look like recycling at first, because the device is completely identical to the old model expect for the new M2 SoC. We have to admit that we were surprised to see another iteration of the MBP 13 as well. The laptop is obviously familiar, but this does not change the fact that it is still a very good subnotebook. You get an excellent chassis with good stability, a very good display, good input devices and the new M2 chip is very powerful and efficient."
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
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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