The MacBook Pro 13 (2020) offers portability, a high-resolution display, and efficient performance with its Apple M1 chip, making it suitable for general use and professional tasks that can benefit from its high-quality screen and silent operation. It's also known for its longer battery life. On the other hand, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has a larger screen and superior hardware like an AMD Ryzen 9 processor and Nvidia graphics, which better suits demanding tasks such as 3D rendering, machine learning, or engineering software. However, this comes at the cost of portability and battery life. If work and travel convenience are priorities, the MacBook might be preferable, while if raw performance and larger screen size for complex tasks are crucial, the ASUS might be a better fit. 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)
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
8.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
20.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.1/10
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 is very good for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is suitable for general use with its high-resolution retina display, efficient M1 chip for CPU tasks, and lightweight design enhancing portability and long battery life. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 offers a larger screen with ample storage and more RAM, which is favorable for demanding tasks, but it is less portable due to its larger size and heavier weight and has a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
6.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 is somewhat better.
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
8.1/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is equipped with an Apple M1 chip that integrates CPU and GPU functions efficiently for engineering and design tasks, has excellent screen quality with high brightness and color accuracy, and is lighter for better portability. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has a stronger AMD Ryzen CPU and a dedicated Nvidia RTX GPU, making it better for more demanding engineering software and advanced design work, but it's heavier and has a larger screen, which may affect portability.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.2/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 for general use, AI, and engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has a better screen for software development.
When considering screen quality for general use, the MacBook Pro 13's Retina display offers high resolution and brightness, leading to sharp images and good visibility in various lighting conditions; the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 also provides a bright, high-resolution display but may not match the MacBook's visual fidelity. For engineering and design tasks, the MacBook Pro 13 excels with its wide color gamut, including DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, which ensures accurate color representation, while the Zenbook Pro 17, though offering a good range of colors, may not provide the same level of color precision. However, for 3D applications, the MacBook Pro 13 falls short due to its lower refresh rate, resulting in less fluid motion, whereas the ASUS, while still not ideal for gaming or 3D due to a similarly low refresh rate, may offer slightly better performance because of a different panel type that can handle motion better.
Battery
20.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has 9 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
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
5.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,249
$1,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 costs $1,500.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 to be 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
7.9/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for software development.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 compare to other laptops
"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."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17
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.
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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