Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the MSI Bravo 15 depends heavily on your needs. The MacBook Pro offers a higher screen resolution, better build quality, and longer battery life, making it ideal for productivity tasks and everyday use. Its lightweight design enhances portability, and it operates silently without a fan. On the other hand, the MSI Bravo 15 has a powerful dedicated graphics card and a high-refresh-rate screen, making it more suitable for gaming and tasks like 3D rendering or machine learning. It also offers more storage space but is heavier and has a shorter battery life, reducing its portability. The MacBook is typically more expensive, while the MSI Bravo provides a more budget-friendly option with sufficient performance for demanding tasks. 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)
Good for software development
Good overall display quality
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 MSI Bravo 15
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
7.7/10
7.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
491.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
267.0 nits
20.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.9/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Bravo 15 are both good for general use, though the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is highly valued for general use due to its strong CPU performance with the Apple M1 chip, high screen quality with excellent color coverage, and a lightweight design that enhances portability and a long battery life. In contrast, the MSI Bravo 15 offers larger storage and a fair portability score, but it falls short with a lower resolution screen, less impressive color coverage, a bulkier build which affects portability, and a substantially shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
7.2/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The MSI Bravo 15 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has an integrated GPU within its Apple M1 chip, which provides decent 3D capabilities for design and some lightweight gaming, with the tradeoff of being not as well suited for popular games that do not run on macO.
Content Creation
7.8/10
7.1/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Bravo 15 are both good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is somewhat better.
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
6.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good for software development, while the MSI Bravo 15 is only fair.
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
6.9/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
267.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the MSI Bravo 15 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a high-resolution Retina display with bright, vibrant colors, making it excellent for general use and engineering tasks where color accuracy, such as DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, is crucial. However, its standard refresh rate is lower than what's preferred for 3D applications, which require faster screen updates for smooth rendering. The MSI Bravo 15 offers decent resolution and brightness for everyday tasks but falls short in color representation for professional engineering and design work, and its modest refresh rate isn't ideal for the high-frame-rate demands of Gaming and 3D content.
Battery
20.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The MSI Bravo 15 has 6 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
Fair
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has very good portability, while the MSI Bravo 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Bravo 15 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,249
$862
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the MSI Bravo 15 costs $862.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and MSI Bravo 15 are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) excels in design and engineering due to its high-resolution display, color accuracy, good keyboard, superior build quality, and silent operation, all packed into a lighter and thinner form factor, enhancing portability.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the MSI Bravo 15 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."
"Overall, the MSI Bravo 15 C7U is a great gaming device for the masses that isn’t too pricey. The capable hardware (for the price range), the 144Hz display, and the comfortable keyboard are one of the things that should attract buyers who don’t want to spend a fortune on a new gaming laptop."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the MSI Bravo 15
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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