The Apple MacBook Pro 13 with its Apple M2 chip is a good fit for general use and offers silent operation with long battery life, making it highly portable. It lacks a touchscreen, however, its display is of high quality with a focus on color accuracy. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15, powered by an AMD Ryzen processor and Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics, is a better choice for tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering software. It has a larger OLED touchscreen, more RAM, and more storage but has a lower battery life and is heavier, which affects portability. The MacBook is preferable for everyday tasks and working on the go, while the Zenbook offers higher performance for specialized applications but at the expense of battery life and portability. 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 (2022)
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 15
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022).
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.6/10
7.6/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
346.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 for software development.
When considering laptops for general use, both the Apple MacBook Pro and the ASUS Zenbook Pro boast high-resolution displays with bright, clear panels, making text sharp and colors vibrant, which is ideal for browsing, video playback, and document editing. For engineering and design professionals, these laptops offer wide color gamuts, ensuring that the displayed colors are accurate and consistent, a key aspect for tasks like photo editing and graphic design. However, for 3D applications and gaming, both laptops may fall short due to their lower refresh rates, which might not be as smooth for fast-moving visuals compared to laptops designed specifically for gaming or 3D rendering.
Battery
20.0 Hours
12.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has 12.5 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
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has very good portability, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,219
$1,109
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) has a price of $1,219 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 costs $1,109.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) and ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) with its Apple M2 CPU, high-resolution IPS screen, and long battery life ensures smooth general use with excellent portability, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 offers a larger and vibrant OLED touchscreen, more storage, and a higher RAM configuration, better catering to those who prioritize a larger working space and multitasking capabilities, albeit with reduced battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
6.7/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.8/10
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
6.5/10
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) is limited in running many popular games because it operates on MacOS, which is not supported by some game titles, and uses an integrated GPU that is less powerful compared to dedicated gaming GPUs. On the other hand, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 includes a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU, which is better suited for gaming and 3D tasks; however, both laptops have similar screen refresh rates, which may not be optimal for high-level gaming experiences.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
7.5/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) are both good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13, with its efficient M2 chip, is suitable for engineering and design due to solid performance and screen quality, despite lesser RAM and graphics capabilities relative to ASUS Zenbook Pro 15, which boasts ample RAM and a powerful AMD CPU paired with Nvidia graphics, enhancing performance for graphically demanding tasks.
Content Creation
7.9/10
7.7/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) and ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 are both good for content creation.
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
7.5/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) and ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 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 (2022) and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 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."
"The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 offers a strong CPU, chassis, and display. One of the most popular 15.6-inch prosumer or multimedia laptops out there is the Dell XPS 15. Thus, comparisons between it and the Asus Zenbook Pro 15 are inevitable. Asus has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that XPS users are still missing out on including 1080p OLED and an AMD Ryzen CPU which help separate the Zenbook Pro 15 from the XPS 15. It also integrates a numpad and a few more port options albeit at the cost of a larger chassis size."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) or the ASUS Zenbook Pro 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 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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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
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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
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.