Investing in the MacBook Pro 16 (2023) gets you more screen real estate and a larger battery, which translates into longer battery life, making it beneficial for demanding tasks and multimedia work but less portable due to increased size and weight compared to the MacBook Pro 14 (2021). The latter is more budget-friendly and lighter, thus more suitable for on-the-go use while still delivering substantial performance for general and professional purposes. If your workload involves more intensive engineering, 3D, or machine learning tasks, the MacBook Pro 16's newer processor and better GPU could justify the higher cost and weight. However, for everyday use, travel, and mixed productivity, the MacBook Pro 14 still offers a high-quality experience at a more approachable price 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 14 (2021)
Very good portability
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
Excellent for general use
Good for gaming and AI
Excellent for content creation
Best in class battery life
Key differences
General Use
8.4/10
9.1/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
479.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
487.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
17.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is highly valued for general use due to its impressive combination of powerful CPU and RAM, high-quality Mini LED display, and excellent portability with very good battery life. In contrast, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) offers a larger screen, more storage, and an even longer battery life, with an evolved CPU and graphics performance that make it well-suited for more demanding tasks, though it is slightly less portable due to its larger size and weight.
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
7.4/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.8/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is suitable for 3D tasks with its M1 Pro chip that includes a 14-core GPU, whereas the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) boasts a more powerful M2 Pro chip featuring a 19-core GPU, providing better performance for 3D rendering. Both have high screen refresh rates of 120Hz essential for smooth visuals, but the superior GPU in the MacBook Pro 16 lends it an edge for more demanding 3D work.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
8.8/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) offers a solid balance of high-quality CPU, GPU, and RAM suitable for engineering and design, with a Mini LED screen providing excellent color accuracy and brightness. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) builds on this with a more powerful CPU and GPU setup, a larger and higher resolution display, while maintaining high-quality RAM and screen quality; however, it is slightly less portable due to its larger size and weight.
Content Creation
8.4/10
9.1/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is very 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
8.3/10
8.9/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) are both very good for software development, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is somewhat better.
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
9.2/10
9.3/10
14.2in
SIZE
16.2in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
487.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 14 for content creation, and software development.
The MacBook Pro 14 and 16 boast high-resolution displays with outstanding brightness and color accuracy, which ensures crisp and vibrant visuals for everyday general use and detailed work in engineering and design, where faithful color reproduction is crucial for precision. However, their screens have standard refresh rates, which are less suited for 3D applications that benefit from higher refresh rates for smoother motion and better user experience. Nevertheless, the panel quality and resolution still contribute to a decent viewing experience for 3D content, although not optimized for high-end gaming or professional 3D rendering where refresh rates are key.
Battery
13.5 Hours
17.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 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
14.2in
SIZE
16.2in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.7 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
"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."
"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 14 (2021) or the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (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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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.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
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.