The choice between the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Gigabyte Aero 16 depends on your priorities. The MacBook Pro offers high-quality build, excellent keyboard, and impressive screen brightness, with better battery life, making it suitable for general use and professionals needing color accuracy for work, such as photo editing or design, while being more portable. The Aero 16, with its larger OLED screen, superior storage capacity, and gaming-class graphics, is tailored more towards high-performance tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and intensive gaming, although it is heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable. If you prefer MacOS and value screen quality and battery life for general use, go for the MacBook Pro. However, for more demanding applications, especially if gaming or engineering tasks are important and you're okay with Windows, the Aero 16 may be your better option. 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 for software development
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aero 16
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
7.8/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The Gigabyte Aero 16 is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 features an M1 Pro chip with an integrated 14-core GPU and a high-refresh-rate Mini LED screen, making it suitable for 3D tasks where high refresh rates and color accuracy are crucial, but its macOS could limit compatibility with many popular games. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aero 16 offers a potent combination of an Intel i7 processor and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, paired with an OLED display that has a standard refresh rate, optimizing it for gaming and 3D work on Windows, with broader game support.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
8.4/10
14.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
479.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aero 16 for general use, AI, engineering and design, and software development.
For general use, the MacBook Pro 14's display offers a high resolution and brightness, ensuring sharp text and vivid images, while the Gigabyte Aero 16's slightly lower brightness offers strong visuals but not as brilliant as the MacBook. When it comes to engineering and design, both laptops provide wide color gamuts for accurate color representation, with the MacBook sealing the edge in overall color fidelity preferred by professionals. However, for 3D applications where high refresh rates are crucial, neither laptop excels, as both are designed with screens that prioritize resolution and color over the faster refresh rates that 3D gaming and rendering tasks typically demand.
Battery
13.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aero 16 has 7 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
16.0in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has very good portability, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,905
$1,260
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) has a price of $1,905 and the Gigabyte Aero 16 costs $1,260.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Gigabyte Aero 16 are both very good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14, with its efficient M1 Pro chip, is known for exceptional battery life and portability, making it highly suitable for general use, enhanced further by its top-notch screen and keyboard quality. Conversely, the Gigabyte Aero 16 offers substantially more storage and a high-quality OLED screen, but with less battery life and a heavier build, it trades some portability and endurance for those seeking more space and vivid visuals for tasks like video editing or design work.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
8.6/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) excels in engineering and design with its efficient Apple M1 Pro processor and a bright Mini LED screen with high color accuracy, which is ideal for detailed visual work, but it's significantly lighter and more portable than the Gigabyte Aero 16, which may favor on-the-go users. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aero 16 boasts a larger, high-resolution OLED screen and a powerful Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU that better supports graphics-intensive tasks and may suit users who prioritize screen real estate and graphical horsepower over portability.
Content Creation
8.4/10
8.2/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Gigabyte Aero 16 are both very 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
8.3/10
7.9/10
6.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) to be very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aero 16 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and the Gigabyte Aero 16 compare to other laptops
"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 Gigabyte Aero 16 is a workstation laptop for light gaming. It's design is still muted, with a silver chassis alongside a black keyboard and trackpad that provides some contrast. The Gigabyte Aero’s full-size chiclet-style keyboard is enjoyable to type on thanks to its snappy feel and responsiveness. The 4K+ AMOLED display is good, but it could be better. It doesn’t handle true black very well and suffers from strong reflections and glare. The Gigabyte Aero excels at productivity performance and can keep up with other gaming laptops in 1080p. But it has very few ports and its refresh rate leaves a bit to be desired."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) or the Gigabyte Aero 16
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 Gigabyte
Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.
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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