The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) offers a higher price but comes with greater storage, more RAM, and a more powerful in-house processor and graphics unit, resulting in better performance for intensive tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, or engineering software. It boasts a Mini LED display with a higher resolution and refresh rate, which provides excellent color accuracy and image quality ideal for creative professionals. The MacBook Pro is also known for its extensive battery life, ensuring prolonged usage.
On the other hand, the ASUS Vivobook 15 is more affordable with a less powerful processor and integrated graphics, making it suitable for general use such as web browsing, office applications, and media consumption. Its IPS display delivers good color and image quality at a standard resolution. Despite having a larger screen size, its battery life is shorter than the MacBook Pro's.
In terms of build quality, keyboard, speakers, and portability, the MacBook Pro generally outperforms the Vivobook. The MacBook also has a higher-quality webcam, which is better for video conferencing. With more USB-C ports, including Thunderbolt 4, the MacBook offers better connectivity for peripherals.
If portability, performance, and high-quality display are top priorities and you are willing to invest more, the MacBook Pro is the better choice. However, if your needs are centered around general use and you prefer to save money, the Vivobook 15 is a competent and budget-friendly 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 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
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 ASUS Vivobook 15
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
6.5/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
250.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 is equipped with a powerful CPU, more RAM, a superior Mini LED display, and a longer battery life, making it highly suitable for general use with its better performance and screen quality. On the other hand, the ASUS Vivobook 15, while being more affordable, offers less RAM, a standard IPS screen, shorter battery life, and mid-range CPU performance, resulting in a fair rating for general use compared to the MacBook Pro's capabilities.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
5.9/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is poor.
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
8.4/10
6.1/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) excels in engineering and design scenarios primarily due to its superior CPU and GPU, more RAM, and high-quality Mini LED screen, which offer strong performance and vivid display for complex tasks. Conversely, the ASUS Vivobook 15, while more affordable, provides moderate performance with lesser CPU and GPU capabilities, less RAM, and an IPS screen with lower resolution and color coverage, making it suitable for more basic engineering and design activities.
Content Creation
8.5/10
6.4/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
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
8.4/10
6.5/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 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
9.2/10
6.3/10
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
250.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The MacBook Pro 14 with its high-resolution, bright display and wide color gamuts offers sharp visuals and accurate colors, making it ideal for both general use and professional engineering or design work where detail and color fidelity are crucial. The ASUS Vivobook 15 provides an adequate display for everyday tasks and sufficient quality for basic engineering or design, but its screen specifications don't match those of the MacBook, so users who prioritize those attributes might prefer the MacBook despite its higher cost. However, neither of these laptops has a particularly high refresh rate, which is essential for smooth 3D rendering and gaming, suggesting that users focused on those areas might look for alternative models specifically tailored for those purposes.
Battery
13.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook 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
Good
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
3.7 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has very good portability, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,700
$529
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has a price of $1,700 and the ASUS Vivobook 15 costs $529.
"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 Asus VivoBook 15 is a quiet office notebook with a strong screen. However, the VivoBook 15 still has room for improvement. Office and internet applications as well as simple games do not pose any major challenges for the VivoBook - this is ensured by the built-in combination of Ryzen 7 5700U APU and 16 GB of RAM. Heat and noise emissions are acceptable. But, the laptop has weaknesses that should not be present at this level: lack of keyboard lighting, a slow memory card reader, no fast USB-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 4) with Power Delivery and DisplayPort. Battery runtimes can only be described as average."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) or the ASUS Vivobook 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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