The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is an excellent choice if portability, long battery life, and high-quality build are priorities for you; however, it comes at a higher cost. It's also well-suited for general use, especially if you prefer macOS. The Laptop boasts a great screen and speaker quality. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aero 16 offers superior performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks due to its powerful NVIDIA graphics card. It also provides more storage and a richer display in terms of colors, making it ideal for content creators. However, it is heavier, with shorter battery life, and it runs on Windows, which may matter if you prefer one operating system over the other. 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 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
The Gigabyte Aero 16 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
8.0/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
368.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.1/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and Gigabyte Aero 16 are both very good for general use, though the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 features a high-quality screen, long battery life, and excellent portability, making it very suitable for general use. The Gigabyte Aero 16, while also good for general use, is heavier with a shorter battery life but offers a larger screen and more storage, which could be beneficial for certain tasks.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.8/10
5.2/10
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 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) are both good for gaming and AI, though the Gigabyte Aero 16 is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 with its high-refresh-rate Mini LED screen and integrated Apple M2 Pro GPU suits 3D work but is limited for gaming due to fewer compatible titles. In contrast, the Gigabyte Aero 16 is ideal for gaming and 3D with its dedicated Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and OLED screen, albeit with a standard refresh rate; it runs Windows, which supports a broader range of games.
Software Development
8.4/10
7.9/10
7.8/10
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
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is 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.
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
489.0 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, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14's screen boasts high resolution and vivid brightness, combined with a wide color gamut, providing crisp and accurate visuals ideal for general use and professional design tasks, but its standard refresh rate is not optimal for 3D applications where smoother motion is key. The Gigabyte Aero 16 also offers a high-resolution, bright display with excellent coverage of professional color spaces, making it suitable for precise engineering and design work, yet like the MacBook, it falls short for gaming and 3D due to a lower refresh rate. For users heavily involved in 3D work, gaming, or any scenario where fast motion is prevalent, a laptop with a high refresh rate would be a better fit than either of these models.
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 (2023) 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 (2023) 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
$1,700
$1,260
$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 Gigabyte Aero 16 costs $1,260.
The Gigabyte Aero 16 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 boasts a capable Apple M2 Pro chip with integrated GPU that excels in optimized applications, coupled with its exceptional Mini LED screen offering high brightness and color accuracy, making it perfect for engineering and design tasks that rely on Apple's ecosystem.
Content Creation
8.5/10
8.2/10
7.8/10
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 (2023) 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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) 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 (2023) 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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