The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) offers excellent performance, a high-quality display, and superior build quality, favored for creative tasks, while also being lightweight and having long-lasting battery life, making it ideal for portability and all-day use. However, it comes with a higher price tag. On the other hand, the MSI Katana 15 is tailored for gaming with a powerful graphics card, providing an edge for 3D rendering and gaming at a more affordable price, but may be bulkier and have shorter battery life, making it less suitable for frequent travel. Choose the MacBook Pro if you prioritize portability and build quality for productivity tasks, or the MSI Katana if gaming or cost-saving are your main concerns. 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
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 MSI Katana 15
The MSI Katana 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
7.5/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.9/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the MSI Katana 15 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) excels in CPU performance with its Apple M2 Pro chip, a higher screen resolution with Mini LED display for better screen quality, and significantly longer battery life, which also improves portability as it's lighter and thinner than the MSI Katana 15.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.6/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The MSI Katana 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) are both good for gaming and AI, though the MSI Katana 15 is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is well-suited for 3D applications with its powerful integrated Apple M2 Pro GPU and high-resolution Mini LED screen, but its MacOS may limit game compatibility. In contrast, the MSI Katana 15 is optimized for gaming with a discrete Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and a high refresh rate screen, running on Windows which supports a wider range of popular games.
Engineering and Design
8.4/10
7.7/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI Katana 15 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14, with its high-quality CPU, GPU, and superb screen quality, is an excellent choice for engineering and design, providing powerful performance and vivid display for professional work. The MSI Katana 15, while good for similar uses due to its competent CPU and dedicated GPU, may be less suitable for color-critical work as indicated by its lower screen color quality and shorter battery life, but gains an edge with its larger storage capacity and affordability.
Content Creation
8.5/10
7.4/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the MSI Katana 15 is 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
8.4/10
7.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for software development, while the MSI Katana 15 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
6.8/10
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
258.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the MSI Katana 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 boasts a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and color accuracy, making it excellent for general use and professional engineering and design tasks where detailed visuals and precise color representation are critical. However, it typically has a standard refresh rate which is not ideal for 3D applications where smoother motion representation is key. On the other hand, the MSI Katana 15 offers a decent display for everyday tasks and sufficient color gamut for some design work but falls short for gaming and 3D due to a less impressive refresh rate and screen qualities that don't match up to the higher standards of specialty laptops in those areas.
Battery
13.5 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Katana 15 has 4 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
Fair
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has very good portability, while the MSI Katana 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Katana 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
$949
$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 MSI Katana 15 costs $949.
"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 MSI Katana 15 B12 combines a Gen12 CPU with an RTX 4050, which is actually not a bad idea for a budget gamer. The CPU is anything but bad and the GPU in the Katana 15 proves to be significantly more efficient than last year's models. However, our main point of criticism for budget gamers is the price: while you can get budget laptops with RTX 3060 from around US$800, you pay a whole US$1,499.99 here! The efficiency advantages of the RTX 4050 do not justify this price premium."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) or the MSI Katana 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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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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