The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) offers a blend of premium build quality, high screen resolution, and strong battery life, ideal for professionals who need a portable yet powerful laptop with a focus on display and sound quality for multimedia work. Its performance is well-suited for general use and some engineering applications, but it may not excel in intensive gaming or heavy 3D/machine learning tasks due to moderate GPU capabilities.
The ASUS Vivobook 16X, on the other hand, provides greater raw computing power with a focus on engineering, 3D rendering, and machine learning, thanks to its advanced processor and dedicated graphics card. This makes it more suitable for users needing to perform resource-intensive tasks. However, it is heavier and offers less battery life, making it less portable. The Vivobook also typically comes at a lower price point than the MacBook Pro, making it a cost-effective option for power users who can forego some build quality and portability for better performance in demanding applications. 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 (Late 2023)
Very good for general use
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 keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Vivobook 16X
Good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
8.2/10
7.6/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
17.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
8.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.7/10
7.7/10
4.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS Vivobook 16X is good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is only fair.
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.
Content Creation
8.4/10
7.7/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X 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
8.2/10
7.4/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X 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
7.3/10
14.2in
SIZE
16.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 16X for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14's display is superior for general use and engineering due to its high resolution, bright panel, and wide color gamut coverage, ensuring crisp and vivid images essential for detailed design work. For 3D applications though, its lower refresh rate compared to specialized gaming laptops hinders smooth motion rendering. The ASUS Vivobook 16X offers decent resolution and satisfactory brightness for everyday tasks and engineering, but it also falls short in refresh rate, making it less ideal for fast-paced gaming or 3D modeling.
Battery
17.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 17 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook 16X has 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
16.0in
3.4 lbs
WEIGHT
4.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has very good portability, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X 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 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,499
$1,150
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has a price of $1,499 and the ASUS Vivobook 16X costs $1,150.
The ASUS Vivobook 16X and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is equipped with an Apple M3 processor and integrated graphics, which are capable for engineering tasks, paired with a high-resolution Mini LED screen for excellent visual clarity and color accuracy but is limited by its 8 GB RAM. On the other hand, the ASUS Vivobook 16X offers superior multitasking with 16 GB RAM, a powerful Intel i7-13700H CPU alongside a dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU, providing better performance for engineering software that requires intensive computations and graphics processing, but has a lower resolution IPS screen which may not deliver as sharp an image as the MacBook's display.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) and the ASUS Vivobook 16X 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."
"I think the ASUS Vivobook 16X is fantastic. Great performance, decent battery life, good keyboard and trackpad, and a massive screen – just that the screen quality itself is kinda subpar. If you’re okay with the screen, then I think this is an okay laptop. However, I’d like to see a price drop."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) or the ASUS Vivobook 16X
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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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.
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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.
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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.