Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023)
Excellent for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Excellent for software development
Excellent 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 Razer Blade 18
The Razer Blade 18 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
9.4/10
8.5/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
524.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.1/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is excellent for general use, while the Razer Blade 18 is very 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
8.3/10
8.9/10
8.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
The Razer Blade 18 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) are both very good for gaming and AI, though the Razer Blade 18 is somewhat better.
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
9.4/10
8.6/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
36.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is excellent for content creation, while the Razer Blade 18 is very 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
9.3/10
8.5/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
36.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) is excellent for software development, while the Razer Blade 18 is very 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
8.9/10
14.2in
SIZE
18.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
524.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Razer Blade 18 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Razer Blade 18 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
13.5 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 18 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
18.0in
3.6 lbs
WEIGHT
6.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has very good portability, while the Razer Blade 18 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Razer Blade 18 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) to be best in class for engineering and design, while the Razer Blade 18 is excellent.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Cost
$3,199
$3,200
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) has a price of $3,199 and the Razer Blade 18 costs $3,200.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) and the Razer Blade 18 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."
"Razer made a powerful laptop in the Blade 18, showing off a beautiful and fast display and the same high-quality build we’ve come to expect from this product line. It’s also quite expensive, which is hardly a surprise, but bears repeating even in this price range. It’s pricier than the Scar 18 despite an inferior GPU and half the storage, so you really have to want the Blade 18’s design to justify the cost."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (Late 2023) or the Razer Blade 18
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 Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
110,895
Recommendations made
24,028
Consumer hours saved
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.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
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.
Craig Russell
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.