Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019)
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook 14
Very good portability
Key differences
General Use
7.8/10
6.4/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
477.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
250.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
7.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is only fair.
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.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
6.3/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 is only fair.
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.
Content Creation
8.0/10
6.8/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 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
7.9/10
6.4/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 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
7.8/10
6.7/10
16.0in
SIZE
14.0in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
477.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
250.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook 14 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
12.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 12 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook 14 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
Good
Very Good
16.0in
SIZE
14.0in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
2.9 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The ASUS Zenbook 14 has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and ASUS Zenbook 14 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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.
Cost
$569
$570
$300
$400
$500
$600
$700
$800
$900
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has a price of $569 and the ASUS Zenbook 14 costs $570.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and the ASUS Zenbook 14 compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
"Users who travel frequently and are looking for a portable laptop are in the right place with the Asus ZenBook 14. The sleek case is extremely light (1.2 kg) and surprisingly thin (1.5 cm). Outdoor use is also enjoyable thanks to the bright Full HD display, which is something that can rarely be said about laptops with TN or IPS panels. The excellent battery life complements this as well. Longer trips are no problem with the ZenBook 14. Another plus point is the high-performance Ryzen 7 5700U, which often leaves the Intel competition in the dust thanks to its large number of cores."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) or the ASUS Zenbook 14
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
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Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
74,595
Recommendations made
16,163
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.