The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is good.
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.
Screen Quality
9.4/10
8.7/10
16.2in
SIZE
14.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
424.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 for general use, AI, engineering and design, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
17.5 Hours
9.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 has 9.5 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
Good
Very Good
16.2in
SIZE
14.0in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) 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 16 (2021) to be excellent for general use, while the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) 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.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
9.1/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) to be excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good.
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
8.8/10
8.9/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) 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.
Software Development
8.9/10
8.5/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) are both very good for software development.
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.
Cost
$1,999
$2,000
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has a price of $1,999 and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) costs $2,000.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) 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."
"The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 offers an impressive package. Asus improves the performance of the new 2023 ROG Zephyrus G14 considerable and offers a very powerful 14-inch notebook with plenty of performance for gamers and content creators. The high-quality chassis is unchanged from last year, but is now equipped with the latest and greatest from AMD as well as Nvidia. The Mini-LED panel also puts up a convincing performance in pretty much every regard, even though the MacBook Pro 14 still offers superior brightness values. The panel works extremely well for gaming and the included color profiles offer very accurate colors."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)
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
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
93,495
Recommendations made
20,258
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.