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MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
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Aorus 15P
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What we think

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Updated January 10, 2024·

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is designed for professionals seeking a balance between performance and portability with a higher emphasis on display quality, boasting a Mini LED screen that makes it excellent for color-related tasks. It offers a strong battery life and a lightweight design, which contributes to its portability. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is tailored for high-end gaming and intensive 3D tasks with its powerful Nvidia GPU, making it more suitable for engineering applications. Despite being of a similar weight, its battery life is much shorter than the MacBook's, which affects its portability for long periods away from a power source. Both have ample RAM and are priced similarly but cater to different user needs – the MacBook favors creators and everyday users, while the Aorus 15P gears towards gamers and engineers requiring more graphical horsepower. 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 16 (2021)
  • Excellent for general use
  • Very good for software development
  • Very good for content creation
  • Excellent overall display quality
  • Best in class overall build quality
  • Best in class battery life
  • Best in class speakers
  • Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 15P
  • The Gigabyte Aorus 15P has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021).

Key differences

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General Use

9.0
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
7.9
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is good.

Gaming and AI

7.0
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
7.8
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Gigabyte Aorus 15P and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) are both good for gaming and AI, though the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is somewhat better.

Content Creation

8.8
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
7.8
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is good.

Software Development

8.9
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
7.3
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is good.

Screen Quality

9.4
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
8.1
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 15P for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.

Battery

17.5 Hours
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 15P has 5 hours of battery life.

Portability

Good
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
Good
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.8 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Gigabyte Aorus 15P both have good portability, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

10.0
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
7.4
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P has good build quality.
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Key similarities

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Engineering and Design

8.7
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
8.3
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Gigabyte Aorus 15P are both very good for engineering and design.

Cost

$1,949
MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Aorus 15P
$1,950
Product imageProduct image

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has a price of $1,949 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15P costs $1,950.

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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Gigabyte Aorus 15P compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)Gigabyte Aorus 15P
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)Gigabyte Aorus 15P

GENERAL

Price
$1,949
$1,950
Release Date
October 1, 2021October 1, 2021
Overall Dimensions
14'' x 9.8'' x 0.66''14'' x 9.6'' x 1.06''
Weight
4.7 lbs4.8 lbs
Width
14.01"14"
Depth
9.77"9.6"

INTERNAL

Processor
Apple M1 Pro (10C)Intel i7-11800H
RAM
32 GB32 GB
DDR Memory Version
54
RAM Slots
02
Storage
512 GB1024 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
17.5 Hours5 Hours
Battery Capacity
99.6 Wh99 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
16.2"15.6"
Display Technology
Mini LEDIPS
Resolution
3456 x 22341920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
120Hz300Hz
Display Brightness
497 nits280 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
10/107.4/10
Portability Score
7.6/107/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoYes
Premium Business Laptop
YesNo
Fan Noise Score
8.8/106.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
9.5/108/10
Speaker Quality Score
10/107.5/10
Webcam
1080p720p
Fingerprint Reader
YesNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
NoYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
03
USB-C ports
31
USB-C Charging
YesNo
Display Outputs
23
Thunderbolt Version
44

Shopping

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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Andreas Osthoff | February 2023
"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."

Gigabyte Aorus 15P

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Mike Wobker | June 2021
"The Aorus 15P is a high-end gaming laptop with fast 360 Hz display. Gaming performance in the Aorus 15P YD is very high thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 installed here. However, with the use of the Intel Core i7-11800H, CPU performance also closes in on the strong competition from AMD. SSD performance is excellent as well, and it leaves no room for criticism. Thanks to the built-in Intel Core i7-11800H, the system performance of the Aorus 15P YD increases significantly."

Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the Gigabyte Aorus 15P

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 Gigabyte

Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.

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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.

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.

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