The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) offers high performance, excellent build quality, and a sharp, color-accurate screen, making it ideal for professionals in video editing, graphic design, and music production. It also boasts a long battery life and a sleek, portable design but comes with a higher price tag. On the other hand, the HP 17" Laptop generally provides more affordable pricing, a larger screen, and oftentimes a variety of ports for connectivity; however, it may lack the advanced performance capabilities of the MacBook and is bulkier, which reduces portability. For general use and tasks like office work or web browsing, the HP may suffice and save you money, while the MacBook Pro is more tailored for demanding creative or engineering tasks. Consider what you value more: high performance and portability or a larger display and cost savings. 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 engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
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 HP 17" Laptop
The HP 17" Laptop has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
9.0/10
7.3/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
287.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.1/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the HP 17" Laptop is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) offers high performance with its advanced CPU and more RAM, exceptional screen quality with higher resolution and color accuracy, and longer battery life, making it very good for general use despite being less portable due to its size and weight. In contrast, the HP 17" Laptop provides a larger screen but lower screen resolution and comparatively good performance for general tasks at the expense of a shorter battery life and less impressive screen and audio quality.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
6.2/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is good for gaming and AI, while the HP 17" Laptop is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021), with its superior GPU and higher screen refresh rate, excels in 3D tasks, making it a good choice for such activities; however, its operating system may limit gaming options as many popular games are not compatible with MacOS. On the other hand, the HP 17" Laptop offers fair gaming performance due to its competent GPU and standard screen refresh rate, yet it may fall behind in more demanding 3D applications when compared to the MacBook Pro.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
6.8/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the HP 17" Laptop is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) shines in engineering and design with a powerful Apple M1 Pro chip, abundant RAM, advanced GPU, and a superior Mini LED screen, which makes for a high-quality visual experience, and it scores remarkably well across keyboard, speaker quality, and operating noise.
Content Creation
8.8/10
7.2/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the HP 17" Laptop 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
8.9/10
7.1/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the HP 17" Laptop 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
9.4/10
6.6/10
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
287.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the HP 17" Laptop for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in screen quality for general use and engineering due to its high-resolution Retina display, offering bright and vibrant images, alongside comprehensive color gamuts that ensure precise color accuracy which is crucial for design work. However, for 3D applications where high refresh rates are vital to smooth visuals and responsiveness, the MacBook Pro's standard refresh rate is a limitation. Meanwhile, the HP 17" Laptop, with its fair resolution and standard color range, provides an adequate display for everyday tasks and some level of engineering work, but falls short for gaming and 3D due to its common refresh rates and less color fidelity.
Battery
17.5 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The HP 17" Laptop has 5.5 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.
Build Quality
10.0/10
6.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the HP 17" Laptop has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,949
$600
$0
$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 HP 17" Laptop costs $600.
"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."
"As far as starter laptops go, the HP Laptop 17 is a sound investment. Sure, it might not be the lightest of options, but what you get for the price is a well-rounded machine that fits multiple niches. Whether it be office duties that require you to multi-task between multiple programs, or study tasks in which you’ll spend hours browsing online, this laptop does it all. Plus, when it's time to unwind, you can watch your favorite shows or movies on a super-wide display. What's best of all is that you can do all this for about half a day on a single charge."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the HP 17" Laptop
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 HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
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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