Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" depends on your priorities. The MacBook Pro offers exceptional performance, ideal for engineering, 3D modeling, and machine learning tasks, with a larger, high-quality Mini LED display and significantly better battery life. However, it comes at a higher price and is heavier, which affects portability. The Dragonfly Pro, on the other hand, is more affordable and lighter, making it easier to carry around. It has a touchscreen, satisfactory for general use, and still maintains decent performance for less intensive tasks. 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 keyboard
Advantages of the HP Dragonfly Pro 14"
Very good portability
Key differences
General Use
9.0/10
8.0/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
405.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
7.6/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.7/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) outperforms the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" for engineering and design tasks due to its higher-quality GPU, more RAM, and superior screen technology that delivers better color accuracy and brightness, which is critical for design work.
Content Creation
8.8/10
7.9/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.7/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
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 Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
7.8/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.7/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
7.1/10
16.2in
SIZE
14.0in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
405.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)'s high-resolution display and brightness, along with superior panel technology, make it ideal for general use, offering crisp and vibrant visuals. For engineering and design, this laptop's screen excels in color accuracy and range, with exceptional coverage of color gamuts that professionals require, but its lower refresh rate limits its effectiveness for 3D applications where fluid motion is crucial.
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" offers ample resolution and brightness for satisfactory general use and its panel quality ensures clear images, while its color gamut coverage is sufficiently wide for most engineering and design tasks. However, its screen falls short for gaming and 3D due to lower refresh rates, which can lead to less smooth visuals in fast-paced scenarios or when rendering complex movements.
Battery
17.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has 10 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
3.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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 HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,949
$1,400
$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 Dragonfly Pro 14" costs $1,400.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) to be good for gaming and AI, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is good for 3D due to its potent dedicated GPU, high screen refresh rate, and superior screen quality, despite the MacOS limitation in gaming compatibility. Whereas the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" is fair for gaming and 3D because it also has a robust integrated GPU and decent CPU, but the lower refresh rate and screen quality don't match the MacBook, and its Windows OS supports a wider range of games.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the HP Dragonfly Pro 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."
"I’d say that the HP Dragonfly Pro checks off most of the boxes for this freelancer. It feels nice to use, is zippy and responsive, has great speakers, and even has a relatively sane price. Although it’s an unorthodox choice to pick AMD for this kind of machine, it’s clear that when Ryzen is given a chance to shine, it can kick a lot of butt."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the HP Dragonfly Pro 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 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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CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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