The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in display quality, battery life, and a lightweight design suitable for general use, professional creative work, and on-the-go users; however, it comes at a higher price. The HP Omen 15, while more affordable, offers superior gaming performance and is geared towards gaming and intensive engineering applications, but it has a lower-quality display and shorter battery life. The MacBook Pro's high-performance processor and GPU are tailored for creative professionals, and it has a longer battery life to handle intense work sessions. The Omen 15, despite being heavier, has a gaming aesthetic and is equipped with a high-end gaming graphics card, making it a preferred option for gamers and engineering tasks that require advanced graphics capabilities. 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
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 Omen 15
The HP Omen 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
9.0/10
7.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
318.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the HP Omen 15 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) exceeds in general use because of its high-quality Mini LED screen, powerful M1 Pro CPU, significant RAM, and exceptional battery life, alongside being more portable due to its lower weight. On the other hand, while the HP Omen 15 offers a larger storage capacity and is equipped with a capable AMD processor and Nvidia GPU for solid performance, it falls short on battery life and portability in comparison to the MacBook Pro.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.6/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The HP Omen 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) are both good for gaming and AI, though the HP Omen 15 is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in 3D tasks due to its strong GPU and high-quality screen, although its refresh rate is lower, which is less optimal for fast-paced games, and MacOS restricts access to many popular games. Conversely, the HP Omen 15 is preferred for gaming, not only because of its high-performance GPU and faster screen refresh rate but also because it runs Windows, allowing for greater game compatibility.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
7.9/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.8/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the HP Omen 15 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) with its M1 Pro CPU and GPU, 32 GB of RAM, and Mini LED high-quality display offers robust performance and visuals for demanding engineering and design tasks, though it is less portable due to its form factor and premium build. In comparison, the HP Omen 15, while good for engineering and design with a powerful AMD processor and Nvidia GPU, has half the memory and a standard IPS display, which might not deliver the same level of detail or color accuracy as the MacBook, but offers better gaming capabilities and is slightly more portable due to its lower weight.
Content Creation
8.8/10
7.8/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
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 Omen 15 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
7.6/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the HP Omen 15 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
7.3/10
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
318.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the HP Omen 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a high-resolution display with excellent brightness and color coverage, which makes text crisp and colors vibrant for everyday tasks, while also offering the accuracy needed for engineering and design work. However, it lacks a high refresh rate which is crucial for 3D applications where smooth motion is key. The HP Omen 15 provides adequate resolution and brightness for day-to-day use and decent color representation for creative work, but falls short in providing the high refresh rates sought by gamers and professionals in 3D fields.
Battery
17.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The HP Omen 15 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
Good
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.4 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and HP Omen 15 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
10.0/10
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the HP Omen 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,949
$990
$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 Omen 15 costs $990.
"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."
"We consider around 1,260 Euros (~$1530) for a Ryzen 7 4800H, a GeForce RTX 2060, a 512 GB SSD and 16 GB dual-channel RAM to be a good offer that appeals to price-conscious gamers. Very high details are rarely a problem in the native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. Buyers will also be spoiled with a top-notch battery life that even beats most other notebook classes. If HP now improves the speed of the WLAN module, the stability of the case and the repeatedly criticized picture quality, the competition will have to dress extra warmly."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the HP Omen 15
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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