If excellent performance and battery life for comprehensive engineering tasks are your top priority, and you're willing to invest more, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) stands out as an exceptional choice, despite its higher weight making it less portable. On the other hand, if you're seeking a more budget-friendly option that still offers good performance for general use and some light engineering work, as well as a high-quality OLED screen for vibrant colors, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED could be the more suitable and portable option for you. 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 (2023)
Excellent for general use
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Excellent 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 ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023).
Key differences
General Use
9.1/10
7.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
600.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) offers high screen quality with a Mini LED display and longer battery life for extended use without charging, which combined with a powerful CPU makes it well suited for a range of tasks without frequent interruptions.
Gaming and AI
7.4/10
6.7/10
5.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is only fair.
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.
Engineering and Design
8.8/10
8.2/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
5.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is favored for engineering and design due to its robust CPU and GPU, large Mini LED screen with high resolution ensuring great screen quality for detailed work, and long battery life, albeit at a cost to portability. On the other hand, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED holds its own with a competitive CPU, vibrant OLED screen, and is lighter, making it easier to carry around, but it may lag in graphically intensive tasks and offers shorter battery life.
Content Creation
9.1/10
8.2/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is very 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
7.9/10
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is very good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED 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
9.3/10
8.9/10
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
600.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
When choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 and the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED, for everyday activities like browsing and video streaming, both offer superb displays with high resolution and brightness, ensuring vivid and clear visuals. For those involved in engineering and design, the MacBook Pro excels with a wider range of colors, providing greater accuracy which is crucial for professional editing and color grading. However, for 3D applications and gaming, the Vivobook's screen might not refresh as quickly as some specialized gaming laptops, which could lead to less fluid motion and a less immersive experience.
Battery
17.5 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has 7 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
7.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,423
$990
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has a price of $2,423 and the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED 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."
"The Asus Vivobook S 15 OLED excels as a capable work machine at an affordable price. It offers commendable performance, thanks to its 12th Gen Intel chip, delivers quality on-screen entertainment with its 15.6-inch OLED display, and can (kind of) get you through a full day of work. Oh, and its special Asus Antibacterial Guard is a nice touch for those who like a clean laptop."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) or the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED
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.
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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.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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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.
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Laptops Expert
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