Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
Best in class for general use
Best in class for engineering and design
Best in class for software development
Best in class for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Stealth 17
The MSI Stealth 17 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
10.0/10
8.7/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is best in class for general use, while the MSI Stealth 17 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.
Content Creation
10.0/10
8.8/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
48.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is best in class for content creation, while the MSI Stealth 17 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
10.0/10
8.5/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
48.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is best in class for software development, while the MSI Stealth 17 is very 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
8.6/10
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
384.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the MSI Stealth 17 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the MSI Stealth 17 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
17.5 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The MSI Stealth 17 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.
Portability
Good
Fair
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
4.8 lbs
WEIGHT
6.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability, while the MSI Stealth 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the MSI Stealth 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$3,399
$3,899
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $3,399 and the MSI Stealth 17 costs $3,899.
The MSI Stealth 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) are both excellent for gaming and AI.
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
9.8/10
9.4/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.5/10
9.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.7/10
48.0 GB
RAM
64.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) to be best in class for engineering and design, while the MSI Stealth 17 is excellent.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the MSI Stealth 17 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."
"The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is a laptop with a quiet RTX 4080 for almost every occasion. The MSI Stealth 17 Studio is equally capable of high-level media processing and playing current games. It remains pleasantly quiet, even if a few percentage points of power have had to be sacrificed in the process. But, it is not quite perfect: To some extent, the Stealth 17 is well thought out. It packs tons of graphics power and high-end components in a slim case. The laptop's cooling system can be set such that, noise-wise, it doesn't even reach low volume. However, small flaws cloud otherwise exceptionally positive impressions."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the MSI Stealth 17
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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.
By the numbers
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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.