The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is a premium-priced laptop with a high-resolution Mini LED display, more battery capacity, lightweight, and longer typical usage battery life, making it excellent for those who need a powerful machine with a superior screen and portability for general use. It uses Apple's own processor and has less storage compared to the Dell G15 5520. The Dell, on the other hand, is much less expensive, has an IPS screen with lower resolution, a more powerful dedicated graphics card by Nvidia, and more storage, which can be better for gaming, 3D work, or engineering tasks, but it has a shorter battery life and heavier build. 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 (Late 2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Dell G15 5520
The Dell G15 5520 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
251.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.3/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Dell G15 5520 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its high-resolution Mini LED screen, more RAM, and a more efficient CPU tailored for MacOS, offers excellent screen quality and battery life, making it very good for general use, albeit at a higher price. On the other hand, the Dell G15 5520, while offering good general use with ample storage and a dedicated GPU which might edge over in gaming and intensive tasks, is less portable and has lower battery life, compromising on screen quality and efficiency for a likely lower cost.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
8.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.3/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Dell G15 5520 are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) offers top-tier CPU and GPU performance with its Apple M3 Pro chip, complemented by a high-resolution Mini LED display for sharp and accurate color rendering, making it ideal for demanding engineering and design workflows.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.9/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Dell G15 5520 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
7.5/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
18.0 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 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Dell G15 5520 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
7.1/10
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
251.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Dell G15 5520 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16's screen shines for general use and engineering/design due to its high-resolution display, which delivers sharp text and images alongside remarkable brightness and wide color gamuts for precise color work. However, for 3D tasks, its lower refresh rate compared to gaming-oriented laptops makes it less ideal for smoothly rendering fast-moving visuals. Conversely, the Dell G15 5520, while good for general use and engineering with respectable resolution and brightness, falls short for gaming and 3D because its refresh rate and color fidelity don't match those of more specialized high-refresh-rate screens designed for those purposes.
Battery
17.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Dell G15 5520 has 6 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
15.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.5 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability, while the Dell G15 5520 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Dell G15 5520 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,000
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the Dell G15 5520 costs $1,000.
The Dell G15 5520 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) are both good for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in 3D tasks due to its high-resolution Mini LED screen and powerful integrated GPU, but is limited for gaming as many popular titles don't run on macOS. In contrast, the Dell G15 5520, with its dedicated Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and faster screen refresh rate, is better suited for gaming and can handle 3D workloads well, although with lower screen resolution and quality compared to the Mac.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the Dell G15 5520 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."
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | April 2023
"The Dell G15 (2022) is a 15.6-inch budget gaming laptop, and is great for gaming. You can configure the laptop with powerful Intel 12th Gen. CPUs and various NVIDIA dedicated GPUs, all of which deliver a smooth gaming experience at 1080p. There's also a QHD 240Hz display option if you want better visuals, though you'll have to pair it with the top-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti to get good frame rates. It doesn't get overly hot or loud under load, and there's no noticeable throttling on the CPU or GPU. Unfortunately, the 120Hz panel has a slow response time, causing noticeable ghosting, and it doesn't support variable refresh rate."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Dell G15 5520
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 Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
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
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.