The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is designed for high performance and is suitable for professional creative work, engineering tasks, and intensive computing. It's likely to have a high-quality display and advanced features like a powerful processor and graphics card, which means it'll be more expensive. On the other hand, its size and weight could make it less portable. The Gateway 11.6" is probably more budget-friendly and highly portable due to its smaller size, making it suitable for general use like web browsing, office applications, and streaming media. However, it may not handle demanding tasks as smoothly and could have shorter battery life and less powerful components. Consider what's more important to you: top-tier performance and features, or affordability and ease of carrying. 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 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 speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Gateway 11.6"
Excellent portability
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
5.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
200.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
5.3/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.1/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) delivers superior performance for general use with its powerful CPU, abundant RAM, high-quality Mini LED screen, and long battery life, whereas the Gateway 11.6" falls short due to its basic processor, limited RAM, lower resolution IPS screen, and overall less robust component quality, which affects durability and user experience. While the MacBook Pro's larger form factor slightly reduces portability, the Gateway's excellent portability comes at the cost of reduced screen size and battery life, making it less ideal for demanding tasks.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
5.4/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.5/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a high-performance GPU and a 120 Hz refresh rate, making it well-suited for 3D tasks, whereas the Gateway 11.6" has a basic GPU and a standard 60 Hz refresh rate, limiting its gaming and 3D capabilities; however, it's important to remember that some popular games are not compatible with macOS on the MacBook.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
5.4/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.5/10
18.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in engineering and design tasks due to its powerful CPU, abundant RAM, advanced GPU, and high-quality screen, supporting intensive computational tasks and providing vibrant visuals, which are crucial in these fields. On the other hand, the Gateway 11.6" falls short with a less potent processor, lower RAM, basic GPU, and a screen with lower resolution and color accuracy, thus less capable of handling such demanding applications and delivering precise color representation needed for engineering and design.
Content Creation
8.9/10
5.7/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
18.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
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
5.7/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
18.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
5.3/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Gateway 11.6" is poor.
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
5.7/10
16.2in
SIZE
11.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
200.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Gateway 11.6" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers a high-resolution display with excellent brightness and wide color gamut coverage, which enhances the visual experience for general use and precision tasks in engineering and design, but its standard refresh rate limits the smoothness necessary for optimal 3D applications. The Gateway 11.6" likely has a lower-quality display with reduced resolution and brightness, making it less ideal for both general tasks and detail-oriented work in engineering and design. Lastly, for gaming and 3D, the Gateway's limited refresh rate may not provide the fluid motion desired for such immersive experiences.
Battery
17.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Gateway 11.6" has 8 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
Excellent
16.2in
SIZE
11.6in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Gateway 11.6" has excellent portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
5.1/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Gateway 11.6" has poor build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$89
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the Gateway 11.6" costs $89.
"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."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Gateway 11.6"
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 Gateway
Gateway is a laptop and tablet brand owned by Acer which sells budget-friendly laptops exclusively through Walmart. It was previously an American computer company until its acquisition by Acer in 2007, who then revived the brand in 2020. Gateway laptops are manufactured by Chinese company Shenzhen Bmorn Technology, which also makes EVOO-branded models.
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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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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