Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the HP Pavilion 15 depends primarily on your budget and needs. The MacBook Pro is a high-end device with a much higher price tag, offering superior performance, build quality, a high-resolution Mini LED display, and longer battery life, making it suited for demanding tasks like video editing, 3D design, and high-end gaming. The Pavilion 15 is a budget-friendly option with modest specifications, suitable for everyday tasks like web browsing, office applications, and casual entertainment. It's more portable due to its lighter weight, but it has a lower quality display and less powerful components. If cost is less of a concern and you need a top-performing machine for intensive tasks, go with the MacBook Pro. If you need a basic laptop for everyday use and want to save money, the Pavilion 15 is the sensible choice. 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 HP Pavilion 15
The HP Pavilion 15 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.0/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
220.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.2/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the HP Pavilion 15 is 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.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
6.0/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
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
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the HP Pavilion 15 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in 3D tasks with its higher performance GPU and a superior 120Hz Mini LED display, offering more fluid visuals and better color reproduction for creative work. However, the HP Pavilion 15, while offering modest gaming and 3D capabilities due to its average GPU and standard 60Hz TN panel, runs Windows which supports a broader range of games than MacOS, thus providing more gaming options despite less powerful hardware.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
6.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the HP Pavilion 15 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a high-performance CPU and GPU, more RAM, and a superior mini LED screen which is beneficial for engineering and design work that demands precise color representation and computational power. In contrast, the HP Pavilion 15, while lighter and therefore more portable, offers a lower-tier CPU and GPU, less RAM, and a lower resolution screen, making it less suited for intensive engineering tasks and high-quality visual work.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the HP Pavilion 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
6.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.2/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the HP Pavilion 15 is only fair.
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
5.3/10
16.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1366 x 768
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
TN
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
220.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the HP Pavilion 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and a wide color gamut, delivering crisp images and vibrant colors necessary for detailed design work and enjoyable general use. The HP Pavilion 15, on the other hand, may have lower resolution and brightness, which leads to less impressive visuals for any type of use. For 3D environments where motion clarity is key, the MacBook's display lags due to a lower refresh rate, which is less suitable for fast-paced 3D tasks compared to screens designed with higher refresh rates.
Battery
17.5 Hours
3.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The HP Pavilion 15 has 3 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
6.2/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the HP Pavilion 15 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$600
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the HP Pavilion 15 costs $600.
"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 HP Pavilion 15 carries a fair amount of power and a sharp display in its handsome slimline shell. It's not perfect, but it's a hard worker. This is wonderfully designed and totes a heck of a lot of desktop power, with the added benefit of a decent webcam and a full-sized keyboard. If you're getting down to business on a budget, it's a great fit."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the HP Pavilion 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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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