The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is a premium device with a larger, high-resolution Mini LED screen, longer battery life, and stronger performance in 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks, making it suitable for intensive tasks and professional use. Despite its exceptional performance, it's less portable due to its larger size and weight. Conversely, the LG Ultra 13 is more affordable and offers good portability thanks to its light weight and compact size, which is advantageous for general use on-the-go, but it has a lower-resolution IPS screen, shorter battery life, and less power for demanding applications. The choice depends on whether your priority is portability and budget (LG Ultra 13) or high performance and a premium screen (MacBook Pro 16) for demanding tasks. 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 LG Ultra 13
Excellent portability
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.2/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.3/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the LG Ultra 13 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its high-performance CPU and ample RAM, provides seamless multitasking and handles demanding applications smoothly, combined with a superior Mini LED screen offering striking visuals and color accuracy, making it very good for general use despite its less portability due to heavier weight. The LG Ultra 13, on the other hand, is also suitable for general use with decent performance capabilities and a quality IPS display, while excelling in portability with its lighter design and compact size, although its battery life is shorter compared to the MacBook Pro.
Gaming and AI
7.5/10
6.1/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the LG Ultra 13 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 features a more powerful GPU which is better suited for 3D applications and has a higher refresh rate screen that's desirable for smooth visuals, while the LG Ultra 13 is equipped with an integrated GPU and a standard refresh rate screen, making it less optimal for gaming and 3D tasks. The fact that many popular games aren't compatible with macOS further limits the MacBook Pro for gaming despite its hardware capabilities.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
6.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.7/10
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 LG Ultra 13 is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is equipped with a higher-end CPU and GPU, more RAM, and a superior Mini LED screen, which offer enhanced performance and display quality vital for demanding engineering and design tasks. In contrast, the LG Ultra 13, while more portable due to its lower weight and smaller size, comes with less powerful hardware and a standard IPS display, making it less suited for intensive engineering work.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.7/10
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 LG Ultra 13 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
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
4.7/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the LG Ultra 13 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
6.9/10
16.2in
SIZE
13.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the LG Ultra 13 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 advanced panel technology, providing vibrant colors and sharp details, making it ideal for general use and professional design where color accuracy is paramount. However, its standard refresh rate isn't as suitable for 3D applications where smoother motion is preferred. The LG Ultra 13, while offering good resolution and brightness, falls short in color range compared to the MacBook, which is less optimal for high-level engineering and design work, and also lacks the high refresh rate needed for the best experience in gaming and 3D environments.
Battery
17.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The LG Ultra 13 has 10 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
13.3in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The LG Ultra 13 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
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the LG Ultra 13 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$529
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the LG Ultra 13 costs $529.
"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 13.3-inch LG Gram is a fine fit if you need to travel as light as possible for as long as possible without spending a fortune to do it. It might not be particularly sturdy or have an eye-catching design and its webcam is less than ideal, but with its sharp touch display, comfortable backlit keyboard, responsive touchpad and a fingerprint reader for extra security, the Gram makes a respectible everyday laptop for business or school work."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the LG Ultra 13
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 LG
LG is a South Korean conglomerate company. While LG is mainly known for various products outside of technology, LG also develops laptops. Within the laptop industry, they are known for their thin-and-light Gram series, as well as their value-oriented Ultra series. LG laptops offer very thin and light laptops with phenomenal battery life, and are often on sale.
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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