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Apple MacBook Pro 13″, 14″ and 16″: Which one is for you?

Apple has just unveiled its latest MacBook Pros, which brings its current offerings to three models — the MacBook Pro 13″, MacBook Pro 14″, and the MacBook Pro 16″. If you’re planning on getting a new MacBook, which one should you get? Let’s help you with that.

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series
Apple MacBook Pro 13" (M1, 2020)Apple MacBook Pro 14" (2021)Apple MacBook Pro 16" (2021)
13.3-inch Retina (2560 x 1600) Display14.2-inch Liquid Retina (3024 x 1964) XDR Display16.2-inch Liquid Retina (3456 x 2234) XDR Display
500 nits, Wide color (P3), True Tone1600 nits peak, Wide color (P3), True Tone, 120Hz ProMotion1600 nits peak, Wide color (P3), True Tone, 120Hz ProMotion
Apple M1 chipApple M1 Pro / M1 Max chipApple M1 Pro / M1 Max chip
8GB, 16GB Unified Memory16GB, 32GB, 64GB Unified Memory16GB, 32GB, 64GB Unified Memory
256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB SSD512GB, 1TB, 2GB, 4TB, 8TB SSD512GB, 1TB, 2GB, 4TB, 8TB SSD
720 FaceTime HD camera1080P FaceTime HD camera (Notched)1080P FaceTime HD camera (Notched)
Stereo speakers w/ Dolby AtmosHigh-fidelity six-speaker w/ force-cancelling woofers, Dolby Atmos, Spatial audioHigh-fidelity six-speaker w/ force-cancelling woofers, Dolby Atmos, Spatial audio
Three-mic arrayThree-mic arrayThree-mic array
3.5mm headphone jack3.5mm headphone jack w/ support for high-impedance headphones3.5mm headphone jack w/ support for high-impedance headphones
Backlit Magic KeyboardBacklit Magic KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard
Touch Bar
Touch IDTouch IDTouch ID
Force Touch trackpadForce Touch trackpadForce Touch trackpad
WiFi 6WiFi 6WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.0
2x Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports3x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)3x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)
HDMI portHDMI port
SDXC card slotSDXC card slot
58.2Whr battery70Whr battery100Whr battery
Up to 20 hours Apple TV app movie playbackUp to 17 hours Apple TV app movie playbackUp to 21 hours Apple TV app movie playback
61W USB-C Power Adapter67W USB-C Power Adapter (included with M1 Pro with 8-core CPU)140W USB-C Power Adapter
96W USB-C Power Adapter (included with M1 Pro with 10-core CPU or M1 Max, configurable with M1 Pro with 8-core CPU)

Display

This is the part where the differences are the most obvious. The three MacBooks feature different screen sizes with the 13.3-inch model being the smallest with the lowest resolution, while the 16-inch model has the biggest screen and the highest resolution. The 14-inch model, on the other hand, sits in the middle.

While the 13-inch model’s screen can already be considered good, it falls behind the 14-inch and 16-inch models’ 1600 nits peak brightness and 120Hz ProMotion with an adaptive refresh rate. Also, you will also notice the new screen design on the 14 and 16-inch models with slimmer bezels but with a notch.

Chipset

The Apple M1 chip powering the MacBook Pro 13 is already a powerful chip, but Apple took it up a notch with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.

The M1 features an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, an 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine. The M1 Max sports Up to 10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores, up to 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 200GB/s memory bandwidth. As for the M1 Max, it boasts a 10-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores, up to 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 400GB/s memory bandwidth.

What this means is that the new M1 Max and M1 Pro are significantly more powerful than the M1, which is beneficial for pro applications like heavy photo, sound, or video editing.

Memory and Storage

One of the new technologies that Apple’s M1 chip brought to the table is the Unified Memory architecture, which integrates the RAM in the SoC, allowing the CPU, GPU, and other components of the chip to efficiently access data from the memory without the redundancy, which in turn improves performance.

That technology is still present in the new MacBook 14 and 16, but with bigger capacities starting at 16GB up to 64GB. The same can be said with the SSD as it starts at 512GB up to 8TB.

Connectivity and other features

Apple gave the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 more “pro” features compared to the MacBook 13, which is evident in the connectivity department. It has three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), an HDMI port, and an SDXC card slot, which is great news to users who don’t want to use dongles. Its 3.5mm headphone jack also got an upgrade and now supports high-impedance headphones for those who want better audio monitoring while working on their projects.

The speakers got an upgrade, too, and now has a high-fidelity six-speaker system with force-canceling woofers, Dolby Atmos, and support for Spatial audio. FaceTime HD camera was also upgraded to 1080p and is now housed in a notch. What’s probably missing here is the Touch Bar, which is only available on the MacBook Pro 13.

Battery

The MacBook 16 has the biggest battery at 100Whr, followed by the MacBook 14 at 70Whr, then the MacBook 13 at 58.2Whr. However, the 13 offers more battery life than the 14 model. The 16 model only trumps the 13 by an hour.

When it comes to charging, the MacBook 16 supports the 140W USB-C power adapter, while the 14 can support the 96W. The 13 settles with the 61W adapter.

Which one to get?

The MacBook Pro 13 starts at PHP 71,990. The MacBook Pro 14 starts at PHP 116,990, while the MacBook Pro 16 starts at PHP 146,990. For the price alone, the 13 model is a great starting point if you want a MacBook Pro with great performance but on a budget. However, if you have a bigger budget, you can add an extra PHP 45,000 and get the MacBook Pro 14. Add an extra PHP 30,000 and you can go for the MacBook Pro 16 with a bigger screen. But you really have to consider your needs here.

If you’re just a casual user, I think you’re better off getting the MacBook Pro 13, or even the M1-powered MacBook Air. But if you’re a creator or a professional who can put the power of the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips to use, then the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 are the best you can get right now.

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4 Responses

  1. Avatar for Brian Clark Brian Clark says:

    Apple MacBook Pro 16? is a beast. Techy peoples are more likely to buy, because of its minimal look and faster Chip. Thank you for the information.
    If anyone having problem with any technical difficulties checkout this website: https://laptoplesson.com

  2. Avatar for Paul Paul says:

    M1 Air and 13″ Pro would be more attractive if you can get a configuration with 16 GB RAM from PMC and other local Mac resellers. The 8 GB that these macbooks have by default is not very futureproof since you cannot upgrade the RAM afterwards.

    • Avatar for Jay Jay says:

      My M1 Mac Mini with 8GB performs better than my 16GB MBP Intel i7. Unified memory is so efficient and optimized. I’m happy with the base model.

  3. Avatar for just_curious just_curious says:

    The real question is, when can you buy one from the Apple PH store? Haven’t seen any info on this yet,

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