Apple MacBook Pro 15 (2018) vs Pro 14 (2021)
Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Review
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
You can adjust the importance of each feature to more precisely determine which laptop better suits your personal needs.
Key Differences
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 15 (2018)
- Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 4 versus 3
- Features a bigger (~19%) battery – 83 against 70 watt-hours
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
- Can run popular games at about 697-951% higher FPS
- Higher screen refresh rate: 120 versus 60 Hz
- Easier to carry: weighs 230 grams less (around 0.51 lbs)
- Around 84% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench R23 test
- Thinner bezels and 3% higher screen-to-body ratio
- Supports next-generation Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- Better webcam recording quality
- Much smaller footprint: 18% more compact case (107.1 vs 130.3 square inches)
- 15% sharper screen – 254 versus 221 pixels per inch (PPI)
Value for money
Please input the prices of the laptops (with selected configurations) and press the "Calculate" button to determine which one offers better value for money.
Tests and Specifications
Comparison table of test results and technical specsCase
Weight | 1.83 kg (4.04 lbs) | 1.6 kg (3.53 lbs) |
Dimensions | 349.3 x 240.7 x 15.5 mm 13.75 x 9.48 x 0.61 inches |
312.6 x 221.2 x 15.5 mm 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches |
Area | 841 cm2 (130.4 inches2) | 691 cm2 (107.2 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio | ~81.8% | ~84.6% |
Side bezels | 8.8 mm | 3.4 mm |
Colors | Silver, Gray | Silver, Gray |
Material | Aluminum | Aluminum |
Transformer | No | No |
Opening angle | - | 135° |
Size comparison
Cooling system | Active | Active |
Vapor chamber | No | No |
Number of fans | 2 | 2 |
Max. fan speed (RPM) | 6500 RPM | 6241 RPM |
Noise level (max. load) | 47 dB | 49.5 dB |
Display
Size | 15.4 inches | 14.2 inches |
Type | IPS LCD | Mini LED |
Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 120 Hz |
PPI | 221 ppi | 254 ppi |
Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
Resolution | 2880 x 1800 pixels | 3024 x 1964 pixels |
HDR support | Yes, HDR10 | Yes, Dolby Vision |
Sync technology | No | No |
Touchscreen | No | No |
Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | Glossy (Antireflective) |
Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
Contrast | 1333:1 | 48900:1 |
sRGB color space | 99.9% | - |
Adobe RGB profile | 86.6% | - |
DCI-P3 color gamut | 98.7% | 99.3% |
Response time | 35 ms | 49 ms |
Max. brightness
Battery
Capacity
Voltage | 11.4 V | - |
Full charging time | 2:00 hr | 2:30 hr |
Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
Replaceable | No | No |
Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
USB Power Delivery | Yes | Yes |
Charging port position | Left, Right | Left, Right |
Charge power | 87 W | 67 / 96 W |
Cable length | 2 meters | 2 meters |
Weight of AC adapter | 369 grams | 274 grams |
CPU
CPU name
Base frequency | 2.2 GHz | 3.2 GHz |
Turbo frequency | 4.1 GHz | - |
Cores | 6 | 10 (8P + 2E) |
Threads | 12 | 10 |
L3 Cache | 9 MB | - |
Integrated GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) |
Fabrication process | 14 nm | 5 nm |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Graphics Card
GPU name
TGP | 15 W | 30 W |
Type | Integrated | Integrated |
Fabrication process | 14 nm | 5 nm |
GPU base clock | 350 MHz | 450 MHz |
GPU boost clock | 1000 MHz | 1296 MHz |
FLOPS | 0.38 TFLOPS | 5.2 TFLOPS |
Memory size | System Shared | System Shared |
Memory type | DDR4 | LPDDR5 |
Memory bus | - | 256 bit |
Memory speed | 2.4 Gbps | 6.4 Gbps |
Shading units (cores) | 192 | 2048 |
Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 24 | 128 |
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 3 | 64 |
GPU performance
RAM
RAM size
Channels | 2x8 GB | 4x4 GB |
Clock | 2400 MHz | 6400 MHz |
Type | DDR4 | LPDDR5 |
Upgradable | No | No |
Total slots | 2 | - |
Storage
Storage size
Bus | Custom | Custom |
Storage type | SSD (M2) | SSD (M2) |
Channels | 1x256 GB | 1x512 GB |
Upgradable | No | No |
NVMe | Yes | Yes |
Sound
Speakers | 2.0 | 4.2 |
Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Loudness | 85 dB | 84.9 dB |
Microphones | 3 | 3 |
Connectivity
Wi-Fi standard | v5 | v6 |
Bluetooth | v5 | v5 |
Fingerprint | Yes | Yes |
Infrared sensor | No | No |
Optical drive | No | No |
Webcam | Above the display | Above the display |
Webcam resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
USB-A | No | No |
USB Type-C | 4x USB 3.1 | 3x USB 4.0 |
Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 4 |
HDMI | No | 1x HDMI 2.0 |
DisplayPort | No | No |
VGA | No | No |
Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | Yes |
Ethernet (RJ45) | No | No |
SD card reader | No | Yes |
Proprietary charging port | No | Yes |
Input
Keyboard type | Island | Island |
Numpad | No | No |
Backlight | Yes | Yes |
Key travel | 0.7 mm | 1 mm |
Size | 16.0 x 9.9 cm | 13.2 x 8.1 cm |
Surface | Glass | Glass |
Windows Precision | No | No |
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.
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