This week, Apple announced a major update for its high-end MacBook Pro models, with the new machines featuring a complete redesign, the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, larger mini-LED displays with ProMotion, an HDMI port and SD card slot, full-sized function keys, and more.
The redesigned MacBook Pro is available in all-new 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. Despite both being high-end models, the 14- and 16-inch models do have some different design aspects, features, and capabilities, so should you consider purchasing the smaller MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,999, or do you need the larger MacBook Pro, which costs at least $500 more? Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two high-end MacBook Pro models is best for you.
Comparing the 14-Inch MacBook Pro and 16-Inch MacBook Pro
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models share almost all of their key features, such as display technology, chip configurations, and connectivity options. Apple lists these same features of the two machines:
Similarities
Mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 1,000 nits sustained brightness, 1,600 nits peak brightness, P3 wide color, True Tone, and ProMotion
Options for the M1 Pro or ?M1? Max chip with up to 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU
Up to 64GB of unified memory
Up to 8TB of storage
Touch ID
1080p FaceTime HD camera
High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers, wide stereo sound, and spatial audio support
Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming
Three Thunderbolt 4 ports
HDMI port
SDXC card slot
3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0
Available in Silver and Space Gray
Apple’s breakdown shows that the two MacBooks share most of their important features, but there are still some meaningful differences between the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro that are worth highlighting, including display size, thickness, weight, battery size, and power adapter.
Differences
14-Inch MacBook Pro
14.2-inch display
Configurations start with ?M1? Pro with 8-core CPU and 14-core GPU
0.61 inches thick (1.55 cm)
Weighs 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)
Integrated 70-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
17 hours of battery life when playing back video
Fast charging over MagSafe 3 or Thunderbolt 4
67W USB-C Power Adapter (with ?M1? Pro with 8-core CPU)
96W USB-C Power Adapter (with ?M1? Pro with 10-core CPU or ?M1? Max, configurable with ?M1? Pro with 8-core CPU)
Starts at $1,999
16-Inch MacBook Pro
16.2-inch display
Configurations start with ?M1? Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU
0.66 inches thick (1.68 cm)
Weighs 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg)
Integrated 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
21 hours of battery life when playing back video
Fast charging over ?MagSafe? 3 only
140W USB-C Power Adapter
Starts at $2,499
Other MacBook Options
If you are looking for an Apple silicon MacBook Pro, but the latest ?M1? Pro and ?M1? Max models are out of your price range, there is the ?M1? MacBook Pro, which starts at $1,299. This is $700 cheaper than the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and is a good option for users who want a machine that is more capable than the MacBook Air, but something more affordable than the high-end MacBook Pro.
The ?M1? MacBook Pro is an entry-level model, featuring a 13.3-inch display, ?Touch ID?, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the Touch Bar, and a 720p webcam. It is a more consumer-oriented and less capable machine compared to the high-end MacBook Pro, but is more than adequate for most users.
There is also the ?M1? ?MacBook Air?, which sports the same processor as the ?M1? MacBook Pro, a 13.3-inch display, ?Touch ID?, and ports, as well as most other hardware features, and starts at $999. For casual users, this means that the additional $300 to upgrade to a MacBook Pro may be difficult to justify.
Apple M1 MacBook Air vs. M1 MacBook Pro Buyer’s Guide
Apple M1 MacBook Pro vs. Intel MacBook Pro (13-Inch) Buyer’s Guide
?M1? MacBook Pro still has a number of improvements over the ?MacBook Air?, offering slightly better performance, a brighter display, the Touch Bar, improved microphone and speaker quality, two extra hours of battery life, and an active cooling system. If you want slightly better performance than the ?M1? ?MacBook Air?, as well as better battery life, display brightness, and speaker and microphone quality, the MacBook Pro is the better option.
Likewise, users who intend to perform a lot of graphics-based tasks should skip the ?MacBook Air? entirely and buy the ?M1? MacBook Pro because the eight-core GPU ?MacBook Air? configuration is only $50 less than the MacBook Pro, but this is only the case if you don’t need more than 256GB of storage, because a storage upgrade would further push up the MacBook Pro’s price.
Final Thoughts
The 14-inch MacBook Pro is clearly a more portable machine than the 16-inch model, so if you intend to carry the MacBook Pro around frequently or need the versatility of easily fitting it into a bag, the smaller model will be the better option. Buyers of the 14-inch models are not missing out on any major MacBook Pro features, so this will be the best model for most customers.
The 16-inch model is $500 more than the 14-inch model, so you should be sure that you need the additional display area or battery life. That being said, if you upgrade the 14-inch model to the same ?M1? Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU that the 16-inch model starts with, the price difference shrinks to $200.
Buyers of the 16-inch model should be aware that it is considerably larger, thicker, and heavier than the 14-inch model. The 16-inch model may also provide slightly better performance than the 14-inch model due to being larger with potentially better thermals, but this is yet to be confirmed with benchmark tests. The 16-inch model’s speakers are also likely to provide better sound quality owing to the device’s larger size, but we can’t be sure of this until real-world comparisons emerge.
While the performance difference in real terms between the two high-end MacBook Pro sizes is yet to be seen, most users will be better off buying the 14-inch model. We will revisit this recommendation after we see the real-world performance of the two machines.Related Roundup: 14 & 16″ MacBook ProBuyer’s Guide: 16″ MacBook Pro (Buy Now)Related Forum: MacBook ProThis article, “14-Inch MacBook Pro vs. 16-Inch MacBook Pro Buyer’s Guide” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
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Author: Hartley Charlton