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MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) vs. M1 Mac mini - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) and M1 Mac mini, including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

By Conor Banett

January 24, 2024 10:13 am

MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) vs. M1 Mac mini

The MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) features the 47W 4th Generation Intel Crystal Well quad-core Intel Core i7-4770HQ up to quad-core Intel Core i7-4980HQ with the boost speed up to 4.00 GHz. While the 2020 M1 Mac mini features the 10W Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 8-core Apple M1 (8C, 8G) with a clock speed of 3.20 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 15.4″ MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) and the M1 Mac mini (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) vs. M1 Mac mini: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M1 Mac mini
Availability
Released	2015	2020
Release Info	Announced on March 9th, 2015 Available on March 9th, 2015	Announced on November 10th, 2020
Pricing	$1,999 Intel Core i7 4770HQ\| 16GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $2,499 Intel Core i7 4870HQ \| 16GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$699 Apple M1 Chip \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $899 Apple M1 Chip \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD

Display	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Size	15.4 Inches
Info	Retina display 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: 1920 by 1200 1680 by 1050 1280 by 800 1024 by 640 300 nits brightness Standard color gamut (sRGB) 900:1 contrast ratio

Exterior	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Size Comparison
Dimensions	14.13” x 9.73” x 0.71” (358.9 mm x 247.1 mm x 18 mm)	7.7” x 7.7” x 1.4” (197 mm x 197 mm x 36 mm)
Weight	Starting at 4.49 lb (2.04 kg)	2.6 lb (1.2 kg)
Colors	Silver	Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement) with ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures
Ports	2 x Thunderbolt 2 ports Supports data transfers up to 20 Gbps. 2 x USB 3.0 ports Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps. 1 x HDMI port 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack 1 x SDXC card reader 1 x MagSafe 2 power port	Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with support for: DisplayPort Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA supported using adapters (sold separately) 2 x USB Type-A ports Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps. 1 x Gigabit Ethernet port 1 x HDMI 2.0 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack

Internal Specs	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Processor	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4770HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.20 → 3.40 GHz, 5 MB Cache, 47W 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4870HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.50 → 3.70 GHz, 6 MB Cache, 47W 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4980HQ 4 cores, 8 threads, 2.80 → 4.00 GHz, 6 MB Cache, 47W	Apple M1 8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics	4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4770HQ Intel® Iris® Pro Graphics 5200 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1200 MHz 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4870HQ Intel® Iris® Pro Graphics 5200 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1200 MHz 4th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-4980HQ Intel® Iris® Pro Graphics 5200 40 Execution Units, 200 → 1300 MHz	Apple M1 Apple M1 iGPU 8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Discrete Graphics	AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
Memory	16GB 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory	8GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory Configurable to 16GB
Storage	256GB512GB configurable to 1TB SSD	256GB512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Wi-Fi	802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet		10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)

Battery	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Size	99.4 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	Up to 9 hours of wireless web Up to 9 hours of iTunes movie playback Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply	85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter With cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port.	150W built-in power supply

Software	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
OS	Shipped with OS X Yosemite	Shipped with macOS Catalina
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewiTunesiBooksApp StoreTime Machine	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio	Stereo speakers Dual microphones 3.5 mm headphone jack Support for Apple iPhone headset with remote and microphone Support for audio line out (digital/analog)	Built-in speaker 3.5mm headphone jack HDMI 2.0 port supports multichannel audio output

Misc	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 Mac mini
Sensors	Ambient light sensor
In the box	15‑inch MacBook Pro MagSafe 2 Power Adapter Power cord AC wall plug	Mac mini Power cord
Warranty	Your MacBook Pro with Retina display comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer’s purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple‑authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts. For more information, visit Apple Support or call 800-823-2775.	Your Mac mini comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More	Video Support Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 3840 by 2160 pixels on up to two external displays, both at millions of colors Thunderbolt digital video output Native Mini DisplayPort output DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI, and HDMI output supported using Mini DisplayPort adapters (sold separately) HDMI video output Support for 1080p resolution at up to 60Hz Support for 3840-by-2160 resolution at 30Hz Support for 4096-by-2160 resolution at 24Hz	Video Support Simultaneously supports up to two displays: One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt and one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0 Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C Thunderbolt 2, DVI, and VGA output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI 2.0 display video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)