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MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) vs. M1 MacBook Pro 16” - Specs Comparison

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) and M1 MacBook Pro 16”, 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 MacBook Pro 16”

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 2021 M1 MacBook Pro 16” features the Apple M-Series ARM 64-bit 10-core Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G) up to 10-core Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) 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 16.2″ M1 MacBook Pro 16” (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) vs. M1 MacBook Pro 16”: 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 MacBook Pro 16”
Key Features
What's new		All-New MacBook Pro Design The new design focus on functionality and performance. It has a larger chassis that provides more room for an advanced thermal system that can move 50 percent more air than the previous generation. New M1 Pro and M1 Max Chip The new 16” MacBook Pro features the new M1 Pro, and M1 Max applies a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture. Both processors feature fast unified memory and increased memory bandwidth up to 400GB/s, 8-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and with best-in-class performance per watt and industry-leading power efficiency. New Liquid Retina XDR with ProMotion Display Featuring the mini-LED technology used in iPad Pro, the Liquid Retina XDR display delivers up to 1,000 nits of sustained, full-screen brightness, an incredible 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Better Battery Life of up to 21 hours It delivers up to 21 hours of video playback, seven more hours than its previous-generation 16-inch Intel MacBook Pro.
What's missing		Removed features Here is the list of features removed from the 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro laptop: Removed Touchbar One less Thunderbolt ports No Bootcamp You can no longer install and run Windows 10/11 via Bootcamp on the newer Arm-based M1 chip. The only solution you have for now is to use virtualization.

Availability	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Released	2015	2021
Release Info	Announced on March 9th, 2015 Available on March 9th, 2015	Announced on October 18, 2021. Available on October 26, 2021.
Pricing	$1,999 Intel Core i7 4770HQ\| 16GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $2,499 Intel Core i7 4870HQ \| 16GB RAM \| 512GB SSD	$2,499 M1 Pro 10-Core CPU 16-Core GPU 16GB 512GB $2,699 M1 Pro 10-Core CPU 16-Core GPU 16GB 1TB $3,499 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 32GB 1TB $3,899 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 1TB $4,299 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 2TB $4,899 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 4TB $6,099 M1 Max 10-Core CPU 32-Core GPU 64GB 8TB

Display	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Size	15.4 Inches	16.2 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	Liquid Retina XDR display 16.2-inch (diagonal) Liquid Retina XDR display;10 3456-by-2234 native resolution at 254 pixels per inch XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range) Up to 1000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness, 1600 nits peak brightness 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio Color 1 billion colors Wide color (P3) True Tone technology Refresh rates ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz Fixed refresh rates: 47.95Hz, 48.00Hz, 50.00Hz, 59.94Hz, 60.00Hz

Exterior	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Size Comparison
Dimensions	14.13” x 9.73” x 0.71” (358.9 mm x 247.1 mm x 18 mm)	Height: 0.66 inch (1.68 cm) Width: 14.01 inches (35.57 cm) Depth: 9.77 inches (24.81 cm)
Weight	Starting at 4.49 lb (2.04 kg)	4.7 pounds (2.1 kg) M1 Pro models. 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg) M1 Max models.
Colors	Silver	Space GraySilver
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	Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Touch ID 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	Left 2 x Thunderbolt™️ 4 Supports USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), DisplayPort, and charging. 1 x MagSafe 3 1 x Headphone jack Right 1 x Thunderbolt™️ 4 Supports USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), DisplayPort, and charging. 1 x SDXC card slot 1 x HDMI port

Internal Specs	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
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 Pro (10C, 16G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) 10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
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 Pro (10C, 16G) Apple M1 Pro iGPU 16 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G) Apple M1 Max iGPU 32 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
Discrete Graphics	AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
Memory	16GB 1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory	16GB 32GB 64GB Unified Memory
Storage	256GB512GB configurable to 1TB SSD	512GB1TB2TB4TB8TB SSD

Connectivity	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
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

Battery	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Size	99.4 Wh lithium‑polymer battery	100 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	Up to 14 hours wireless web Up to 21 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter With cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port.	140W USB‑C Power Adapter Charging up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes with included USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable.

Software	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
OS	Shipped with OS X Yosemite	Shipped with macOS Monterey
Built-in Apps	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewiTunesiBooksApp StoreTime Machine	PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
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)	High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers Wide stereo sound Support for spatial audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones

Misc	MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)	M1 MacBook Pro 16”
Sensors	Ambient light sensor	Touch ID sensor
Security		Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	15‑inch MacBook Pro MagSafe 2 Power Adapter Power cord AC wall plug	16‑inch MacBook Pro 140W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)
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 MacBook Pro 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 every 12 months, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or 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	Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: Up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Pro) or Up to three external displays with up to 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors (M1 Max) Thunderbolt 4 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately) HDMI digital video output Support for one display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)