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

Here is a comparison between the specifications of the M1 MacBook Pro 16” and MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015), including differences in the chip, memory, storage, display, battery, ports, and more.

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

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. While 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.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 16.2″ M1 MacBook Pro 16” (2021) and the 15.4″ MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) , we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

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

M1 MacBook Pro 16” image

M1 MacBook Pro 16”

MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015) image

MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)

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.
AvailabilityM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Released20212015
Release Info
  • Announced on October 18, 2021.
  • Available on October 26, 2021.
  • Announced on March 9th, 2015
  • Available on March 9th, 2015
Pricing
  • $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
  • $1,999
    Intel Core i7 4770HQ| 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $2,499
    Intel Core i7 4870HQ | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD
DisplayM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Size16.2 Inches15.4 Inches
Info
  • 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
 
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
ExteriorM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Size Comparison
Dimensions
  • Height: 0.66 inch (1.68 cm)
  • Width: 14.01 inches (35.57 cm)
  • Depth: 9.77 inches (24.81 cm)
14.13” x 9.73” x 0.71” (358.9 mm x 247.1 mm x 18 mm)
Weight
  • 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg)
    M1 Pro models.
  • 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg)
    M1 Max models.
Starting at 4.49 lb (2.04 kg)
Colors
Space GraySilver
Silver
Keyboard and TrackpadBacklit 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
  • 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
PortsLeft
  • 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
  • 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
Internal SpecsM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Processor
  • Apple M1 Pro (10C, 16G)
    10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
  • Apple M1 Max (10C, 32G)
    10 cores, 10 threads, 3.20 GHz,
  • 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
Integrated Graphics
  • 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,
  • 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
Discrete GraphicsAMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
Memory
16GB 32GB 64GB
Unified Memory
16GB
1600 MHz DDR3L onboard memory
Storage
512GB1TB2TB4TB8TB
SSD
256GB512GB
configurable to 1TB SSD
ConnectivityM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0 wireless technologyBluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
BatteryM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Size100 Wh lithium‑polymer battery99.4 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life
  • Up to 14 hours wireless web
  • Up to 21 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
  • Up to 9 hours of wireless web
  • Up to 9 hours of iTunes movie playback
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
Power Supply140W USB‑C Power Adapter 
Charging up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes with included USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable.
85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter
With cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port.
SoftwareM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
OSShipped with macOS MontereyShipped with OS X Yosemite
Built-in Apps
PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNewsStocksHomeVoice MemosNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewMusicPodcastsTVBooksApp StoreTime MachineFind MyQuickTime Player
PhotosiMovieGarageBandPagesNumbersKeynoteSiriSafariMailFaceTimeMessagesMapsNotesCalendarContactsRemindersPhoto BoothPreviewiTunesiBooksApp StoreTime Machine
Camera & AudioM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera 
Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • 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
  • 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)
MiscM1 MacBook Pro 16”MacBook Pro 15” Retina (2015)
SensorsTouch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box
  • 16‑inch MacBook Pro
  • 140W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)
  • 15‑inch MacBook Pro
  • MagSafe 2 Power Adapter
  • Power cord
  • AC wall plug
WarrantyYour 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.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.
More
  • 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)
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

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