MacBook Pro 13 inch or 16 inch: Which One Should You Buy?
Now the 16-inch MacBook Pro has been released and is available for purchase, which raises the question-which of the pro portable Macs from Apple are better for you?
The 13-inch models were also updated earlier this year. The 13” non-Touch Bar has gone by with new Touch Bar feature.
So which version is the better 16-incher or the 13-inch variant for you? We’re going to find out!
Design Difference: MacBook Pro 13 inch vs MacBook Pro 16 inch
All MacBook Pro models are offered in silver and gray color and have the fingerprint Touch Bar and Touch ID.
The 13-inch models weigh 1.37 kg and measure 304.1x 212.4x 14.9 mm. On the other hand, the bigger 16-inch versions weigh 2 kg and measure 358x 246x 16.2 mm. The latest 16-incher is only marginally larger than the 15-inch, given the larger screen width. It’s a little bigger, too.
Following widespread disapproval of Apple’s original butterfly model (still present on the 13-inch we’re looking at here) the keyboard has been completely redesigned for the 16-inch. The keyboard is still the focus of an active process of retrieval.
The 16-inch Magic Keyboard was built to be much more robust and for more convenient typing for smoother movement. Also returning was the actual Escape button – it is missing on the 13-inch versions (this shows on the Touch Bar).
Thunderbolt 3/Two USB-C ports are accessible on the 13-inch. However, the top-end model has four slots. All of the 16-inch versions have four slots too. Each MacBook Pro has the Force Touch trackpad and 3.5 mm headphone jack.
Graphics, processor & Storage Difference:
While the 13-inch MacBook Pro has Intel Core processors of the 8th generation, the 16-inch version includes several variants of the 9th generation and everything on the larger model has either 6 or 8 cores.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro model sports quad-core Core i5 CPUs, either 1.4 or 2.4 GHz clocked. The Core i7 can be customized with maximum Turbo Boost speeds lof 4.7 GHz at two different levels i.e., 1.7 GHz or 2.8 GHz.
The 16-inch Intel Core i7 has the ‘standard’ option of a 2.6 GHz six-core Intel Core i7, but there are two Core i9 CPUs that you can either clock at 2.3 GHz or 2.4 GHz for 4.5 or 5 GHz Turbo Boost rates.
AMD Radeon Pro 5500 M or 5300 M with Ati Radeon Graphs are used in the 16 inch MacBook Pro. The GDDR6 with 4GB RAM is used for seamless conversion of graphics from that to Intel.
The MacBook Pro 13-inch has no availability for separate graphics option, unfortunately. But in 645 and 655 models, Intel’s Iris Plus graphics chips are available, depending on the model. But, they’re not a 16-inch laptops.
You can attach up to 64 GB of space to the 16-inch version, while the 13-inch edition can have up to 16 GB. The main ram is 8 GB of 2133MHzLPDDR3 on the 13-inch and 16 GB of 2666MHz DDR4 on the 16-inch screen.
You can expand the internal storage up to 8TB on the 16-inch. While the 13 inch MacBook Pro can be expand up to 2TB. But they are initially available at 512GB and 128GB for 16 inch and 13 inch respectively. As we mentioned earlier, at the time of purchase, adding more internal storage significantly increases costs.
All of the MacBook Pro range has its own T2 processor from Apple. This is a safety processor that manages Touch ID and some other functions including driving Siri.
Display Difference:
With a resolution of 3,072x 1,920 pixels (226ppi), the 16-inch version has nearly six million pixels on board. The 13-inch version has a resolution just like the older 13-inch MacBook Pros that is 2,560x 1,600 pixels (227ppi).
The screens for MacBook Pro have a wide range of P3 shades, True Tone, and 500 nits of brightness. True Tone is a first released software on the iPad Pro, which changes the display to suit the room’s lighting color temperature.
Prize Difference:
The latest 16-inch version starts at $2,399/£2,399, £50 more than the 15-inch outgoing edition. You’re going to have to pay for the13-inch from $1,299/£1,299.
As normal, the CPU, ram and space can be fine-tuned, although the wider SSD storage options are expensive as always.
Final Verdict
The MacBook Pro16-inch rather than 13 inch MacBook Pro is a real advance in versatility and option. But you need to pay a huge cost for excellent graphics, bigger screen, and greater power. It is a device for people who edit audio, images, chop between tasks and need the coordinating strength of a do-anything system.
The 13-inch version is still our option for most users and it’s always worth seeing if that’s the 13-inch laptop you like, with the MacBook Air now much more powerful.
Read Next: MacBook Pro 16 inch: Apple Changed the Butterfly-style Keyboard for All Good Reasons
