The Apple MacBook Pro 13 offers a fanless design for silent operation, a high-quality Retina display with True Tone technology, and the efficient Apple M1 chip which provides excellent performance for everyday tasks and good battery life. It's compact and well-built, suitable for general use, light gaming, and casual content creation. However, it has limited upgradeability and ports, and the screen refresh rate is standard at 60Hz.
On the other hand, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED features a larger, vibrant OLED display with a higher refresh rate of 120Hz, making it ideal for smoother visuals and better color accuracy, which is great for media consumption and content creation. It's equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor and Arc GPU, offering better performance in gaming and more demanding tasks like 3D rendering and machine learning compared to the MacBook Pro. It also has more storage, additional USB ports, and Thunderbolt support. However, it's slightly heavier, and the battery life may not match the MacBook Pro's efficiency.
In summary, choose the MacBook Pro for its silent operation, compact size, and excellent build quality, which is ideal for general use and light creative work. Opt for the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED if you prioritize a larger, higher-quality display, superior performance in demanding tasks, and more connectivity options. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020)
Best in class overall build quality
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Engineering and Design
7.3/10
8.0/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
7.6/10
8.8/10
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
491.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
600.0 nits
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
20.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 has 20 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Very Good
13.3in
SIZE
15.6in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
3.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.5in
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED both have very good portability, though the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
6.7/10
3.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Content Creation
7.8/10
8.0/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED to be very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.8/10
7.8/10
6.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1620
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED and Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Cost
$1,249
$1,249
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) has a price of $1,249 and the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED costs $1,249.
Give feedback
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) and the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED compare to other laptops
"The MacBook Pro 13 is still a very good subnotebook. The 2022 MacBook Pro 13 might look like recycling at first, because the device is completely identical to the old model expect for the new M2 SoC. We have to admit that we were surprised to see another iteration of the MBP 13 as well. The laptop is obviously familiar, but this does not change the fact that it is still a very good subnotebook. You get an excellent chassis with good stability, a very good display, good input devices and the new M2 chip is very powerful and efficient."
"The Asus Vivobook S 15 OLED excels as a capable work machine at an affordable price. It offers commendable performance, thanks to its 12th Gen Intel chip, delivers quality on-screen entertainment with its 15.6-inch OLED display, and can (kind of) get you through a full day of work. Oh, and its special Asus Antibacterial Guard is a nice touch for those who like a clean laptop."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020) or the ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.