Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
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GENERAL USE: Excellent—9.4/10
GAMING/AI: Very Good—8.1/10
ENG/DESIGN: Excellent—9.3/10
SOFTWARE DEV: Excellent—9.3/10
CONTENT CREATION: Excellent—9.3/10
PORTABILITY: Good—7.6/10
BATTERY: Best in Class—9.5/10
OVERALL SCREEN QUALITY: Best in Class—9.5/10
OVERALL PERFORMANCE: Very Good—8.9/10
SIZE: 16.2"
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) comes at a high-end price and offers a premium experience suitable for a range of professional tasks. With its large storage capacity and substantial memory, it can handle demanding software for engineering, 3D, and machine learning efficiently. The main processor and integrated graphics are designed to support resource-intensive applications with ease. The laptop boasts a Mini LED display with high resolution, making for excellent visual clarity, vibrant colors, and good contrast, beneficial for creative professionals who require color accuracy. Despite its advanced features, the MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is relatively portable for its size, yet heavier than smaller and more compact models, which might affect its appeal to those needing ultra-portability. It is also equipped with a high battery capacity, which translates to long hours of use between charges, useful for on-the-go users. The machine doesn't have a gaming laptop appearance and is not geared towards intensive gaming; however, its build quality, cooling system, and overall performance suit a broad spectrum of general and specialized tasks outside of gaming. High-quality input devices include a backlit keyboard and a precise touchpad, while security features include a fingerprint reader. The port selection is considerable, with multiple USB-C and Thunderbolt ports, but lacks an Ethernet port—something to consider for those requiring wired network connections. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Evaluation
Pros
- Impressive screen quality
- Outstanding speaker performance
- Robust build quality
- Excellent battery life
- Powerful M2 Max processor
Cons
- High cost
- Moderate portability
- No touchscreen
- Limited upgradability
Ratings by Category
Build Quality:5.0
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, chassis rigidity, and overall reliability. Our assessment of build quality includes many details that are difficult to quantify. Our laptop experts use their best judgment to produce the final score.
General Use:4.9
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.
The most important factors in this score include CPU performance, amount of RAM, screen quality, storage, and battery life.
Keyboard quality, speaker quality, low fan noise, heat management, and to a lesser extent webcam quality are all moderately important factors for this score.
Engineering & Design:4.9
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, CAD and 3D work.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Content Creation:4.9
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, and video editing work.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Battery Life:4.9
PerfectRec’s Battery Life rating is based on hours of battery life in typical usage scenarios.
General Use Screen Quality:4.9
The general use screen score is based on the screen technology, contrast ratio, resolution, brightness, color gamut and color accuracy. This score does not take into account specialized display features for specific use cases, such as high refresh rate for gaming.
Keyboard Quality:4.9
The Keyboard Quality score is based on the PerfectRec experts’ assessment of tactile feedback, typing comfort, keyboard reliability and typing noise.
Software Development:4.8
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software development.
In addition to a strong emphasis on overall performance, this score also places very high importance on screen quality. Heat management, storage, keyboard and speaker quality are also incorporated, with fan noise rounding out this score.
Operating Noise:4.6
PerfectRec’s Operating Noise Score is based on fan noise measurements. Laptops with a fanless design, such as Macbooks, receive the maximum score.
Gaming & AI:4.5
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) excels in 3D due to its powerful Apple M2 Max GPU with 30 compute units, which handles complex graphics tasks efficiently, and a high 120Hz screen refresh rate, enabling smoother visuals and more fluid on-screen motion.
Portability:4.2
PerfectRec’s portability rating takes into account the volume and thickness of the laptop as well as its weight.
Full Specs
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
| Price | $3,299 | ||
Release Date | January 1, 2023 | ||
Overall Dimensions | 14'' x 9.8'' x 0.66'' | ||
Weight | 4.7 lbs | ||
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | Apple M2 Max (12C) | ||
Graphics | M2 Max (30C) | ||
Mux Switch / Advanced Optimus | No | ||
RAM | 32 GB | ||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | ||
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | 17.5 Hours | ||
Battery Capacity | 99.6 Wh | ||
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | 16.2" | ||
Display Technology | Mini LED | ||
Resolution | 3456 x 2234 | ||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | ||
Display Brightness | 487 nits | ||
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score  | 10/10 | ||
Portability Score | 7.6/10 | ||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | ||
Fan Noise Score | 8.8/10 | ||
Keyboard Lighting Color | White | ||
Warranty Period | 1 year | ||
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | 9.5/10 | ||
Speaker Quality Score | 10/10 | ||
Webcam | 1080p | ||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | ||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | ||
Number Pad | No | ||
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | 0 | ||
USB-C ports | 3 | ||
USB-C Charging | Yes | ||
Display Outputs | 4 | ||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | ||
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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
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NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | February 2023
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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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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