MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) vs MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,3993launch price | £2,3994launch price |
| Chip | M1 Prochip | Core i72.6GHz 6-core Intel |
| CPU | 10-coreCPU | 6-coreCPU |
| GPU | 16-coreGPU | Not available5GPU |
| Memory | 16GBunified memory, base | 16GBmemory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 512GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to21 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Up to11 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 26 October 20213ReleasedIn select Apple Stores; orderable online from 18 October 2021. | 13 November 20196Available online; Apple gave no in-store day |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro M1 Pro is £2,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Pro is £2,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
True to scale
Footprints from above, from Apple’s published dimensions, drawn to one scale and superposed. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.
Body
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm | 16.2 x 357.9 x 245.9 mm |
| Weight | 2.1 kg | 2 kg |
| Colours | Silver, Space Gray | Silver, Space Gray |
| Ports | Three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 port, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jack | Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports8 | 3 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.9 | No USB-A ports.10 |
| HDMI | HDMI port | No HDMI port.11 |
| SD card slot | Yes | No SD card slot.11 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Yes | No MagSafe port.10 |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch Bar and Touch ID |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Touch Bar | No Touch Bar.12 | Yes |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 16.2 in | 16 in |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 | 3072 x 1920 |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | 226 ppi |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display | Retina display |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | 1,600 nits | Not available13 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | No nano-texture display option.12 | Not available5 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M1 Pro chip | 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.10 |
| CPU cores | 10 | 6 |
| Performance cores | 8 | Not available14 |
| Efficiency cores | 2 | Not available14 |
| GPU cores | 16 | Not available5 |
| Graphics | 16-core GPU15 | AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | Not available16 |
| Chip options | M1 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU17 | 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 2.3GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 or 2.4GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 |
| Memory (base) | 16GB | 16GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 32GB17 | 64GB |
| Memory options | 16GB or 32GB17 | 16GB, 32GB or 64GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents18 | No, as Apple documents18 |
| Memory bandwidth | 200 GB/s | Not available19 |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 512GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB17 | 8TB |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB17 | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engine | Not available16 |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 100 Wh | 100 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles20 | 1,000 cycles20 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 21 h | 11 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 14 h | 11 h |
| Included power adapter | 140 W | 96 W |
| Fast charging | Yes | No fast charging.11 |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 | 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.12 | No Ethernet port.11 |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 4 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers | High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming |
Platform
| Specification | MacBook Pro M1 Pro1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Shipped with | macOS Monterey21 | macOS Catalina22 |
| Newest macOS | macOS 27 Golden Gate23 | macOS Tahoe 2624 |
| Model identifier | MacBookPro18,1, MacBookPro18,225 | MacBookPro16,1, MacBookPro16,426 |
| Model year | 2021 | 2019 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Pro M1 Pro: Thunderbolt 4. MacBook Pro: Thunderbolt 3.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No fast charging. No Ethernet port.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no separate HDR peak for this display
↩Doesn’t apply: this is an Intel processor, and Apple lists a total core count only
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple silicon feature; this Mac has an Intel processor
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple publishes it only for Apple silicon
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS Tahoe 26 is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart's only 16-inch (2021) M1 Pro entry lists 10 GPU cores, not the 16 this Mac has, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications, read 9 Oct 2026.
MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.
If you own one of them
Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro M1 Pro (16-inch, 2021)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.