Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max
[ VERDICT ]
Winner: Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max (91/100)
Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max leads overall with a score of 91/100 compared to Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) (72/100), offering superior measured performance and technical specifications.
Why choose Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max:
- + Higher DeviceBenchmark Score score (91 vs 72)
- + Higher Performance score (94 vs 62)
- + Higher Gaming score (86 vs 22)
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Normalized Lab Scores| Benchmark | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| DeviceBenchmark Score | 72.0 Good | 91.0 Excellent WINNER |
| Gaming | 22.0 Poor | 86.0 Very Good WINNER |
| Performance | 62.0 Average | 94.0 Excellent WINNER |
| Battery Life | — | 98.0 Excellent |
| Display | — | 98.0 Excellent |
| Portability | — | 88.0 Very Good |
Detailed Technical Specifications
Battery
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Battery type | Li-Po | — |
| Cable length | 2 meters | — |
| Charge power | 140 W | — |
| Charging port position | Left, Right | — |
| Charging via USB (Power Delivery) | Yes, 100 W | — |
| Fast charging | Yes | — |
| Full charging time | 1:25 hr | — |
| Replaceable | No | — |
| Weight of AC adapter | 353 grams | — |
| Battery Life | — | Up to 22 hours video playback |
| Battery Wh | — | 100 Wh Lithium-Polymer |
CPU
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Base frequency | 3.2 GHz | — |
| Cores | 10 (8P + 2E) | — |
| Fabrication process | 5 nm | — |
| Integrated GPU | Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) | — |
| Threads | 10 | — |
Case
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 882 cm2(136.8 inches2) | — |
| Colors | Silver, Gray | — |
| Cooling system | Active | — |
| Dimensions | 355.7 x 248.1 x 16.8 mm14 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches | — |
| Material | Aluminum | — |
| Noise level (max. load) | 37.4 dB | — |
| Number of fans | 2 | — |
| Opening angle | 135° | — |
| Screen-to-body ratio | ~86.2% | — |
| Side bezels | 3.4 mm | — |
| Transformer | No | — |
| Vapor chamber | No | — |
| Weight | 2.1 kg (4.63 lbs) | 2.16 kg (4.8 lbs) |
Connectivity
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Audio jack (3.5 mm) | Yes | — |
| Bluetooth | v5 | — |
| DisplayPort | No | — |
| Ethernet (RJ45) | No | — |
| Fingerprint | Yes | — |
| HDMI | 1x HDMI 2.0 | — |
| Infrared sensor | No | — |
| Optical drive | No | — |
| Proprietary charging port | Yes | — |
| SD card reader | Yes | — |
| Thunderbolt | Thunderbolt 4 | — |
| USB Type-C | 3x USB 4.0 | — |
| USB-A | No | — |
| VGA | No | — |
| Webcam | Above the display | — |
| Webcam resolution | 1920 x 1080 | — |
| Wi-Fi standard | v6 | — |
| Ports | — | 3x Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, SDXC slot, MagSafe 3 |
Display
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (24-120 Hz) | — |
| Adobe RGB profile | 88% | — |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | — |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | — |
| Coating | Glossy (Antireflective) | — |
| Contrast | 25700:1 | — |
| DCI-P3 color gamut | 99.1% | — |
| HDR support | Yes, Dolby Vision | — |
| PPI | 254 ppi | — |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | — |
| Resolution | 3456 x 2234 pixels | — |
| Response time | 67 ms | — |
| Size | 16.2 inches | — |
| Sync technology | No | — |
| Touchscreen | No | — |
| Type | Mini LED | — |
| sRGB color space | 100% | — |
| Refresh Rate | — | 120 Hz ProMotion, 1600 nits peak HDR |
| Screen Size | — | 16.2 inches Liquid Retina XDR (3456 x 2234) |
Graphics Card
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Blender GPU | 465 | — |
| FLOPS | 5.3 TFLOPS | — |
| GPU base clock | 450 MHz | — |
| GPU boost clock | 1296 MHz | — |
| GPU performance | 5.3 TFLOPS | — |
| Memory bus | 256 bit | — |
| Memory size | System Shared | — |
| Memory speed | 6.4 Gbps | — |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | — |
| Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) | 64 | — |
| Shading units (cores) | 2048 | — |
| Solar Bay | 12055 | — |
| TGP | 30 W | — |
| Texture mapping units (TMUs) | 128 | — |
Input
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Backlight | Yes | — |
| Key travel | 1 mm | — |
| Keyboard type | Island | — |
| Numpad | No | — |
| Surface | Glass | — |
| Windows Precision | No | — |
RAM
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | 2x8 GB | — |
| Clock | 6400 MHz | — |
| Upgradable | No | — |
Sound
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | — |
| Loudness | ~84.7 dB | — |
| Microphones | 3 | — |
| Speakers | 4.2 (4 tweeters and 2 woofers) | — |
Storage
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Bus | Custom | — |
| NVMe | Yes | — |
| Storage type | SSD (M2) | — |
Design
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 2.1 kg (4.63 lbs) | 2.16 kg (4.8 lbs) |
Performance
| Specification | Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) | Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max |
|---|---|---|
| Cpu | — | Apple M3 Max (16-core CPU: 12P + 4E) |
| Gpu | — | Apple 40-core Integrated GPU (Hardware Ray Tracing) |
| Ram | — | 36 GB Unified Memory (300 GB/s bandwidth) |
| Storage | — | 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (up to 7.4 GB/s) |
Looking for More Comparisons?
Browse all available head-to-head comparisons or select new devices in the comparison hub.