Apple MacBook Pro 16″ Review for 2023
Learn all about the Apple MacBook Pro 16″ laptop in our 2023 review. We cover performance, value, and more to help you make an informed decision.
Apple Laptop Brand Review
The Apple brand needs no introduction, it has grown from its humble beginnings In Cupertino, California to become the most valuable brand in the world, with its products ranging from consumer electronics and computer software to a vast offering of online services.
Its Laptop series, Macbooks, belong to the crème de la crème of laptop brands, with its sole focus on delivering top-tier Macbooks serving it ever so well.
The laptops are a beauty to behold, the iconic Apple logo is a stunner, and all around these laptops, the most advanced hardware components team up with gilt-edged software to deliver performances that are the envy of the competition.
And even though the price tags scream premium class, you’ll need no convincing as their reputation precedes them, and be rest assured that the MacBooks will give you reasonable value for money.
Design and Build Quality
The Macbooks from the stable of Apple are widely acclaimed for the elegance and robustness of their builds.
While some hardware components have undergone significant changes over the years, their penchant for employing chassis of an aluminum build has been sustained across generations of Laptop rollouts.
The Higher-end Macbook Pro has undergone four generations of rollout, nay five, with each one distinguished by nuances in the display, port assembly, trackpad design, and a couple of other fronts.
The fourth generation featured a couple of sweeping changes, none so much as the introduction of the short-lived and problem-ridden butterfly keyboard, the adoption of the USB-C technology, and the integration of a newly introduced touch ID into the power button.
The later introduced Macbook air laptop series adopt the same Aluminum build, except this time it has been extensively machined and milled to give up some of its heft.
Also, the keyboard and trackpad area is given more real-estate as well, and the “retina display” of the screen has also become a mainstay.
Pricing
From the early years of the Macintosh to the contemporary Macbooks, the issue of pricing has always been on the front burner, an overwhelming majority of laptops from the stables of Apple are unapologetically pricey.
On the flip side, Apple employs the best hands, they use top-tier hardware and even produce, and use their own processor chips and operating system, all of these cost a ton of resources to assemble.
In exchange for setting you back by some big bucks, you get the big bang, as well as the satisfaction that you have gotten a laptop that is worth your well-spent money.
Apple makes only mid-to-high-end computers and laptops, an average Apple Laptop will set you back by about $1000, and the higher-end Macbook Pro laptops might cost more than a MacBook Air of similar make-up and specification.
While new rollouts like the 16″ Macbook pro costs upwards of $2000, you can still find the Apple MacBook Air(late 2020 model) with the powerful M1 CPU and 8GB RAM for $950.
Durability and Reliability
Apple has built a longstanding reputation for the durability and reliability of its devices, laptops inclusive.
While well-known toughies like the LG Gram 17 and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 both sport a full body magnesium alloy chassis, the Macbooks stick with Aluminium and it serves them ever so well.
The unibody Aluminium build of a vast majority of its Macbooks serves to equip them with the sturdiness and robustness that makes them some of the most enduring laptops on offer.
There are some caveats however, the Macbook Pro might bear the scars from accidental drops, and the screen has become very vulnerable since the advent of the famed “retina display”, while the fanless design of some models might leave the hardware susceptible to buildup of deleterious heat and dust particles.
Target Market
The functionality and pricing of the Macbooks tend to be better suited to the work and reach of professionals and enterprise-centric consumers.
And as much as the high prices appear to be a legitimate concern, Apple seems to have struck a chord with many middle to high-income households, professionals, and even students for whom there is a little discount on offer.
This is evident in the fact that their laptops still command huge patronage in the market. There is even such a word as the “Apple Fanboy”, a term for loyal Apple products enthusiasts and consumers alike.
To their credit, the Apple laptop brand, unlike others, devotes all of its time and money to the development of only two models, the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, and the result is admittedly impressive.
The Macbook Pro is the higher-end version of the MacBook family, dedicated to the work of professionals in the education, creative and business sphere.
Notable models include the 13.3-inch Macbook Pro with the game-changing M1 chip, while the 16″ model is famed for its extensive memory and storage capacity as well as for its stunning big-screen display and impressive AMD Radeon Pro 5300M graphics processor.
The Macbook Air is generally less priced, less spec’d, and possesses lesser heft in comparison to the MacBook Pro. The unibody aluminum design is a constant feature, as is the full-sized keyboard.
It is the go-to laptop for power users, and with the promise of the M1 chip for subsequent rollouts, in addition to the presence of the “retina display” and “magic keyboard”, this laptop model is the envy of its peers.
Battery
Apple’s MacBooks do not exactly set the standard for battery life, but they still post a decent number for runtimes.
Their laptops have the advantage that they have pre-installed a majority of the tools that the typical owner will use for everyday work as well as productive tasks.
These apps have all been customized and optimized to match the battery capacity of their host laptop.
Stock apps and programs for audio and video editing, web browsing, Virtual Assistants, the list is endless, they are all built-in, and they are kind to the battery.
The typical battery performance of both MacBooks can best be distinguished by comparing the MacBook Air 13″ with the MacBook Pro, both of which use the M1 chip.
Despite the lack of battery headroom in the relatively leaner and lighter Macbook Air 13″, the laptop still endures about 15 hours of wireless web browsing, although the fanless design here is a sour point.
The MacBook Pro 13″ fronts a slightly higher runtime of 17 hours, if we are to go by Apple-defined figures. Another noteworthy mention is the Macbook Pro 16 with its capacity of 100 Wh, promising a more lasting runtime.
Performance
If the MacBooks of the yesteryears delivered powerful performance with the intel-based processors (and they did), then the introduction of the much-hyped M1 chip will be revolutionary.
And going by the feelers that we’re getting from the 13-inch Macbook Air and Macbook Pro; the novel beneficiaries of this powerhouse, it is fair to say that the outlook is very promising.
Apple’s ARM-based proprietary processor, the M1, is a game-changer. Its CPU is armed with four cores each for efficiency and performance.
While four efficiency cores should just be enough for everyday apps like safari, the most intensive and demanding apps for coding, video editing, and graphics designing will be blown away by the multithreaded performance that results when the four performance cores join forces.
And the best part is that you get all of this speed and power at minimal cost to your battery life, in fact, the batteries now last twice as long as they did with the previous Intel-based processors.
The MacBooks are in a league of their own in this regard, it is what sets them apart from the competition and why their laptops command such a high level of following, despite their higher prices.
Support and warranty
It kind of seems like for every MacBook you buy, there is a dedicated channel that is activated through which you can get support for all issues that you’ll encounter during the lifespan of your MacBook.
Apple gets bonus points for the accessibility, and very importantly the expertise of its support system. Their online presence is also impressive, although there is no Facebook platform to work with.
Also, a one-year warranty is offered for all Apple-branded hardware product and their associated accessories to cover defects in materials and workmanship.
The finer points of this warranty are very clearly spelled out, so every MacBook purchaser gets the drill very early on.
Drawbacks
The high prices of most MacBooks are the major talking point. Apple has often been accused of serving up hardware and system components with low specifications at the base configurations.
Upgrading them-when it is even possible will set you back by a significant fee.
To make matters worse, most MacBooks do not fare well with non-stock Apple apps as there is a frustrating lack of software support for them to function optimally, windows apps are badly affected by this disservice of sorts.
And that is not all, the ports are short on options, and the 720p webcam on all their models is begging for an upgrade, thankfully newer models now sport the scissors style “magic keyboard”, a thoughtful replacement for the cringeworthy butterfly keyboard of yore.
In a Nutshell
Apple’s MacBooks offer unparalleled performance and reliability for an equally unrivaled range of prices.
If your pockets have the right depth, then you can almost not go wrong with a Macbook, with looks that turn heads, and a system packed to the rafters with innovations that sets it apart.