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What Is the Difference Between Macbook Pro 13 i5 vs i7? (Before You Buy)

What Is the Difference Between Macbook Pro 13 i5 vs i7? (Before You Buy)

Apple has been in the tech game for a while now and they’ve launched products that aren’t only good in terms of their performance but their aesthetics are what truly make them stand out.

One of their most successful products as we all know is the Macbook. It’s used in various workspaces, study halls, libraries, and cafes, it has taken over the consumers’ choice with its power and fast working speed.

You might be using a Macbook, but do you know how it started?

If not, let me be your assistant and guide you through this miracle of building the Macbook.

History of the MacBook

MacBook Pro as we all know is one of the most utilized products, it’s a line of Macintosh notebook computers by Apple. It was first introduced in January 2006, as it was a better and faster version of the Macbook family.

In 2006, Macbooks were Intel-based, the most consumer-focused was Macbook Air. These were sold within 13 inches to 17 inches screens.

Launch of the MacBook Pro 13

On November 10, 2020, new 13-inch Macbook Pro models were launched, and with them came a new Apple M1 chip which replaced Intel processors and graphics options.

What are M1-Chips?

The Apple M1 is an ARM-based system on a chip designed by Apple Inc. as a central processing unit and graphics processing unit for its Macintosh MacBook notebooks.

M1 chip secured superb reviews for its outstanding performance and power, and it’s the hard work of Apple for years and decades to get to the apex.

MacBook Pro 13 Specifications

MacBook Pro 13 is known for its performance worldwide because it has an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores and an 8-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine. With three different colors silver, space, and gray, and with a Retina display of 13.3 inches (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology.

It offers an outstanding 2560 by 1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with the support of millions of colors. It also supports 1680 by 1050, 1440 by 900, and 1024 by 640. As well as 500 nits of brightness, Wide color (p3) True Tone Technology, and the Operating system macOS.

Battery and Power

MacBook Pro 13 has an amazing display and it has up to 17 hours of wireless web and up to 20 hours of Apple TV movie playback, a built-in 58.2 watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, and a 67W USB-C Power Adapter.

Memory and Storage

With an 8GB unified memory configurable to 16GB. It uses SSD to give the consumer the fastest experience the consumer could ask for. It comes in 256GB and 512GB but you can upgrade to 1TB and 2TB as the consumer desires.

Charging and Expansion

Moreover, there are Two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports which support Charging, Displayport, Thunderbolts 3 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Keyboard and Trackpad

Backlit Magic keyboard with 65 (U.S.) or 66(ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement, a Touch Bar, Touch sensor, Ambient light sensor, Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities, Enable force click, Accelerators, Pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures.

A close-up shot of a MacBook's Keyboard

Wifi and Bluetooth

MacBook has wireless technology which can be used anywhere the consumer desires. It has 802.11ax Wi-Fi with 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and a Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology.

Camera

It has a standard 720p face time camera which can help a consumer in having a video call with someone, taking photos, or an online class.

Operating System

It uses the operating system macOS. macOS is the most advanced desktop operating system in the world and it is the most up-to-date. macOS Monterey introduces new and fast features that money can buy to help you connect and share.

MacBook Pro 13 i5 vs. i7: Better Option?

With the specification of Macbook pro 13, we can now differentiate between Macbook Pro i5 and i7.

MacBook Pro i5 and i7 offer almost the same specifications, the Core i5 processor gives us a 2.4GHz quad-core, 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor with a turbo boost of 4.1GHZ whereas, the i7 processor provides us with a 1.7GHz quad-core and 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with a turbo boost of 4.5GHz.

i5 provides Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 and i7 provides Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645. On top of that i5 offers four Thunderbolt 3 ports and the i7 offers two Thunderbolts.

Baseus Type C to Type C Cable

The rest of the specifications are the same in both i5 and i7. i7 takes the lead when it comes to multitasking and the reason for this is that i7 offers twice the number of available cores thus making higher-spec models stand out.

If we look into the speed between the two, it is almost the same when it comes to general tasks like browsing, watching movies, etc. However, when you start using tasks that require more resources such as rendering video or complex uses i7 exceeds the performance of i5.

In terms of the battery, i5 is much better at keeping your laptop working longer because it has fewer cores thus it requires lower power consumption.

Difference in Specifications

MacBook Pro i7 MacBook Pro i5
2.3GHz quad‑core 10th‑generation Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz 2.0GHz Intel Core i5
13.3‑inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology
1TB SSD
13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 Retina display
2TB SSD
Intel Iris Plus GraphicsIntel Iris Plus Graphics
802.11ac Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth 5.0,IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible802.11ac Wi-F, Bluetooth 5.0
720P FaceTime HD camera720p FaceTime HD webcam
macOSmacOS
Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensorTouch Bar with integrated sensor
Wireless web Up to 10 hoursUp to 10 hours
0.61 x 11.97 x8.36 inches11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches
3.1 pounds (1.4 kg)3.1 pounds (1.4kg)
16 GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory16GB (3,733MHz LPDDR4X)

Main Differences to Note Down

One of the main differences between the Intel i5 vs i7 MacBook Pro is the addition of hyper-threading in the chip of the later model.

Hyper-threading differentiates impressive Intel processors and enables the CPU to perform double as there are many variations in the number of cores

As we already know Apple offers dual-core versions of the intel core i5 and i7 processors for their Macbook pro 13. Both of these are quite similar in a lot of areas.

Both of these have a TDP of 28W. Core i7 has a slightly higher base and turbo clock, a 100 MHz increase on the clock of the integrated Iris GPU, and a 1 MB higher level 3 cache.

In my opinion, the performance gap is not significant, Core i5 will also cover all of your needs.

What Exactly is Hyper-Threading?

Hyper-threading is a process by which a CPU divides its physical cores into virtual cores. They act as though they’re physical cores by the operating system.

Which One Consumes More Battery: MacBook i5 or i7?

The most asked question by the consumer is which Macbook Pro has the best battery life. Under a heavy workload, the Core i5 achieved 5.53 hours of battery life, while the Core i7 achieved 4.68 hours of battery life.

Apple's Type C supported Laptop charger

That’s 18% less battery life under heavy use. The Core i7 CPU also posted higher average temperatures significantly on the bottom of the laptop. The MacBook Pro i5 has a battery life of 8 hours whereas the Macbook Pro i7 has a battery life of 10 hours

Which Is Better for Gaming: MacBook i5 or i7?

If you’re a die-hard gamer, then i7 is an obvious choice, though it may cost a bit more. Otherwise, you would be great with a quad-core i5.

It depends on whether or not you will use all the cores. If you’re going to run software that demands a lot then it’s worth it.

Which Is Better for Editing Video: MacBook i5 or i7?

Well, it depends on the variant you choose, i7 with a 32GB RAM and 1TB of SSD drive is fast enough to render your videos and edit them easily whereas the i5 with a 4GB RAM and 500GB of HDD isn’t as efficient or powerful enough for editing or rendering videos and would take a lot of time.

But i5 also comes in a 16GB RAM with a 512GB SSD which is also fast enough to render your videos and you would have to pay a little bit more than what you were paying for the first variant of the Macbook Pro i5.

If you’re on the lookout for something that will help you in video editing then looking for a processor with a fast speed would be the ultimate choice. In terms of processors, i9 is better than an i7 and an i7 is better than an i5

A higher RAM is always helpful for professional usage, it’s recommended to go for a Macbook Pro 13” i7 with 8GB RAM instead of 4GB.

Video editing is quite a task as it uses up most of your resources but Apple offers their users Final Cut Pro which is far better than a lot of other 3rd party editing software and will deliver its utmost performance no matter what hardware you are on.

Pros and Cons of Macbook Pro i5

Pros

  • Great performance
  • Long battery life
  • Large storage option
  • Plenty of ports for comprehensive connectivity
  • Innovative touchpad
  • Bright retina display

Cons

  • Thicker body than the competition

Pros and Cons of Macbook Pro i7

Pros

  • Extra-long battery life
  • Massive storage space
  • Fast SSD hard drive
  • Latest macOS version
  • Better performance with better CPU

Cons

  • Dual-Display support. It supports two external displays at the same time

Which One Is Better: MacBook i5 or i7?

A picture of a laptop with an Intel Core i7 10th Gen

In the end, the winner is i7, but i5 is also a high-performance machine. If you don’t have the extra bucks to buy a Macbook Pro i7, you can get an i5.

But before you upgrade or buy a Macbook Pro i7, you should question yourself is it worth the money, if your work gets completed with your Macbook Pro i5 then you should stick with it.

But in this comparison, i5 and i7 are high-performance machines and equally good, but in the end, i7 is superior to the i5 Macbook Pro.

Conclusion

Both of these offer impressive performances and cover every slight detail whether that would be in terms of display, performance battery, etc. These two CPUs don’t have a lot of differences and they are a good choice for almost everyone.

If you’re on a budget, then i5 will not only come under that but it will also deliver a good performance. And if your pockets are loaded, then i7 is waiting for you.

Apple has been dominating the tech industry and their Macbook pro 13″ was an edition that took their game up another level.

If I were you I would have gone for the CPU upgrade as, who knows what the next Gen could hold. Nowadays the new Unreal Engine 5 had shown its performance and its requirements we have witnessed its potential in the gaming industry as well as the animation industry.

Also, the MacBook is famous for video editing as every single video editor prefers to use MacBook as a video editor. Big and famous movie sets also use MacBook for video editing furthermore the music editing industry also prefers MacBook or apple appliances.

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