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Retina Display MacBook Pro Q&A
Update Published August 11, 2014
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What are all the differences between the "Late 2013" Retina Display MacBook Pro models and the "Early 2013" models replaced?
Please note that the "Early 2013" and "Late 2013" Retina Display MacBook Pro lines both have been discontinued. However, this Q&A is up-to-date and is quite useful for anyone buying or selling one of these notebooks on the used market.
As they look practically identical, it would be easy to mistake any of the "Late 2013" Retina Display MacBook Pro models for their "Early 2013" predecessors.
Specifically, the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.4 13", "Core i5" 2.6 13", "Core i7" 2.8 13" , "Core i7" 2.0 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.3 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.6 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.3 15" (DG), and "Core i7" 2.6 15" (DG) are "Late 2013" systems whereas the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.6 13", "Core i7" 3.0 13", "Core i7" 2.4 15", "Core i7" 2.7 15", and "Core i7" 2.8 15" are "Early 2013" ones.
However, there are major processor, architecture, and graphics differences as well as important storage, Wi-Fi, and connectivity differences. At least when side-by-side, the 13-Inch models even have noticeable external differences. The two lines also have unique identifiers and these are critical to note, too.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Retina Display MacBook Pro -- 13" Left, 15" Right)
External Similarities & Differences
All of the Retina Display MacBook Pro models use similar -- and effectively "sealed" -- aluminum and glass case designs of uniform thickness. All of the 15-Inch models are the same dimensions -- 0.71 of an inch thick, 14.13 inches wide, and 9.73 inches deep -- and weigh 4.46 pounds (2.02 kg).
However, the "Late 2013" 13-Inch models are a bit thinner than the earlier models -- 0.71 inches thick rather than 0.75 inches -- and a bit lighter as well -- 3.46 pounds (1.57 kg) rather than 3.57 lbs (1.62 kg).
All of these models have a high-resolution LED-backlit widescreen "Retina" display. Specifically, the 13-Inch models all have a 13.3" widescreen 2560x1600 (227 ppi) display and the 15-Inch models have a 15.4" widescreen 2880x1800 (220 ppi) display. By default, all 13-Inch and 15-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro models run "pixel doubled" at 1280x800 and 1440x900, respectively, but with four times the detail of a "traditional" display.
Additionally, all of these models have a full-size "chiclet-style" backlit keyboard, a glass "no button" trackpad with "inertial scrolling" support, integrated stereo speakers, dual microphones, and an integrated 720p FaceTime HD webcam.
Connectivity Similarities & Differences
There are some connectivity similarities between the "Early 2013" and "Late 2013" lines, but there are important differences, as well.
Specifically, all of these models have two USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, an HDMI port, an audio out port, an SDXC card slot, and a "MagSafe 2" power connector port. However, the "Early 2013" models have 3-stream 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and two "Thunderbolt" ports whereas the "Late 2013" models have faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi and two faster "Thunderbolt 2" ports.
Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet and Thunderbolt-to-Firewire 800 adapters also are available at extra cost for those who need this connectivity.
Identification Differences
The Retina Display MacBook Pro models with the same external housing share external Model Numbers. Specifically, the 15-Inch models from both lines are model number A1398, whereas the "Early 2013" 13-Inch models are A1425 and the thinner "Late 2013" 13-Inch models are A1502.
The "Late 2013" systems originally could be uniquely identified by Model Identifiers in software -- MacBookPro11,1 for the 13-Inch models and MacBookPro11,2 and MacBookPro11,3 for the 15-Inch models -- but the "Early 2013" models share identifiers with the earlier "Mid-2012" and "Late 2012" models. The subsequently introduced "Mid-2014" models also share the same respective model identifiers as the "Late 2013" systems.
Consequently, EMC Numbers are better for more unique identification. As always, EveryMac.com has hand documented these precise details for your convenience:
Retina MacBook Pro |
Subfamily |
EMC No |
13-Inch |
Early 2013 |
|
15-Inch |
Early 2013 |
|
13-Inch |
Late 2013 |
|
15-Inch (Integrated Graphics) |
Late 2013 |
|
15-Inch (Dual Graphics) |
Late 2013 |
Additionally, EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature also can uniquely identify each one of the Retina Display MacBook Pro models by their serial numbers.
Internal Differences
Conceptually, the "Early 2013" and "Late 2013" MacBook Pro models are internally similar -- designed with limited upgrade potential -- with 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM that is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be upgraded after the initial system purchase as well as batteries that are glued in place. Otherwise, these notebooks have little in common.
The "Early 2013" models all use the "Ivy Bridge" architecture, although the 13-Inch models have dual core processors and "integrated" Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics processors that share system memory whereas all of the 15-Inch models have quad core processors and dual graphics processors -- both a NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with dedicated GDDR5 memory and the Intel HD Graphics 4000.
The "Late 2013" models, by contrast, use the faster and more power efficient "Haswell" architecture. Like their predecessors, the 13-Inch "Late 2013" models have dual core processors and a single "integrated" graphics processor, but use the improved Intel Iris 5100.
Like their same size predecessors, the 15-Inch models have quad core processors but entry-level models just have a single integrated graphics processor -- the Iris Pro 5200 (which also has 128 MB of "Crystalwell" embedded DRAM on the CPU package to provide more memory bandwidth) -- and only the higher-end models have a NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M graphics processor with dedicated GDDR5 memory in addition to the Iris Pro 5200 graphics processor.
The storage can be upgraded in all of these models, but the SSDs used are quite different. The 13-Inch "Early 2013" models have a "blade" style SSD installed by default, but have a "drive caddy" capable of supporting a removable 2.5" SSD, the 15-Inch "Early 2013" models use a proprietary SATA 6 Gb/s "blade" SSD, and the 13-Inch and 15-Inch "Late 2013" models share a different proprietary "blade" SSD running on a faster PCIe 2.0 x2 interface.
The glued in place batteries are all different from one another, with Apple estimating that the "Early 2013" models provide 7 hours of runtime regardless of display size and that the 13-Inch and 15-Inch "Late 2013" models provide 9 hours and 8 hours of runtime, respectively.
Comparison Charts
The major differences between the 13-Inch and 15-Inch "Early 2013" and "Late 2013" Retina Display MacBook Pro models are summarized below. Please refer to the specs page for the model of interest for complete details.
13-Inch "Early 2013" & "Late 2013" MacBook Pro Differences
 13" Early 2013 |
 13" Late 2013 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Processor Speed: | 2.6 GHz, 3.0 GHz | 2.4, 2.6, 2.8 GHz |
| Processor Type: | Core i5 (I5-3230M) Core i7 (I7-3540M) |
Core i5 (I5-4258U) Core i5 (I5-4288U) Core i7 (I7-4558U) |
| Shared L3 Cache: | 3 MB, 4 MB | 3 MB, 4 MB |
| System Architecture: | Ivy Bridge | Haswell |
| Direct Media Interface: | 5 GT/s (DMI) | 5 GT/s (DMI2) |
| Standard RAM: | 8 GB† | 4 GB, 8 GB† |
| Maximum RAM: | 8 GB† | 16 GB† |
| Standard Storage: | 256 GB | 128, 256, 512 GB |
| Storage Upgrade (SSD): | 2.5" 6 Gb/s (Drive Caddy) | PCIe "Blade" |
| Integrated Graphics: | HD Graphics 4000 | Iris 5100 |
| VRAM (Shared): | 768 MB | 1 GB |
| Display Size: | 13.3" Widescreen | 13.3" Widescreen |
| Display Resolution: | 2560x1600 (227 ppi) | 2560x1600 (227 ppi) |
| Battery Life: | 7 Hours | 9 Hours |
| SDXC Card Slot: | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 0.75 x 12.35 x 8.62 | 0.71 x 12.35 x 8.62 |
| Weight: | 3.57 lbs (1.62 kg) | 3.46 lbs (1.57 kg) |
| Order Number (US): | ME662LL/A | ME864LL/A, ME865LL/A, ME866LL/A |
| EMC Number: | 2672 | 2678 |
| Model Identifier: | MacBookPro10,2 | MacBookPro11,1 |
| Original Price (US): | US$1699, US$1899 | US$1299, US$1499, US$1799 |
† RAM could be upgraded only at the time of initial purchase. RAM is soldered in place.
15-Inch "Early 2013" & "Late 2013" MacBook Pro Differences
 15" Early 2013 |
 15" Late 2013 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Processor Speeds: | 2.4 GHz, 2.7 GHz, 2.8 GHz | 2.0 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.6 GHz |
| Processor Type: | Core i7 (I7-3635QM) Core i7 (I7-3740QM) Core i7 (I7-3840QM) |
Core i7 (I7-4750HQ) Core i7 (I7-4850HQ) Core i7 (I7-4960HQ) |
| Shared L3 Cache: | 6 MB, 8 MB | 6 MB |
| System Architecture: | Ivy Bridge | Haswell |
| Direct Media Interface: | 5 GT/s (DMI) | 5 GT/s (DMI2) |
| Standard RAM: | 8 GB, 16 GB | 8 GB, 16 GB |
| Maximum RAM: | 16 GB† | 16 GB† |
| Standard Storage: | 256 GB, 512 GB | 256 GB, 512 GB |
| Storage Upgrade (SSD): | Proprietary (6 Gb/s "Blade") | Proprietary (PCIe "Blade") |
| Graphics Processor(s): | Intel HD Graphics 4000 NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M |
Iris Pro 5200 NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M* |
| GDDR5 VRAM: | 1 GB | 128 MB/2 GB* |
| Display Size: | 15.4" Widescreen | 15.4" Widescreen |
| Display Resolution: | 2880x1800 (220 ppi) | 2880x1800 (220 ppi) |
| Battery Life: | 7 Hours | 8 Hours |
| SDXC Card Slot: | Yes | Yes |
| Dimensions: | 0.71 x 14.13 x 9.73 | 0.71 x 14.13 x 9.73 |
| Weight: | 4.46 lbs (2.02 kg) | 4.46 lbs (2.02 kg) |
| Order Numbers (US): | ME664LL/A ME665LL/A |
ME293LL/A ME294LL/A |
| EMC Number: | 2673 | 2674, 2745 |
| Model Identifier: | MacBookPro10,1 | MacBookPro11,2 MacBookPro11,3 |
| Intro Price (US): | US$2199, US$2799 | US$1999, US$2599 |
† RAM could be upgraded only at the time of initial purchase. RAM is soldered in place.
* The entry-level ME293LL/A configuration only has a single Iris Pro 5200 graphics processor. This graphics processor has 128 MB of "Crystalwell" embedded DRAM on the CPU package, but the system does not have dedicated GDDR5 VRAM.
Comparison Summary
Ultimately, the "Late 2013" MacBook Pro models are a worthy improvement compared to their predecessors as they provide faster performance and longer battery life as well as enhanced Wi-Fi and connectivity.
However, as the 13-Inch "Early 2013" MacBook Pro models are potentially easier (and cheaper) to expand the storage and the entry-level 15-Inch "Early 2013" models have faster graphics, these differences alone may make them a better choice for some users.
Used MacBook Pro Purchase & Sale Options
There are any number of places to purchase a new or used MacBook Pro. However, purchasing from a quality company that has been serving the Mac market for years -- and that provides solid after sales support -- will provide the best experience and save you money and time, too.
In the US, site sponsor Adorama sells new MacBook Pro models with free shipping. Other World Computing sells used and refurb MacBook Pro models at bargain prices with free shipping, as well. On the other hand, if you need to sell a MacBook Pro, A+ BBB-rated Cash for Your Mac and GoRoostr will buy your older notebook with an instant quote and prompt payment.
In the UK, site sponsor Hoxton Macs sells used MacBook Pro models with a one-year warranty and free next day delivery throughout the UK. Delivery across Europe also is available starting at just £9.99 for two-day delivery to France and Germany.
Please also see EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Comparison feature to dynamically compare any MacBook Pro model to any other Mac.
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