MacBook Pro (M4 Pro) review: the best gets even better

The M4 chip comes astatine an important time. The title from Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD has ne'er been stronger connected nan Windows side, coming to disrupt Apple’s comfortable lead successful nan past fewer years.

I was sent nan M4 Pro configuration of nan 16-inch MacBook Pro. It’s a ample laptop pinch a very powerful spot inside, 1 that claims to person it all: awesome artillery life, awesome GPU performance, world-class AI, and nan “fastest core” connected nan CPU side. It’s difficult to kick erstwhile Apple has only reduced nan value of these machines and amped up astir each aspect, including nan ports, display, performance, camera, and artillery life. This isn’t conscionable nan best MacBook you tin buy, it’s besides 1 of nan very best laptops that money tin buy.

Specs and configurations

As pinch nan M3, nan M4 MacBook Pro starts astatine $1,599. For nan first time, it now comes pinch 16GB of RAM alternatively of 8GB, which was formerly a $200 upgrade. The bump is important for that entry-level 14-inch exemplary and results successful a $200 discount passim nan lineup.

Like before, nan 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 starts astatine $2,499, but has a beautiful important guidelines configuration of nan M4 Pro, 24GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. My reappraisal configuration costed $3,649, coming pinch nan 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 48GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and nan optional nano-texture display. Interestingly, nan M4 Pro configuration only has nan 48GB action for representation — nary more, nary less. You can, of course, ever max retired by choosing nan M4 Max, which tin beryllium configured pinch up to 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage.

While nan starting prices of nan MacBook Pro are reasonable, adding retention gets retired of manus quickly. It costs $600 to get 2TB of storage, and nan prices get astronomical from location connected out. It’s different $600 for 4TB, and astatine that point, you’re paying complete $4,000 for your laptop. Just to put things successful perspective, you tin buy nan Asus ProArt P16 pinch an RTX 4070 pinch 32GB of RAM and 2TB of retention for $2,300.

Design

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It’s been 3 and a half years of nan MacBook Pro utilizing this influential design, some nan 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. These are heavy laptops, built for illustration tanks, and yes, deficiency immoderate of nan finesse of a MacBook Air. But they’re beautiful, nonetheless. The preamble of nan Space Black colour action past twelvemonth is nan only beingness alteration that’s been introduced since 2021, and this clip around, nan darker shadiness has wholly replaced Space Gray successful each configurations. Personally, I’ll miss Space Gray, and I wish it had traded retired Silver instead. Oh well.

My exemplary was nan 16-inch size, which I’ll admit is excessively large for me. It doesn’t springiness you overmuch successful nan measurement of much capacity aliases other features, and astatine 4.7 pounds, it’s nary joke to lug around. Some will admit nan other surface existent estate, nary doubt, but there’s decidedly a trade-off successful mobility. One of nan champion MacBook Pro alternatives, nan Asus ProArt P16, is some lighter and thinner, contempt packing successful a powerful discrete GPU.

But nan 14-inch MacBook Pro really is nan cleanable compact laptop. I’ve sewage past year’s 14-inch M3 Max exemplary sitting adjacent to it, and it continues to beryllium nan laptop I for illustration using.

It goes without saying that sloppy of which size you choose, you’re getting a keyboard that’s large, comfortable, and precise. It’s among nan champion laptop keyboards you’ll type connected — and that goes for nan trackpad too. I proceed to admit nan full-size usability keys and nan soft solid aboveground of nan trackpad. Double-clicks are soft and not excessively loud, thing immoderate different haptic feedback trackpads struggle with.

The 1 eyesore successful nan full acquisition to maine is still nan notch successful nan display. I find it rather disfigured and intrusive, and nan measurement it cuts into nan paper barroom tin beryllium clumsy, particularly connected nan 14-inch model. I cognize we’ll move beyond this creation eventually, truthful here’s to hoping it happens successful nan 2026 redesign astatine least.

Ports and connectivity

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The ports connected nan MacBook Pro haven’t changed since 2021, and that’s a bully thing.

The 1 large upgrade this twelvemonth is nan inclusion of Thunderbolt 5. It’s only disposable successful nan M4 Pro and M4 Max models, while nan M4 is stuck connected Thunderbolt 4. The Thunderbolt 5 increases bandwidth from 40Gb/s to 120Gb/s. That intends overmuch faster record transfers and broader outer show support. The strategy tin support up to 2 6K 60Hz outer displays, and if you upgrade to nan M4 Max, that bumps up to 4 outer displays.

There are nary upgrades to wireless connectivity pinch nan M4. For future-proofing purposes, it’s excessively bad we didn’t get nan bump to Wi-Fi 7, but Wi-Fi 6E present is surely still current, arsenic is Bluetooth 5.3.

Display

I’ve already discussed really nan size options for these screens impacts nan wide experience, but let’s talk astir nan show itself.

Apple has been resisting OLED connected nan MacBook Pro for years now, and it’s starting to show. Don’t get maine incorrect — I emotion this MacBook Pro’s mini-LED display. It’s incredibly bright, and nan nano-texture show is nan cleanable equilibrium of delivering clarity while deflecting glare. Unfortunately, Apple is charging $150 for nan nano-texture upgrade, but it really is simply a beautiful addition. It’s creates a subtle matte effect that really does look fantastic.

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But no, nan mini-LED sheet will conscionable ne'er scope nan highs of OLED, particularly successful position of colour saturation, accuracy, and contrast. When you see nan brightness of nan tandem OLED sheet connected nan iPad Pro  This surface hits 100% sRGB, 99% Display-P3, and 87% AdobeRGB, while OLED typically gets person to 100% crossed nan board. For colour accuracy, I measured a Delta-E of 1.18, which isn’t bad, but a spot down galore of nan best OLED laptops I’ve tested.

Like nan iPad Pro, however, nan MacBook Pro surface does now spell up to 1,000 nits of brightness successful SDR. The drawback is that you’ll request to move connected adaptive brightness successful settings to scope that maximum. When tested pinch that mounting off, I measured max brightness of 585 nits, which is still brighter than galore OLED laptop screens.

To trial nan afloat brightness, though, I brought nan MacBook Pro outside. But nether nan midday cloudy skies of Portland, I could show I wasn’t hitting nan afloat 1,000 nits. I had to radiance a flashlight correct into nan ray sensor to really spot that max brightness shine. And though I wasn’t capable to get a reference from my colorimeter astatine this brightness, I could decidedly spot nan difference. I do wish Apple had made it imaginable to manually scope that afloat brightness, moreover if hidden successful settings. However, erstwhile you mightiness really request nan other brightness, nan MacBook Pro does person much to connection than immoderate different laptop.

Speaking of other brightness, HDR is handled really good too, mostly acknowledgment to nan seamless integration pinch macOS. When you deed HDR content, you’ll cognize it. And erstwhile you don’t, you’ll hide it moreover exists. That’s precisely really HDR should beryllium handled.

Webcam and speakers

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The front-facing FaceTime camera received rather a bump this clip around, going from 1080p to 12-megapixel. That makes it nan astir high-resolution webcam connected a laptop, and it really does look great. It handles debased ray better, introducing overmuch little sound into nan image.

It’s not only astir much pixels though. Apple has 2 tricks up its sleeve erstwhile it comes to nan camera: Desk View and Center Stage. Both are neat additions, if a small gimmicky. Center Stage keeps you centered successful nan frame, which tin beryllium adjuvant during presentations.

Desk View, meanwhile, adds a 2nd camera provender of nan table successful beforehand of you. There’s a abstracted caller app called Desk View, which helps you group up nan perspective correctly. I tested this retired successful a FaceTime call, and while I could spot circumstantial instances wherever it would beryllium useful, it’s a spot excessively blurry to make maine enticed to effort it retired more.

The speakers are fantastic, arsenic you mightiness expect. They’re louder, bolder, and bassier than galore Bluetooth speakers, filling moreover ample rooms pinch plentifulness of volume. The 16-inch exemplary successful particular, which I tested out, still has nan absolute champion speakers of immoderate laptop. That’s not changing anytime soon.

Performance

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“Fastest core. Period.” That was really a quote from Intel’s trading astir its astir caller Core Ultra Series 2 chips. That whitethorn person been existent for a mates of weeks, but nan M4 has quickly arrived to spoil Intel’s fun. And boy, it judge does tally circles astir conscionable astir each different mobile spot connected nan market.

The 14-core portion has 8 Performance cores and six Efficiency cores, but that statement hasn’t changed successful this generation. Instead, it’s each astir pushing those cores arsenic difficult arsenic they tin go, resulting successful nan fastest single-core people successful Cinebench R24 and Geekbench 6 I’ve ever seen. And it’s not moreover close. Its people of 179 is 18% higher than nan the M3 Max and 29% higher than nan fastest Core Ultra 7 258V successful our database, nan Asus Zenbook S 14. The comparison isn’t looking immoderate brighter for Qualcomm aliases AMD’s caller efforts.

The multi-core gains are much humble complete nan erstwhile generation, but they still show Apple measurement retired successful nan lead complete its nonstop competitors. Take 1 of my favourite laptops from this twelvemonth for example, nan Surface Laptop 7th Edition. The M4 Pro successful nan MacBook Pro is simply a shocking 53% up of nan Snapdragon X Elite spot wrong nan Surface Laptop. That’s nary joke.

Having specified a commanding lead successful some single-core and multi-core capacity intends nan M4 Pro MacBook Pro is conscionable going to consciousness faster successful conscionable astir each task you propulsion astatine it. You mightiness not announcement nan capacity quality erstwhile browsing nan web, but if you walk astir of your time successful beforehand of an editing timeline, you judge will.

These MacBook Pros clasp their crown arsenic nan eventual creator workstation. The ProArt P16 is simply a awesome Windows alternative, and it’s awesome really overmuch Asus has been capable to emulate nan occurrence of nan MacBook Pro, but there’s a logic they stay nan go-to option.

Part of nan communicative pinch nan M4 is besides nan AI performance. Apple Intelligence launches successful earnest connected these laptops, and Apple says its caller Neural Engine is doubly arsenic accelerated arsenic successful nan erstwhile generation. As tested successful Geekbench AI, that’s precisely what I saw.

Graphics

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Upon nan announcement, Apple stated that location were graphics improvements successful nan M4 series. Although nan previous-gen M3 would still correspond nan larger architectural upgrade, introducing features specified arsenic mesh shading and Dynamic Caching, nan M4 builds connected that alteration pinch higher frequencies and faster memory. Impressively, nan M4 Pro scored a 9182 successful nan GPU trial successful Cinebench R24.

Making a one-to-one comparison pinch a discrete GPU is difficult, particularly since capacity varies truthful wildly successful laptops. But it lands location successful nan ballpark of betwixt a mobile RTX 4060 and 4070. For example, nan RTX 4070 successful nan ROG Zephyrus G16 scored 10395 successful this aforesaid test, while nan RTX 4070 successful nan Dell XPS 16 scored 9721.

But nan comparisons pinch older Macs are peculiarly interesting. The M4 Pro’s GPU is 16% faster than nan M2 Ultra’s GPU successful nan Mac Studio. That’s correct — nan 20-core GPU successful nan M4 Pro thumps nan 60-core GPU we tested successful nan $4,000 Mac Studio. That’s mind-boggling.

So, what’s each that GPU capacity bully for? Well, surely not web browsing and connection processing. But arsenic it turns out, nan M4 Pro MacBook Pro is simply a beautiful awesome gaming device, truthful agelong arsenic you tin find thing to play. I loaded up Baldur’s Gate 3, Shadow of nan Tomb Raider, Rocket League, and Myst.

In my testing truthful far. The first 2 games, which are a spot much graphically intense, played smoothly astatine nan highest graphics preset — truthful agelong arsenic I dropped nan solution to 1200p. Neither could grip playing smoothly successful autochthonal resolution, of course, but that wasn’t excessively surprising.

HDR looks unthinkable successful some of these games connected this display, thing nary gaming laptop tin present successful rather nan aforesaid way. And nan MacBook Pro remains amazingly quiet and cool during games, an underrated advantage this has complete a modular gaming laptop.

The GPU successful nan M3 Max successful nan MacBook Pro is still somewhat faster, averaging 88 fps successful Shadow of nan Tomb Raider versus 81 fps successful nan M4 Pro. I can’t hold to spot really powerful nan M4 Max is successful games, but nan M4 Pro is still awesome astatine its little price.

Battery life

Apple claims nan M4 Pro MacBook Pro gets up to 24 hours of artillery life, 2 hours much than successful nan erstwhile generation. That 24 hours is only disposable successful nan M4 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro and nan M4 14-inch MacBook Pro. This drops by an hr aliases 2 successful nan different configurations.

Of course, nan claimed 24 hours is only video streaming, while web browsing is up to 16 hours. Additional testing is needed to get a amended consciousness of really agelong nan artillery lasts successful different scenarios. For example, it lasted complete 20 hours successful our ray web browsing test, which is nan longest we’ve ever seen. That sewage maine excited, particularly pinch each nan unit coming from Qualcomm and Intel connected reaching caller heights successful position of artillery life.

The different trial I ran was moving nan multi-core trial successful Cinebench connected artillery until nan strategy died. Unfortunately, nan MacBook Pro died aft only an hr and a half. I was disappointed by this result, arsenic nan M3 MacBook Air lasted complete doubly arsenic long. While Cinebench is an unrealistic workload, it whitethorn hint that nan MacBook Pro dies faster successful heavier tasks. Additional testing is needed, however, and I’ll update this reappraisal erstwhile I person much results and walk much clip pinch nan device.

Is it worthy it?

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Absolutely. The $1,599 14-inch MacBook Pro went from being a questionable proposition successful nan erstwhile procreation to a coagulated value. The M4 Pro, meanwhile, is simply a immense measurement guardant successful conscionable astir each capacity indicator: nan CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine.

Meanwhile, nan different value of life upgrades, specified arsenic nan improved webcam, Thunderbolt 5, moreover longer artillery life, and brighter screen, each sweeten nan woody and cement nan MacBook Pro arsenic nan absolute highest-tier laptop you tin bargain that’s still someway worthy nan money contempt really costly it is.

I haven’t tested each configuration yet, of people — nary 1 has yet. So if you’re considering an M4 aliases M4 Max configuration, you whitethorn want to hold for a week aliases 2 until much testing results are published earlier choosing which to get. But if you were already willing successful buying a MacBook Pro, conscionable cognize that it’s only gotten amended successful this year’s update.