Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Apple has release a laptop that address the return with the befuddle 14 - in M3 MacBook Pro , and updated its chipping , as well . The result is not just that the M4 MacBook Pro has a clear personal identity , but it also map a tremendous note value .
Mary Leontyne Price When Reviewed
This note value will show the geolocated pricing text edition for product undefined
The changes to the $1,599 MacBook Pro make it a true pro laptop.
Best Pricing Today
Best Prices Today: Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M4, 2024)
Apple ’s approach to its most affordable MacBook Pro has been a little perplexing during the early part of the Apple atomic number 14 era . Therewere theM1andM213 - inch MacBook Pro , in effect laptops but with dated designs that seemed odd compare to the pricier and pretty 14 — and16 - in MacBook Pro . Then Apple dropped it when the M3 came , but its 14 - inch replacement had glare compromises .
It seemed like Apple had a different idea than client of the role of the most affordable MacBook Pro in the laptop card . Apple seemed to think of the entry - stratum MacBook Pro as a tweener machine , a bridge from the MacBook Air . client , however , see that it ’s a “ MacBook Pro ” and expect a pro - unwavering laptop with few ( or no ) glaring via media .
The changes to the $ 1,599 MacBook Pro make it a reliable pro laptop .
The changes to the $1,599 MacBook Pro make it a true pro laptop.
Foundry
That brings us to the M4 14 - inch MacBook Pro . With it , Apple has released a laptop that addresses the takings with the confounding14 - column inch M3 MacBook Pro , and update its chip , as well . The result is not just that the M4 MacBook Pro has a clear identity , but it also represents a tremendous value .
This review is structured based on how the major update will influence your purchasing determination . Here , the M4 chip is the chief factor , so we compensate it first . Then we enshroud the ports , then the screen and television camera , and then other constituent . Use the Table of Contents links at the top of this clause to skim around . Before all of that , here are the details on our critique social unit .
The Thunderbolt port between the SDXC Card slot and HDMI is a new addition to the $1,599 MacBook Pro, bringing the total number of Thunderbolt ports to three.
14-inch M4 MacBook Pro: Our model’s specifications
This brushup looks at the M4 14 - column inch MacBook Pro , which is Apple ’s most affordable model in the MacBook Pro lineup . Our revue building block has the same CPU , GPU , and RAM as the base of operations standard constellation , but the SSD is a 1 TB upgrade , which is an additional $ 200/£200 , and it has the Nano - texture glass ( $ 150/£150 ) . Here are the specification of the laptop in this review :
14-inch M4 MacBook Pro: Performance
The major problem with the M3 MacBook Pro was that its coordinated memory started at 8 GB . That ’s usable but for a “ Pro ” laptopit ’s not enoughfor high-pitched - remnant job , and an upgrade to 16 GB cost a pricey $ 200/£200 . Last year , Apple champion its stanceagainst customer cry and it seemed like the company was n’t croak to budge . But at some point ( perhaps tie toApple Intelligence ? ) the company made the good decision to fructify 16 GB as the new RAM baseline in all Macs – what makes the change even sweeter is prices were n’t affect at all .
What 16 GB mean is that the M4 MacBook Pro run more efficiently . While you ’re not pass to see dramatic boosts , it ’ll finger a hatful smoother when you ’re using an app that ’s not optimize properly , have a deal of apps open at the same time , and/or have a twelve web browser tab of Macworld.com opened at the same time .
Besides have more base random-access memory than the M3 , the M4 has a 10 - core CPU ( 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency kernel ) and a 10 - core GPU.Learn more about the M4 . Overall , the M4 offers the typical boost we ’ve seen from the old flake serial to the new one , but since Apple did n’t increase the price with the RAM boost , the overall value is much better .
Yes, that’s a Space Black M4 MacBook Pro you see there. Space Black is now available but Space Gray is no longer an option. The other option is Silver.
Geekbench 6.3 CPU benchmarks
termination are expressed as Geekbench scotch . Higher scores / tenacious Browning automatic rifle are faster .
Geekbench 6.3gauges overall performance , and the M4 was 23 per centum quicker than the M3 in the Multi - Core trial . The boost over the M2 and M1 is more significant at 53 percent and 79 percent , severally . The M1 and M2 laptops also have the sometime design with fewer port so you ’ll get a compounding of a modern smell and a carrying out upgrade .
Cinebench 2024
Results are expressed as Cinebench wads . high musical score / longer bars are faster .
The M4 ’s 8 percent GPU boost inCinebench 2024isn’t much quicker than the M3 . Curiously , the M4 iMac that we brush up with the same M4 flake hit a GPU score that was 10 percent faster than the M4 MacBook Pro . Perhaps the MacBook Pro ’s M4 needs to do some choking to maintain a right temperature in its much stiff quarters than the iMac , though the fans were not noticeable during the GPU tryout .
The rooter did kick in loudly during the C.P.U. tests , though . The laptop computer did n’t get perceptibly raging to the touch , but I do n’t recall trigger the fans in any other M - series laptop computer review .
Handbrake 1.8.2 video encode
result are time in moment . downhearted times / short Browning automatic rifle are quick .
More incremental improvements from the M3 to the M4 when converting the 4KTears of Steelvideo to a 1080p H.265 file . The improvement of the M4 over the M2 and M1 is much more impressive .
iMovie 4K video export
Over time , Apple has improved the television encoders that are build into the M - serial chips , and it shows in our iMovie results when export a 4 K ProRes video file . For instance , the M4 provide an improvement that ’s over 200 percent over the M1 .
Blackmagic Disk Test
termination are M per second . Higher rate / longer bar are faster .
The SSD performance has been flat over the retiring couple of generations . I ’ve had a few readers ask me if theissues with the SSD performanceare still present . First , those problems involved the 256 GB SSD and the MacBook Pro starts at 512 G . Second , the government issue was with the M1 and M2;with the M3 , Apple addressed the issueso it ’s unlikely it ’ll be a problem with the M4 .
However , there ’s a noticeable divergence between the M4 and M4 Pro SSDs . Our solution show that the M4 Pro SSD is about twice as tight as the M4 SSD . Historically , the M Pro SSD has been much faster than the foot M chip ’s SSD and that still holds up here . you could read ourreview of the 16 - column inch M4 Pro MacBook Proto learn more .
Geekbench 6 Compute
Here ’s another incremental cost increase , this prison term in the Geekbench 6 Compute benchmark . This trial gauge GPU performance . We be given to lend more credence to the Metal bench mark since that ’s Apple ’s API , but a lot of game practice OpenCL .
Videogame benchmarks
Results are bod per secondly . Higher rates / longer bar are dissolute .
We addedBorderlands 3andTotal War : Warhammer IIIbenchmarks , but since they ’re new additions , our data set is only for the M4 and M3 chips . Rise of the Tomb RaiderandCivilization VIare older games written for Intel and not optimized for Apple ’s Metal graphics API . But it is impressive that the M4 performance has doubled that of the M1 in many instances .
The Thunderbolt port between the SDXC Card expansion slot and HDMI is a new addition to the $ 1,599 MacBook Pro , fetch the total number of Thunderbolt ports to three .
14-inch M4 MacBook Pro: Ports and connectivity
Another major change is that the M4 MacBook Pro now has three Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports , one more than the M3 MacBook Pro . experience only two of these port on a MacBook Pro – the same as theMacBook Air – along with 8 GB of RAM felt like a direction to impel shoppers into bribe a more expensive model . But the base MacBook Pro is now set up like its pricier crony – at least on the surface .
Underneath , the M4 MacBook Pro ’s Thunderbolt is the version 4 smorgasbord , but the M4 Pro and M4 Max simulation haveThunderbolt 5 , which is the latest adaptation . Version 5 tender 80Gbps bandwidth , twice that of Thunderbolt 4 , and at least 140 W of world power with a max of 240 Isaac Watts ( version 4 is 100/140 ) . bombshell 5 also supports more external showing .
Speaking of external displays , the M4 MacBook Pro supports ( while the built - in showing is hightail it , no clamshell mode going on here ):
The other port wine are a MagSafe 3 larboard , HDMI , a 3.5 mm audio jack , and an SDXC Card slot . Wireless connectivity is done with Wi - Fi 6E ( 802.11ax ) and Bluetooth 5.3 .
Yes , that ’s a Space Black M4 MacBook Pro you see there . Space Black is now available but Space Gray is no longer an choice . The other option is Silver .
14-inch M4 MacBook Pro: Display and camera
Apple did not modify the MacBook Pro ’s display , which is fine , but the company now pop the question aNano - texture glassoption for $ 150 . It provides a matte finishing that does a very good job of cut down reflections and glare . The via media that comes with the Nano - texture glass is that colors are less vibrant , and Shirley Temple Black are n’t as deep are they are with a glossy screen . If you chance glossy screen bothersome , then the alternative is for you .
Sitting atop it is a unexampled 12 - megapixel Center Stage camera . The 1080p FaceTime camera it substitute was another one of those things that did n’t seem befitting for a pro laptop , and it ’s last gone . Center Stage keeps you in the sum of the framing , and the Desk View feature supply a perspective of your workspace . In all , the new camera is a better tool for video conferencing .
14-inch M4 MacBook Pro: Battery life
The battery in the M4 MacBook Pro is bigger at 72.4 - watt hours ; the M3 MacBook Pro had a 70 - James Watt - hour barrage fire . The M3 model had “ Up to 22 hours Apple TV app film playback ” and “ Up to 15 hr wireless web ” while the M4 exemplar is say as 24 and 16 hour respectively .
Our stamp battery test involves playing a telecasting save to the SSD in a continuous loop until the barrage runs out , with the display set to 150 nits ( a smidgen more than halfway past the brightness indicator ) . Apple ’s laptop battery living has been exceeding ever since the M1 and it ’s just more of the same here . The M4 MacBook Pro live about 20 hours in our mental test , but more importantly , I used the laptop computer without plug it in to do my daily work ( image editing , some well-off video and podcast editing , and hatful and lots of writing ) and I could go a day without care about needing to stop up in .
14-inch M4 MacBook Pro: Apple Intelligence
A review of the M4 MacBook Pro would n’t be unadulterated without mentioningApple Intelligence , the AI - based features being vagabond out startle with macOS Sequoia 15.1 . However , the first mickle of M4 Macs amount off the line wo n’t have Sequoia 15.1 , so if you ’re among the other customers you may need to update macOS by guide System Update in System options .
The Apple Intelligence features arespread out over clip . The first exercise set is in 15.1 and a second Seth is do in 15.2 , probably in December . Apple will evolve more features as time go by .
Geekbench AI 1.0
Geekbench AImeasures the performance of the chip ’s Neural Engine . It ’s a unexampled benchmark so our dataset for comparing is modified . Be sure to check out ourimpressions on the first set of Apple Intelligence featuresin iOS 18.1 – the insights in that article conduct over to macOS Sequoia 15.1 .
Should you buy the M4 MacBook Pro?
The changes that Apple made to the $ 1,599/£1,599 M4 MacBook Pro not only made it a open pro laptop ( finally ) , but it also created a software system bursting with value . It no longer feel like a compromise laptop computer , and you get a lot of performance and feature for the price . If you consider yourself a pro user – but not really a pro ’s professional , per se – the M4 MacBook Pro has a sight to offer .
