Months ago , a friend asked me whether he should buy an M3 MacBook Pro on sales agreement or wait for the one with an M4 . He ’s a video producer and want something that would be his mainstay Mac for many age . That was such a difficult question to suffice . At the meter , we only had hearsay about the M4 MacBook Pro 14 that ’s now do for sacking on Nov. 8 . We already had theiPad Pro with the M4 in hand , and all the rumour suggested Apple ’s next laptop would be a very barebones refresh . I told him to go with the M3 . Now , I get to see if I am correct .
When Apple showed off anM4 edition of the MacBook Pro 14 , again with the same screen and physical body , I know the big enquiry of “ purchase / not buy ” would add up down to performance . What ’s more , the base M4 version does n’t come with many new features . It does n’t get the Thunderbolt 5 supporting as the M4 Pro or M4 Max . The only real upgrade besides the chip was a undimmed cover at SDR .
MacBook Pro 14 2024
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
The MacBook Pro 14 with M4 is a solid laptop that outmatch personal computer , but it ’s not standing out as much as it should for the price .
Pros
Cons
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
I ’ve spent a week with the $ 1,600 MacBook Pro 14 with M4 and the $ 2,500MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro . The novel 14 - column inch follow in Space Black , and I favor that to the silver gray of previous MacBooks . It ’s obtain impeccable electric battery liveliness , excellent execution for its sizing , a caliber display , and a price tag that stings the eyes as much as it does the wallet . It ’s the same as it ever was , including that bloody pass spearing through the snapper of the display .
So , what should you do if you have an old MacBook Pro with an Intel chip and are considering upgrading ? Well , in your case , you ’ll be dead glad with the new MacBook Pro 14 . expend it for a hebdomad , as I have , and you ’ll want it to become your permanent daily work computer . Beyond that , it has a pernicious and hard capacity for intensive GPU chore like turn in and even some gambling , though you wo n’t be playing every biz at the full 3024 by 1964 resolution .
The new screen is slimly bright for SDR content , and you could finally expect 16 GB of RAM at the base toll . We spend class hear Apple reiterate that 8 GB is good enough for the least expensive MacBooks , but now , with Apple Intelligence on the horizon , it seems that a bare amount of memory did n’t contract the mustard . At the very least , you do n’t need to devote more for the privilege of what ’s become standard RAM sizing .
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
It is dissipated than the MacBook Pro 14 with M3 . Apple promised and delivered on that point . Apple is still winning in battery sprightliness . PCs might offer lesser benchmark , but with the late Intel , AMD , and Qualcomm ARM - based CPUs , Windows machine are catching up on assault and battery biography , if not in the rat race for overall performance . It ’s best - in - course of study , but the strain on the current chassis is start to show . If I had to resolve my protagonist now retroactively , I ’d say him he ’s absolutely fine getting an M3 at a discount . carrying out and sieve brightness improvements are welcome , especially if you have n’t leap on M - serial chips . If this latest M4 does n’t do it for you , then nothing will .
MacBook Pro 14 2024 Review: Performance
The $ 1,600 monetary value tag seems relatively routine , but Apple has a habit of getting you to spend more . My review unit of the M4 MacBook Pro provide by Apple include the bare 10/10 - inwardness M4 chip shot , 16 GB of RAM , and 1 TB of storage . The extra SSD space necessitates dropping an spare $ 200 . If you want to use this machine for days , you ’ll want the extra drive space .
See MacBook Pro 14 at Amazon
My model is as confining to the bare - bones MacBook Pro 2024 experience ; even then , it ’s a caliber machine . With the base specs , I saw fantabulous benchmark resultant across the board . It hands a slap to both the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 chip and Intel ’s Core Ultra 7 256 V and 258 V in Geekbench 6 C.P.U. mental testing , as if there was any doubt . That tell , it’sdifficult to regain the high-pitched - end chipsfrom Intel or AMD out in the wild . You wo n’t find a top - end Snapdragon X Elite with the X1E-84 in anything but the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge ( at $ 1,750 MSRP , though potential on cut-rate sale for less ) , but the M4 is still hold an edge against most modest laptop chips in its year , like theDell XPS 14 .
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Apple said you should get a boost in speed for render determination . Our examination in Blender , where we rendered a BMW under both central processor and GPU configurations , catch the M4 could do the scene in two minute of arc and 42 seconds compared to the M3 would do it in three proceedings and 36 irregular . It ’s a sizable jump and far advantageously than most lightweight laptop computer CPU like the Intel Core Ultra 256 V. It was slightly slow than the $ 1,500 Asus TUF Gaming A14 with the AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 chip . The M4 beats AMD ’s laptop computer CPU in Geekbench and Cinebench tests , but it ’s a good monitor that benchmarks are n’t everything .
The M4 on MacBook has 10 processor cores and 10 GPU cores , which is slenderly better than the 9 GPU core on the iPad Pro version of the M4 . The interrogation now becomes whether users can anticipate good graphics performance for GPU - intensive tasks . I try out the MacBook Pro 14 with several biz , includingResident Evil 4andDeath Stranding : Directors Cut . Both game default to a lower - than - native resolution . I can get between 70 and 80 FPS on mid - to - high options with both games .
However , if you want to jump to the native 3024 by 1964 , you ’ll see that the frame rates dismiss below the playable . Even with MetalFX upscaling turn to public presentation mood , you wo n’t get much preceding 40 FPS in the full scenarios . It ’s a similar report withBaldur ’s Gate III . On intermediate preset preferences , I can get upwards of 60 FPS indoors and open and an average of 45 in the city of Act III . If you examine for the higher resolving , AMD ’s FSR only does so much to put you above 35 FPS .
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Overall , you wo n’t get much good for the price point . It can do a lot in a small package at $ 1,600 ( though likely $ 1,800 ) .
MacBook Pro 14 2024 Review: Build Quality and Display
There ’s a flock to care and plenty to dislike about the 14 - inch MacBook Pro , the same as ever . You get an SD batting order slot , an HDMI port , Thunderbolt 4 , and the MagSafe 3 institutionalize capabilities . It ’s not as trashy as the Thunderbolt 5 on the Pro models , but it ’s still as solid and restrained as ever .
The fresh MacBook Pro 14 has a brighter exhibit for determine content in direct light . I try the older MacBook Pro 14 with M3 and got around 260 nits of full - screen smartness compared to 360 nits full screen on the Modern role model . You wo n’t notice much difference side by side except when sit under the blinding shaft of light near a window . My 14 also included a nano - grain display , which foreshorten glower and reflection . In world , it diffuses the light rather than at once reflecting it .
Nano - grain can indeed reduce reflections from indirect light , but for the extra $ 100 , it ’s not necessary . I bear the MacBook Pro 16 without nano - texture up to direct sunlight and could barely blot a difference . Thanks to the hopeful screen , the M4 MacBook Pro 14 is already salutary off in that esteem . And if it was n’t clear already , Apple ’s mini - direct portmanteau word of Liquid Retina XDR showing is a colourful way to watch your streaming content . The speech sound , too , is solid and gaudy enough for you or your friends huddled around the 14.2 - inch screen .
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Even if the cover is brighter , it ’s not as undimmed as the iPad Pro with M4 ’s tandem OLED design . I know I ’m sing to the choir , but I ca n’t wrap my head word around the idea we may have to wait several year to get an OLED MacBook Pro . This hebdomad , Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurmanreportedthe OLED MacBook got pushed until 2026 at the other . That ’s more than dissatisfactory ; it ’s much rage - inducing . Mini - LED with Apple ’s regular Liquid Rentina XDR has cryptic blackamoor and wait colorful . Still , I ’ve spent an integral year with excellent display like the one on theAsus ROG Zephyrus G14 , and in comparison , Apple seems stuck in the past times , peculiarly when I ’m spending more than $ 1,600 on a laptop .
The newer MacBooks include a 12 MP webcam with the touted Center Stage feature that subtly affect the camera to keep you in frame for television calls . It works well enough . It wo n’t take after your face all the mode out of the soma if you fall asleep and tip back 90 degrees in your chair during a employment call . The camera also allows for desk opinion . This splits the image up between your face and your desk . It ’s a handy feature if you ’re endeavor to show your coworkers how to do origami , and it ’s intelligibly a blessing for get your parents to eventually understand what buttons they need to push to screenshot on their laptop .
Again , I feel like a scratched record , repeating older , trite lines over and over . The MacBook Pro 14 is still puzzle with the same old Magic keyboard and trackpad . If you ’re used to the Air models , the Pros ’ keyboard will probably palpate more springy than its extremist - sparse counterpart . Otherwise , it ’s passable , though it ’s certainly not my preferent laptop keyboard for typing . The trackpad does the job , but it does not feel like much of an chicken feed rink , and it does not look like asphalt either . Perhaps it ’s the humdrum that make it hard to feel much more than apathy for this innovation , but I know there are better - feel laptops out there , and I ’m rub for Apple to make any damn improvement to this staid design .
MacBook Pro 14 2024 Review: Battery Life
After a full , nine - hour workday of near - constant use , I was sit down at 30 % stamp battery left . I was typing near - constantly , on high brightness , and running a variety show of browsers , Slack , and whatever other apps took my fancy .
In our electric battery test , where we persist a laptop computer on low brightness with a 24 - hour YouTube video recording , the MacBook Pro 14 land at 55 % after 12 hr . That ’s slightly worse than the MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro , but it ’s a expert outcome nonetheless .
It ’s also no surprise . Running at full brightness continuously over a working day , even after performing several tests , I could get at least 9 hours of spirit without seeing the battery standard of measurement dip into the red . As usual , Apple ’s blending of effective micro chip and computer hardware help it put up out in terms of battery life . The latest Intel Core Ultra and Qualcomm Snapdragon microprocessor chip foretell obscene battery liveliness . Still , in our tests on lightweight machine like the Lenovo Yoga 7xor theAsus Zenbook S 14 , they do n’t hold a candle to Apple ’s Pro example .
MacBook Pro 14 2024 Review: AI Capabilities
MacOS 15 Sequoiaalready fetch us some great feature film , likeiPhone mirroring . If you ’re a mainstay Apple exploiter , mirroring is utile for pull in up your phone and screen without glancing back and forth . The other small change to Safari and Control Center are all squeamish . You get Sequoia if you ’re using any MacBook Pro from 2018 or later . You only get the in style 15.1 andupcoming 15.2 Apple Intelligencefeatures if you take place to have an M - Series MacBook . It ’s clearly an redundant feature Apple ’s judge to give to get more Intel users to elevate , but just how much of an impact does the modish software have ?
I used the static translation 15.1 for my first few Clarence Day on the MacBook Pro , then tried it with the 15.2 developer genus Beta . 15.1 is nothing to write domicile about , literally . AI summaries for some of your ring armor messages and AI notification sum-up do n’t offer many specifics to avail you sift through the disturbance . text edition summaries often leave out crucial detail in emails or messages . I have no use for a writing tool that will confidently lie about anything it does not recognise .
While 15.1 is blasé , 15.2 receive weird . It at last implements ChatGPT into Siri and gives you access to the Image Playground AI art generator . Just like even ChatGPT , you have a limit for how many responses you could receive unless you ante up for ChatGPT Plus . Even then , Siri does n’t always use ChatGPT . I ’ve been show Madeline Miller ’s marvellous Odyssey retelling , Circe , and I wanted to know more about Homer ’s epics for context . Siri , through ChatGPT , offered me a barebones response about the unfeigned ending to The Odyssey but sent me the usual list of linkup if I take it about the departure between Miller ’s piece of work and the Grecian tales . Siri , through ChatGPT , will rob text wholesale from Wikipedia and present it in a chopped - up , mischievously formatted paragraph . you may choose whether or not to use ChatGPT for every request , at least . The chatbot is occasionally helpful , but not any more than a distinctive Google search already is . You also do n’t have easy approach to your ChatGPT log if you decide to snap away .
Image Playground , as it stands in genus Beta , is worse than pointless . It only exists to generate cartoonish - bet headshots . It can do that for you if you want to know what you ’ll look like in a dog suit with a bland , charge plate - like face . Then again , it still require work even for that . A bare prompt sometimes generates foreign text at the bottom of the image , which is an artefact from the training data point containing figure of speech with embedded text .
I postulate to note that any of the 15.2 feature are in genus Beta and will probably ameliorate to some degree in the early December release .
MacBook Pro 14 2024 Review: Verdict
This is the best 14 - inch MacBook released thus far , but that was inevitable . Apple still manages to keep the spark advance on performance and battery life in laptop , even if its edge is narrow annually . The M4 is a very solid chip , and now you’re able to feel safe knowing you ’re getting a standard RAM run into compared to past service line MacBook Pro simulation .
Plus , it has a slightly burnished screen and estimable GPU performance for play , at least for what few game exist on Mac . So what ’s keeping me from foaming at the mouth over Apple ’s next - gen laptop computer ? It ’s just that I fear I ’ll have to say all the same things again next year . I do n’t wait Apple to come out with a fresh design every trip around the sun , but if the performance gibbosity does n’t stir you , this machine will be equivalent to every other Pro model from the past several years .
Apple Intelligence is come to every M - series Mac . If you ’re truly curious about Apple ’s AI capabilities in 2025 , you do n’t have to jump on the 14 - in MacBook Pro with M4 , despite the rise in AI processing . I would tell my friend he ’s safe enough on M3 . He ’s safe enough on M4 . The only affair he ’s not secure from is the worrying Image Playground - generate trope . Their dead eye will ghost me in my sleep .
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