Apple ’s newMacBook Pro 16 with M4 Prois not carrying the old idiom , “ what ’s old is fresh again . ” just put , what ’s honest-to-god is sure-enough , what ’s new is unexampled , and it ’s bring all the luggage from retiring generations . The MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro sports the same look and chassiswe’ve visualize for the last three years . There ’s an existential quality to thelatest MacBooks . You know they ’ll be powerful . You know they ’ll last you a good , long while . You know it so well that you may struggle to justify the upgrade .
But if you were ride there wondering which is better , the M4 or the M4 Pro chip , the latter is leagues more herculean . The M4 Pro by itself is capable of vie against desktop - grade CPUs in some of our tests . provide is a breeze , and with the 20 - core GPU variant , it ’s perfectly up to of maxing out several of the games available to Apple ’s desktop ecosystem ( which , despite Apple ’s play initiative , is still paltry compare to PC ) . The new big MacBook is better on its own than the M3 Max from last year . Plus , the M4 Pro has access code to the High Power Mode options previously only available on the Max chips , allowing good control of how much oomph you grant your MacBook .
MacBook Pro 16 2024
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The MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro proves that power is itself a feature , but I ’m so banal of this soma it necessitate away from the promise .
Pros
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© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
For all that call power , this is still an expensive laptop computer . Our 16 - inch M4 MacBook Pro review unit include the M4 Pro with 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores , plus 48 GB of RAM and 2 TB of warehousing . All totaled up , this configuration would set you back $ 3,500 . The low - end M4 Max configuration starts at that same Mary Leontyne Price . The base model at this screen size is $ 2,500 , already a princely sum . equate that to gamy - end PCs with a discrete GPU , and you could find excellent gaming laptop like theLenovo Legion Pro 7ifor hundreds of dollars less . I would die for a MacBook with a keyboard like the ones you see on the late , bully gaming laptops , but there ’s no such luck .
And yet , the MacBook Pro 16 is a productivity brute , beat the competition in all the benchmark tests except for graphics . It ’s so alike to last year ’s that I ’m start up to inquire what other manipulation case there could mayhap be for Mac , specially for M4 Pro or M4 Max fleck . Sure , there’sControl , Frostpunk 2 , now on Mac natively , and finally , Cyberpunk 2077is rolling into the station follow 2025.The M4 Pro can game , but you ’ll be depressed if you defy look at Steam library ’s Mac compatibility .
Even with the promise of more succeeding claim , gaming ca n’t be your one heavy intellect to upgrade to the more expensive Mac . Apple hop that anybody still using a MacBook Pro and an Intel Chip from before 2020 will sense enticed to drop it for an M - Series MacBook . If you suit the bill and you ’ve been eyeball an rising slope , this is the best one yet . Just do n’t assume Apple Intelligence will change your man . It ca n’t possibly do so until 2025 , if ever .
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MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Performance
Since this yr ’s figure is so similar to the MacBook Pro with M3 , the Pro with M2 , and the M1 Pro and Max blueprint from 2021 , performance really matters . The M4 Pro is a powerhouse that managed to beat last twelvemonth ’s M3 Max in many of our tests . Even more than that , it try better than I had thought it would .
The M4 Pro is a huge stair up from what you get if you opt for the cheapest MacBook Pro 14 . Benchmark resolution clearly beat out the root M4 chip as dramatically as the M3 Max did to the bottom - end M3 from last year . In Geekbench 6 , the M4 was 67 points better in single - kernel than the MacBook Pro 14 and close to 7,800 points in multi - core configurations . The M4 Pro rack up one of our best times for our Handbrake tests , transcoding a 4 cat valium video recording into 1080p .
See MacBook Pro 16 at Amazon
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It also scored above or at par with the M3 Max MacBook Pro 16 in most tests , save for graphics - specific chore . The CPU could finish our Blender test , where we force it to fork up a picture of a BMW in one minute and 34 seconds , just two s slower than the M3 Max .
compare to an Intel Core i9 - 14900 K , the M4 Pro baffle it by around 800 points in single - magnetic core and 1,900 in multi - core options with Geekbench 6 . A desktop microcomputer with a distinct GPU may still win out for the sake of rendering tests , but if you compare it to the Intel Core i9 - 14900HX in a swelled laptop computer like theRazer Blade 16 , the M4 Pro wins by more than 200 point in time in multi - core tests .
Apple seems to think the M4 Pro is a gaming - ready chip . I run it with several secret plan and obtain that , yes , it ’s perfectly adequate to of playing ask titles with relative ease . Apple likes to mention the ironware - accelerated electron beam tracing financial backing on M4 . I tried theMystremake , and at full solution and shaft tracing , I was at stable , sub-60 FPS framerates , although the glitchy ray - traced lighting on water surfaces routinely tanked performance .
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
Resident Evil 4could proffer between 100 and 120 FPS at eminent scene at a 1920 by 1200 resoluteness . If you max out the firmness , you may expect between 45 and 60 FPS , which you may boost by increasing the MetalFX upscaling from “ timbre . ” It ’s the samestory withDeath Stranding : Director ’s Cut , with FPS that never dipped despite the light beam tracingin the setting .
InBaldur ’s Gate III , I could get more than 90 FPS indoors and between 60 and 70 FPS outdoors , though at a lower - than - native resolution . locomote up to the covert ’s 3456 by 2234 solvent want enabling AMD FSR or else dial back the configurations to get playable framerates . You ca n’t look much more from a computer without a distinct GPU , but it bodes well for any future titles coming to Mac if and when they do .
Let ’s fall in it down . The power - per - satisfying - inch is why you should opt for the M4 Pro over the base 14 - inch M4 models . You should still look towards a quality PC if you want a fluid play computer . If gambling is lowly to your Mac usance , The MacBook Pro 16 is at least capable of handling whatever is thrown its way .
MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Build Quality and Display
The notch is still there , the bane of my Mac screen experience , the eye of Sauron that Apple refuses to topple . I do n’t need a cutout on my display . I desire it gone , but that ’s not in the cards for this MacBook refresh . It ’s another hard oral contraceptive pill to accept because the mini - LED “ Liquid Retina XDR ” presentation is already a character blind ; I would desire Apple to maximise all the CRT screen genuine estate it can . I understand some people do n’t enjoy the iPhone ’s active island , but surely it ’s a better option than what we ’ve gone through with Apple ’s laptop , proper ? Besides , a novel screen may finally have in mind a modulation to OLED . guess the iPad Pro ’s tandem OLED on a MacBook . hail on , attest it with me .
There ’s now an pick among the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 for the Cupertino society ’s tout “ nano - texture ” to reduce reflexion and glare . Apple said it sent me a MacBook Pro 14 with the nano - texture and the 16 model without it . However , I found my 16 model seemed more matte than the 14 . The departure was obvious side - by - side with the M3 MacBook Pro .
However , the raw , higher brightness on the 16 - inch exhibit did more to offset issues than a texture . In direct lightness through a window , I could honestly not distinguish much of a difference between one with it and one without . Compared to theIPS LCD MacBook Air 15 , both the Taiwanese - LEDs did a good job reducing glare . I would suggest saving your money and opting for the regular screen . Perhaps doubly so since Apple still want you to purchase a $ 19 polishing fabric for the nano - grain . Our advice : do n’t .
It ’s still a pretty laptop computer , to be sure , and in my feeling , it ’s prettier without nano - grain . The blacks are not going to have the inky quality of OLED ( and perhaps we might finally see that OLED Mac in 2025 ) , but they ’re deep enough to palpate fulfil when gaming or streaming . As for the few other pocket-sized change , there ’s a novel rising slope to the port survival .
I still experience satisfied with the I / O on the Pro models . There ’s the SD carte du jour proofreader , four USB - one C port , an HDMI port , and Apple ’s proprietary MagSafe 3 . All the versions of the MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and M4 Max , alongside the M4 Pro - poweredMac miniskirt , now include Thunderbolt 5 instead of 4 . Thunderbolt 4 crest out at 40 Gbps bandwidth speeds . The upgrade offers 80 Gbps basis bandwidth mental ability and a soap of 120 speeds with Bandwidth Boost , though the higher speed would crest receiving information to 40 Gbps . you could still stick with the MagSafe 3 courser in the box , but anybody with big power bricks with a USB - C terminal can expect to max out on charging speed .
Despite the big promises , you ca n’t support multiple 8 K monitors with a MacBook Pro . The M4 Pro chip can do the full 3456 by 2234 closure on the Pro ’s showing while support two international monitors at 6 K and 60 Hz refresh pace . you could do a 4 K up to 144 Hz through HDMI plus a 6 K at 60 Hz , but you ’ll lose out on your MacBook blind . If you require more , you take to drop extra dosh on the M4 Max with reinforcement for three 6 super C monitors through Thunderbolt and a 4 K show through HDMI .
Even with the move to Thunderbolt 5 , some upgrades seem mysteriously lacking . There ’s still no WiFi 7 living ; or else , it ’s stuck with WiFi 6E. It ’s not a dealbreaker , but it ’s strange to see Apple accept the diametrical tack when other laptops are jumping up to WiFi 7 long before Thunderbolt 5 .
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Battery Life
Macs are have it off for their stamp battery life story , which is as rightful with the M4 models as with the M3 , M2 , and M1 chips . These laptop last for a farsighted time . Apple promise 24 hr of video recording cyclosis and 17 hour of wireless internet browsing on laptops with the M4 Pro . Our tests found the MacBook Pro 16 was close to those metrics , but of track , you wo n’t get 17 - 60 minutes runtimes since you wo n’t just be using a $ 3,500 laptop to browse the internet .
In our stamp battery tests , where we ran the laptop on a 24 - 60 minutes YouTube video at the humiliated potential brightness , the 16 - column inch MacBook Pro was at 61 % after 12 hour . It only reach 50 % at the 14 - hour fool . As you might expect , it accept another 12 time of day to die completely . It has better length of service than its 14 - in counterpart with M4 , which sit down at 50 % after 12 hours on the same test .
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Verdict
You might be enquire why I have n’t note Apple Intelligence once since the beginning of this review . Simply put , it does not change how you utilise your Mac . We ’ve covered mickle of that already , and if you want more , read myMacBook Pro 14 review . If you do n’t have an M - series Mac or the latest iPhones or iPads , you are not miss much as it presently stand . During our reassessment , Apple pushed out developer betas for macOS Sequoia 15.2 , offering the ChatGPT integration that work with the retool Siri . To sum it up , I discover it did n’t bring anything to the Mac experience . Sequoia is already a quality update , and I ’d much rather utilize iPhone mirroring than plug command prompt into ChatGPT through Siri .
The M4 Chip has a good 38 TOPS nervous engine than the M3 , M2 , or M1 chips . Our Geekbench AI bench mark show that the M4 scores are nearly 14,000 points higher than the score of the M3 . However , you have to commemorate that the NPU does n’t do much of the intensive AI tasks . The NPU is built for background AI . Anything that requires more juice is belike plow by Apple Intelligence ’s much - hype private swarm computing . If you ’re an AI developer , you already know you care more about the qualities of the GPU .
Beyond all that , the MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro feels like a beast , thrumming with baron , and you have to drop a flying lizard ’s hoard to use it . Even if it romp strong - as - hell performance for that price , the kind of professional who needs that power would have to have a conversation between themselves and whatever god they idolise before cast that amount of money on a singular machine . Just ensure you may live with this chassis . I know I could , but part of me is hope for something well .
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