Apple’s flagship laptop line won’t wow you with flashy features or fresh designs, but it’s almost so polished that you can’t complain.
I’ve been using the M4 MacBook Pro for about a week now, and it’s the most boringly awesome device I’ve tested this year.
Without making my 14-inch M1 MacBook Pro jealous, the newest model is Apple’s most polished and complete laptop yet, to the point where the base M4 configuration may just be good enough for 90% of users. Most people will be delighted by the M4 MacBook Pro’s overall computing experience, especially if they’re coming from an Intel-based system.
A smaller percentage — the enthusiasts — will absolutely salivate over the finer touches, from the changes to the USB-C ports to the brighter screen in SDR mode. In fact, the base M4 model — not the M4 Pro or M4 Max — is precisely the one I’ve been lugging around town, and it’s got all the bells and whistles I need to push through rigorous amounts of photo and video editing, gaming (with all the rays traced), and content consumption.
ZDNET RECOMMENDS MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4, 2024)
The latest MacBook Pro features an upgraded processor, longer battery life, a wider webcam, and more.
I’m on hour 11 since last charge, and this laptop has 20% of battery left in the tank. That’s not exactly the “24-hour battery life” that Apple touts in its marketing, but remember that the company benchmarks by hours of video playback only. With various creative tasks and background apps running, I’ve been very impressed with the M4 MacBook Pro’s endurance. If it were my M1 MacBook Pro, my battery anxiety would’ve kicked in much earlier.
The new M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pros feature USB-C Thunderbolt 5 ports, becoming some of the first laptops on the market to support faster 120Gbps transfer speeds, up to 240W charging, and more robust monitor support. For professional creatives who use external GPUs and storage solutions and need a portable system that can swiftly move large files, paying for the extra processing power is justifiable.
This year, the base MacBook Pro gets the Space Black treatment, and it looks fantastic.
Otherwise, the base M4 MacBook Pro is more than competent, with its now three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports.
