M4 MacBook Pro review: top notch

Apple’s MacBook Pro’s equipped with a new chip generation. The M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max are faster than their predecessors while requiring less energy. The display’s optional nano-texture glass is designed to reduce reflections, while the USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 5.

Notebooks

Apple MacBook Pro 14 – 2024

14.20", M4 Pro, 24 GB, 1000 GB, CH

4

Notebooks

Apple MacBook Pro 16 - 2024

16.20", M4 Max, 48 GB, 1000 GB, CH

I’ve tested the 14-inch model featuring the M4 Pro and the 16-inch one featuring the M4 Max, focusing on anything that’s new. The design, finish, keyboard, trackpad and speakers are the same – as amazing as ever. For more details, check out my previous review.

Nano-texture display: yay or nay?

For the first time in over ten years, the MacBook Pro’s available with a matt display. This option costs 150 francs or 170 euros extra. It’s not just any screen, but a nano-texture glass display. This means the screen’s just as robust as with a high-gloss finish, but the microscopically fine structure reduces annoying reflections.

The thing is, I’m not a fan of matt displays. They may reduce reflections, but they also spreads them over a larger area. A light bulb, for instance, turns from an intense bright dot into a gently fading circle. This makes it less noticeable, but reduces the contrast in the entire circle. Apple’s nano-texture glass does the same when it’s exposed to a light source.

At least this effect isn’t as strong as I’m used to from other matt displays. And without direct exposure to light, the nano-texture glass can be pleasant. A busy background, for example, is more disturbing on the high-gloss screen.

In an environment without reflections, however, the glossy display’s slightly brighter and sharper. Overall, I don’t have a strong opinion on whether or not the nano-texture glass is worth it. It’s a question of personal preference. If you like matt displays in general, Apple’s version is definitely one of the best out there.

Connections: dreams of the future

The USB-C ports now support Thunderbolt 5 with a bandwidth of up to 120 Gb/s. This is currently of little use, as there are hardly any devices that make use of this. In the future, however, Thunderbolt 5 will enable things like 6K monitors with 120 hertz, better docking stations and faster external SSDs.

How many monitors you can connect to the new MacBook Pro depends on the chip. The regular M4’s been improved. It can now be connected to two monitors – the M3 only worked with one. This is good news for anyone who doesn’t need much power, but two external screens. M4 Pro and M4 Max support the same number of monitors as their predecessor chips:

• M4 and M4 Pro: two monitors with up to 6K resolution at 60 hertz (Hz) / one monitor with 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz.
• M4 Max: three monitors with 6K 60 Hz and one with 4K 144 Hz / two monitors with 6K 60 Hz and one with 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz.

Performance: enormous efficiency

The two more powerful chips have more reserves for demanding applications such as video editing. I tested the M4 Pro in the 14-inch version and the M4 Max in the 16-inch version – with the maximum number of CPU and GPU cores. Here’s an overview of the specifications of the new SoCs:

Last year, there was a clear gap between the M3 Max and the M3 Pro, which was geared toward more efficiency. Now the Pro chip’s caught up with the Max again. The number of CPU cores has only increased by two, but the ratio between performance cores and efficiency cores has changed. While the M3 Pro featured 6 each, the M4 Pro has 10 P-cores and only 4 E-cores. On top of that, the number of graphics cores has increased from 18 to 20.

The architecture of the M4 Max, however, is the same as its predecessor’s – 12 P-cores, 4 E-cores and 40 GPU cores. According to Apple, however, the cores are more powerful. The Neural Engine is also said to be faster with both chips, making it better suited for Apple Intelligence.

CPU: huge increase with the Pro chip

The benchmarks show the progress CPU performance has made over the last two generations. The M4 Max is one of the fastest chips ever – not only when it comes to laptop CPUs. Apple’s SoC achieves similar results to the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X or the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. The M4 Max and M4 Pro are even better than that in single-core performance.

The increase is also large compared to the predecessor chips. On average, the M4 Max scores 18 per cent higher than the M3 Max in multi-core performance – and a whopping 82 per cent higher than the M2 Max. The M4 Pro outperforms its direct predecessor by 50 per cent.

I’m particularly impressed by the M4 Pro. If whatever you’re using it for mainly requires the CPU, you get the same performance out of it as last year with the M3 Max – for 1,200 francs less. The M4 Max performs better, but only by 19 per cent.

GPU and Neural Engine: slightly annoying

The M4 Max only clearly stands out from the M4 Pro in terms of graphics performance. That’s not surprising, as it has twice as many GPU cores. The gap in my benchmarks is 67 per cent on average. Compared to the M3 Max, it’s 20 per cent, which is still a lot for one generation.

However, this difference is small compared to that of the M4 Pro, which outperforms its predecessor by 40 per cent in terms of graphics performance and is now roughly on a par with the M1 Max from 2021. The Neural Engine of both chips is also a lot stronger (see the last slide in the following graphic).

What annoys me about the excellent GPU results is that they don’t offer me any advantage. I’m sure there are people out there who can now add even more filters to high-end videos in real time. Or render wild effects faster in After Effects. But this group of people is probably small.

There is, however, a customer group – one I’m part of – that’s larger and would benefit even more: casual gamers. In theory, the M4 Max has the potential to replace my Windows device. Apple’s chips have even supported ray tracing since last year. And although a laptop SoC will never keep up with a desktop graphics card, the performance would be sufficient in many cases. I’ve experienced this with cleanly ported games such as World of Warcraft or Baldur’s Gate 3.

But even three years after the first M chips with plenty of graphics performance was launched, the selection of AAA titles for Mac remains painfully small. I don’t know who’s to blame. But Apple’s sitting on one of the biggest piles of money in the world, so come on Tim, invest a few billion in getting game developers to port games! And I don’t mean four-year-old titles such as Cyberpunk 2077.

Productivity: performance potential not fully used

Power-intense programs such as DaVinci Resolve or Lightroom benefit from the faster chips, especially if they require a lot of power over a longer period of time – when exporting a large video, for instance. Even complex filters such as AI noise reduction are calculated more quickly.

In these real-world scenarios, the M4 Max is between 12 and 17 per cent better than the predecessor chip, while the M4 Pro is between five and 51 per cent better. That’s quite a wide range and shows how much performance depends on well-optimised programs.

This also influences how much difference the improvements actually make. Regular image processing in Lightroom or Photoshop doesn’t feel any better with the M4 Max than with older chips. After all, they’re already more than fast enough. However, advanced functions such as automatic AI masks for local adjustments run much faster. If you’re a wedding photographer and have to develop several hundred pictures, this adds up over time.

Battery: goes on and on and on

When the first MacBook Pro with Apple’s own chips was launched three years ago, its battery life was revolutionary. Even the M1 generation lasted an absurdly long time considering its performance. Since then, efficiency has continued to improve with every chip. The M4 Pro and M4 Max are again better than their predecessors.

Put under light load, the MacBook Pro with M4 Pro runs four per cent longer than with M3 Pro. This is remarkable because the new chip has much more power reserves. The improved efficiency becomes evident in my video export test. For the same computing power, the M4 Pro requires nine per cent less energy than the M3 Pro and is a lot faster.

The M4 Max shows an even bigger improvement. The five exports consume a whopping 38 per cent less battery than with the M3 Max. In the endurance test, the new chip lasts nine per cent longer. However, while these improvements are highly impressive in technical terms, they don’t have a major impact on users’ everyday experience. After all, it doesn’t really matter if your MacBook Pro has 20 or 50 per cent battery charge left after an entire working day.

Price: affordable basic model, expensive upgrades

The M4 chips aren’t only faster and more economical than their predecessors, they’re also cheaper. Thanks to a new manufacturing process, production costs are lower. This is probably one of the reasons why Apple’s equipped the MacBook Pro with more RAM this year without increasing its price. In Switzerland and Europe, we also benefit from favourable exchange rates.

With the regular M4, the lowest RAM level has doubled from 8 GB to 16 GB. With the M4 Pro, it’s increased from 18 GB to 24 GB. The M4 Max still starts at 36 GB. That’s good news. However, if you need more RAM than in the basic configurations, you’ll still have to pay a lot. Upgrades increase the price to absurd levels, especially with the smaller chips:

• M4: 200 francs / 230 euros per 8 GB
• M4 Pro: 200 francs / 230 euros per 12 GB
• M4 Max up to 48 GB: 200 francs / 230 euros per 12 GB
• M4 Max over 48 GB: 200 francs / 230 euros per 16 GB

These prices are a multiple of what RAM costs individually. Apple uses extremely fast RAM on its SoCs, which can’t be directly compared with standard DDR5 RAM. But the margin is still likely to be staggeringly high.

It’s a similar story with the SSD. Apple charges you a whopping 200 francs or 230 euros per additional 512 GB of storage. There’s only a small volume discount above 2 terabytes. Unlike with RAM, these exorbitant prices can’t be explained with high quality, no matter how hard you try. Apple’s storage is good, but no better than a decent PCIe 4.0 SSD. The WD Black SN850X, for example, is just as fast and costs around 150 francs for 2 TB.

In other words, Apple’s upgrade prices deserve criticism. But they’re unlikely to change, as that’s Apple’s business strategy. Attractive basic models keep the entry threshold low and the steep price ladder tempts affluent customers to buy an expensive configuration, giving Apple a better margin.

This system has advantages and disadvantages, depending on which customer group you belong to. If you need a lot of RAM and SSD, you’re basically subsidising all those who can manage with the basic configurations. This is where this year’s MacBook Pro offers outstanding value for money. And thanks to the higher RAM minimum, it’s easier to do without upgrades.