Apple’s latest M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro refresh brings significant improvements to its professional laptop line, with reviewers praising the upgraded base model and impressive performance gains across the board. Here’s what the top tech publications are saying about the 2024 MacBook Pro with M4 chips.
“All the things that have made Apple silicon-based MacBook Pros great are still here, now powered by the impressively upgraded M4 chip,” noted Jason Snell on the Six Colors blog. “Apple has also sufficiently improved the base model to finally elevate it out of ‘Why does this exist?’ territory, boosted the device’s world-class display and seriously upgraded the built-in webcam. Not bad for a small update.”
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M4 MacBook Pro reviews: Truly Pro at every level
Performance and chip options
The new M4 chip family delivers notable performance improvements across all models of the MacBook Pro laptop. Both the M4 and M4 Pro chips “handily blast through” everyday workloads, able to handle multiple applications simultaneously without slowdow, CNN reported. The base M4 model showed approximately 64% better performance than M3 in Cinebench’s multicore test, while single-core scores improved by over 20%, according to The Verge.
Engadget’s benchmarking revealed the M4 chip scored 1,000 to 1,500 points higher than other recent laptops in single-threaded work on Geekbench 6. The M4 Pro version showed even more dramatic improvements, with multi-threaded scores 9,000 to 12,500 points higher than competing laptops — a gap roughly equivalent to the entire multi-threaded score of some current laptops.
And for gaming performance, Engadget found the M4 Pro 16-inch model maintained 60fps in modern games like Lies of P and Resident Evil 4 at 1440p with maximum settings, while the base M4 handled 1080p at 60fps. CNN noted similar capable gaming performance, with Baldur’s Gate 3 running smoothly on both models at appropriate settings.
Photo: OpenAI/ChatGPT
Display improvements
A key upgrade highlighted by several reviewers is the increased brightness of the Liquid Retina XDR display. Six Colors noted that while HDR peak brightness remains unchanged at 1,600 nits, standard dynamic range brightness has increased significantly from 600 nits on the M3 to 1,000 nits on the M4 models.
The new optional nano-texture display ($150 add-on) received positive feedback for its anti-glare properties. CNN compared nano-texture and standard displays side-by-side in bright sunlight, confirming significantly reduced glare and reflections. While the nano-texture slightly reduces contrast, it “works incredibly well” in challenging lighting conditions without being noticeable in normal use, Six Colors said.
Base model legitimacy
The entry-level MacBook Pro finally feels like a “full-throated Pro” rather than a compromise, with Apple addressing previous limitations, The Verge emphazied. The $1,599 base model now includes:
- 16GB RAM (doubled from 8GB)
- Three Thunderbolt ports (up from two)
- The ability to charge from either side
- Space Black color option previously reserved for Pro/Max models
Six Colors agreed, saying the base model is now a “full member of the family” rather than feeling like an outsider in the Pro lineup.
Camera and connectivity
All models receive a significant webcam upgrade to a 12-megapixel sensor (up from 1080p) with Center Stage auto-framing capability. The camera produced “pretty clear” image quality that was noticeably better than typical Windows laptops. according to CNN. And the new cameras look “far sharper with more accurate colors” and appear less artificially processed than previous generations, Engadget added.
The M4 Pro and Max models introduce Thunderbolt 5 support, which can deliver 200 watts of charging and enhanced transfer speeds — particularly beneficial for external displays and storage, Six Colors highlighted. The base M4 model retains Thunderbolt 4.
Battery life
Battery life continues to impress across the lineup. CNN reports the 14-inch M4 model lasted about 30 minutes longer than its M3 predecessor in their testing, while the 16-inch M4 Pro extended battery life by about 90 minutes compared to the M3 Max version.
Engadget achieved remarkable results in their video loop test, with the 14-inch lasting 34 hours and 15 minutes and the 16-inch running for 30 hours and 16 minutes — the first time they’ve seen a laptop exceed 30 hours in their testing.
Value and pricing considerations
Image: Apple
While reviewers generally praise the improvements, CNN notes that Apple’s pricing structure remains premium compared to Windows alternatives. The $1,599 starting price for the base model is higher than similarly configured competitors, and upgrade costs for storage and memory can be steep.
However, The Verge pointed out the base model now offers meaningful advantages over the MacBook Air for creative professionals, including better performance, more ports, a higher quality screen with 120Hz refresh rate and improved speakers. While various people have pushed M4 MacBook Air models as the best laptop for most people, it remains to be seen if the next refresh to M4 will strengthen or weaken that opinion, given how great the base M4 MacBook Pro is.
Watch M4 MacBook Pro review videos:
Verdict: Improvements not revolutionary but meaningful
The consensus among reviewers is that while this update may not be revolutionary, it meaningfully improves an already excellent laptop line. Six Colors summarizes that Apple has successfully kept “moving it forward with a combination of new features and ongoing performance boosts.” The legitimization of the base model and significant performance gains in the Pro and Max variants make this a compelling upgrade for users of older MacBooks, though perhaps less essential for M2 or M3 owners.
Engadget concludes that these are simply “the best MacBook Pros yet,” while CNN confidently states the M4 MacBook Pro “will be one of your favorite laptops ever” for those in the market for a professional-grade laptop.
Buy a 2024 M4 MacBook Pro from Amazon:
- 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro with 10‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, Liquid Retina XDR Display, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD Storage, Silver or Space Black — $1,549
- 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro with 10‑core CPU and 10‑core GPU, Liquid Retina XDR Display, 24GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD Storage, Silver or Space Black — $1,999
- 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU, Liquid Retina XDR Display, 24GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD Storage; Silver or Space Black — $2,449.99
- 16-inch M4 Max MacBook Pro with 14‑core CPU, 32‑core GPU, Liquid Retina XDR Display, 36GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD Storage; Silver or Space Black — $3,419.94
Apple's latest base-model MacBook Pro features an M4 chip with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. It also boasts a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR Display, 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD storage and silver or space black colors.
- Great performance and "built for Apple Intelligence"
- Outstanding 24-hour battery life
- Beautiful Liquid Retina display
- More expensive than MacBook Air
