Macbook Pro 2024

For the M3 generation of MacBook Pros, read here.

Apple updated their Mac lineup in their October event. The piece de resistance is the MacBook Pro as the powerhouse tool that can do everything with the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max processors. On the surface, it’s a spec bump, but the devil are in the details.

What’s New

Here are the most important changes:

• Additional ports on the base version: The base M4 MacBook Pro now has the same number of ports as its M4 Pro and M4 Max siblings. With the CPU performance of the M4 matches M3 Pro and M2 Max, it is an apt upgrade
• Higher starting memory: The entry M4 MacBook Pro now starts with 16GB of memory instead of 8GB in the last iteration. Mid-tier M4 Pro MacBook Pro starts with 24GB instead of 16 GB.
• Updated camera: The webcam now has Desk View and Center Stage features. The webcam is now an ultra-wide camera. Desk View will focus a part of the image signal to focus on the keyboard/desk and Center Stage will focus on your face on video calls like Zoom and FaceTime.
• Nano-Texture option: You can spec your screen to have Nano-Texture to reduce glare. $150 for this feature
• Extended battery life: One of the technological leaps of Apple Silicon is how long the laptops last against their Intel counterpart. Apple made the MacBook Pro to last 24 hours on a single charge.
• Thunderbolt 5 support: The M4 Pro and M4 Max MacBook Pro support Thunderbolt 5 protocol which promises transfer speed up to 120GB/s, 3 times of Thunderbolt 4.

Pricing Guide

MacBook Pro is laden with tons of options and some will confuse you. Here are some of the curiosities that I found while going through the configurator:

• M4 Pro limits: M4 Pro starts with 24GB of memory. But you can only spec it up to 48GB of memory and 4TB of storage. In the Mac Mini, you can order an M4 Mac Mini with 64GB of memory and 8TB of storage.
• M4 Max binned: There’s only 1 configuration for this. If you chose the M4 Max with 14 14-core CPU and 32-core GPU, you can configure this to have 36GB of memory. If you need more memory., you have to choose a fully loaded M4 Max chip.
• Fully loaded M4 Max: The fully loaded M4 Max with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU starts with 48GB of memory. It only goes up from there.
• Storage pricing: All models starts with 512GB of storage. Pricing for storage upgrades are as follows: 1TB (+$200); 2TB (+$600); 4TB (+$1,200); 8TB ($2,200). Some models do not have higher-tier options for storage (see above)
• Nano-Texture: $150 option to make your screen resist glare at the expense of brightness.
• 16-inch option: You will need to pay a $300 premium on the 16-inch to get the same configuration as the 14-inch. Consider this a “screen tax” from Apple.

Which One Is Right For You

The MacBook Pro has a wide range of power configurations, but which one is right for you? Here’s a little guide based on your workflow

Get the

• M4 if … mostly using Microsoft Office suite (PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Excel), light video editing, light music creation, light web page
• M4 Pro if … creating videos or photo editing as a side hustle, making music with more than 20 instruments at the same time, some significant coding work for a small to mid-size app, having some 3D rendering work
• M4 Max if … creating videos full-time with special effects and multiple high-quality timelines. Doing heavy 3D rendering work. AI-related work with a very large dataset. Running apps that use huge amounts of memory.

Conclusion

It is crazy to think at this moment, that the performance crown of the entire Apple lineup is a laptop that would be a supercomputer in the early 2000s. And yet, here we are. The great thing is every chip in the lineup deserves the Pro moniker, even the entry-level ones.

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Other Ecosystem Items

• Apple TV (Amazon) / Apple TV 4K (Amazon)
• AirTags (Amazon)
• HomePod Mini (Amazon)