14-inch M4 MacBook Professional evaluate: From ‘meh’ to marvelous

Apple’s strategy to its most reasonably priced MacBook Professional has been slightly perplexing throughout the early a part of the Apple silicon period. There was the M1 and M2 13-inch MacBook Professional, good laptops however with dated designs that appeared odd in comparison with the pricier and prettier 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional. Then Apple dropped it when the M3 got here, however its 14-inch alternative had obvious compromises.

It appeared like Apple had a distinct thought than prospects of the function of essentially the most reasonably priced MacBook Professional within the laptop computer lineup. Apple appeared to consider the entry-level MacBook Professional as a tweener machine, a bridge from the MacBook Air. Clients, nonetheless, see that it’s a “MacBook Professional” and count on a pro-level laptop computer with few (or no) obvious compromises.

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That brings us to the M4 14-inch MacBook Professional. With it, Apple has launched a laptop computer that addresses the problems with the confounding 14-inch M3 MacBook Professional, and up to date its chip, as properly. The end result isn’t just that the M4 MacBook Professional has a transparent identification, nevertheless it additionally represents an incredible worth.

This evaluate is structured primarily based on how the key updates will affect your shopping for choice. Right here, the M4 chip is the first issue, so we cowl it first. Then we cowl the ports, then the display screen and digicam, after which different components. Use the Desk of Contents hyperlinks on the prime of this text to skip round. Earlier than all of that, listed here are the main points on our evaluate unit.

14-inch M4 MacBook Professional: Our mannequin’s specs

This evaluate appears on the M4 14-inch MacBook Professional, which is Apple’s most reasonably priced mannequin within the MacBook Professional lineup. Our evaluate unit has the identical CPU, GPU, and RAM as the bottom commonplace configuration, however the SSD is a 1TB improve, which is a further $200/£200, and it has the Nano-texture glass ($150/£150). Listed here are the specs of the laptop computer on this evaluate:

• CPU: M4 with 10 cores (4 efficiency cores, 6 effectivity cores), 16-core Neural Engine
• GPU: 10 cores
• Reminiscence: 16GB unified reminiscence (120GBps reminiscence bandwidth)
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Show: 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR; 3024-by-1964 native decision at 254 pixels per inch; 1000 nits sustained XDR brightness, 1600 nits peak (HDR content material solely); 1000 nits SDR brightness; 1 billion colours; P3 coloration gamut; True Tone; Nano-texture glass
• Ports: 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C; MagSafe 3; SDXC Card slot; HDMI; 3.5mm audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax); Bluetooth 5.3
• Enter units: Magic Keyboard with Contact ID; Magic Trackpad
• Weight: 3.4 kilos (1.55 kg)
• Dimensions: 0.61 x 12.31 x 8.71 inches (1.55 x 31.26 x 22.12 cm)
• Value (as examined): $1,949/£1,949

14-inch M4 MacBook Professional: Efficiency

The foremost drawback with the M3 MacBook Professional was that its unified reminiscence began at 8GB. That’s usable however for a “Professional” laptop computer it’s not sufficient for high-end duties, and an improve to 16GB value a dear $200/£200. Final yr, Apple defended its stance in opposition to buyer outcry and it appeared like the corporate wasn’t going to budge. However sooner or later (maybe tied to Apple Intelligence?) the corporate made the appropriate choice to set 16GB as the brand new RAM baseline in all Macs–what makes the change even sweeter is costs weren’t affected in any respect.

What 16GB means is that the M4 MacBook Professional runs extra effectively. Whilst you’re not going to see dramatic boosts, it’ll really feel quite a bit smoother while you’re utilizing an app that’s not optimized correctly, have a number of apps open on the identical time, and/or have a dozen browser tabs of Macworld.com open on the identical time.

Moreover having extra base RAM than the M3, the M4 has a 10-core CPU (4 efficiency cores and 6 effectivity cores) and a 10-core GPU. Be taught extra in regards to the M4. General, the M4 gives the standard increase we’ve seen from the previous chip sequence to the brand new one, however since Apple didn’t improve the worth with the RAM increase, the general worth is a lot better.

Geekbench 6.3 gauges total efficiency, and the M4 was 23 % quicker than the M3 within the Multi-Core check. The increase over the M2 and M1 is extra important at 53 % and 79 %, respectively. The M1 and M2 laptops even have the previous design with fewer ports so that you’ll get a mix of a contemporary look and a efficiency improve.

The M4’s 8 % GPU increase in Cinebench 2024 isn’t a lot quicker than the M3. Curiously, the M4 iMac that we reviewed with the identical M4 chip tallied a GPU rating that was 10 % quicker than the M4 MacBook Professional. Maybe the MacBook Professional’s M4 must do some throttling to keep up a correct temperature in its a lot tighter quarters than the iMac, although the followers weren’t noticeable throughout the GPU check.

The followers did kick in loudly throughout the CPU assessments, although. The laptop computer didn’t get noticeably scorching to the contact, however I don’t recall triggering the followers in another M-series laptop computer evaluate.

Extra incremental enhancements from the M3 to the M4 when changing the 4K Tears of Metal video to a 1080p H.265 file. The development of the M4 over the M2 and M1 is rather more spectacular.

Over time, Apple has improved the video encoders which are constructed into the M-series chips, and it exhibits in our iMovie outcomes when exporting a 4K ProRes video file.  For instance, the M4 gives an enchancment that’s over 200 % over the M1.

The SSD efficiency has been flat over the previous couple of generations. I’ve had a couple of readers ask me if the points with the SSD efficiency are nonetheless current. First, these issues concerned the 256GB SSD and the MacBook Professional begins at 512GB. Second, the problem was with the M1 and M2; with the M3, Apple addressed the problem so it’s unlikely it’ll be an issue with the M4.

Nonetheless, there’s a noticeable distinction between the M4 and M4 Professional SSDs. Our outcomes present that the M4 Professional SSD is about twice as quick because the M4 SSD. Traditionally, the M Professional SSD has been a lot quicker than the bottom M chip’s SSD and that also holds up right here. You possibly can learn our evaluate of the 16-inch M4 Professional MacBook Professional to be taught extra.

Right here’s one other incremental increase, this time within the Geekbench 6 Compute benchmark. This check gauges GPU efficiency. We are inclined to lend extra credence to the Metallic benchmark since that’s Apple’s API, however a number of video games use OpenCL.

We added Borderlands 3 and Whole Struggle: Warhammer III benchmarks, however since they’re new additions, our knowledge set is just for the M4 and M3 chips. Rise of the Tomb Raider and Civilization VI are older video games written for Intel and never optimized for Apple’s Metallic graphics API. However it’s spectacular that the M4 efficiency has doubled that of the M1 in lots of cases.

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14-inch M4 MacBook Professional: Ports and connectivity

One other main change is that the M4 MacBook Professional now has three Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, yet one more than the M3 MacBook Professional. Having solely two of those ports on a MacBook Professional–the identical because the MacBook Air— together with 8GB of RAM felt like a option to power buyers into shopping for a dearer mannequin. However the base MacBook Professional is now arrange like its pricier brethren–at the very least on the floor.

Beneath, the M4 MacBook Professional’s Thunderbolt is the model 4 selection, however the M4 Professional and M4 Max fashions have Thunderbolt 5, which is the newest model. Model 5 gives 80Gbps bandwidth, twice that of Thunderbolt 4, and at the very least 140 watts of energy with a max of 240 watts (model 4 is 100/140). Thunderbolt 5 additionally helps extra exterior shows.

Talking of exterior shows, the M4 MacBook Professional helps (whereas the built-in show is working, no clamshell mode occurring right here):

• As much as two exterior shows with as much as 6K decision at 60Hz over Thunderbolt, or
• One exterior show with as much as 6K decision at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one exterior show with as much as 4K decision at 144Hz over HDMI, or
• One exterior show at 8K decision at 60Hz over HDMI, or
• One exterior show at 4K decision at 240Hz over HDMI.

The opposite ports are a MagSafe 3 port, HDMI, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SDXC Card slot. Wi-fi connectivity is completed with Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3.

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14-inch M4 MacBook Professional: Show and digicam

Apple didn’t change the MacBook Professional’s show, which is okay, however the firm now gives a Nano-texture glass possibility for $150. It offers a matte end that does an excellent job of slicing down reflections and glare. The compromise that comes with the Nano-texture glass is that colours are much less vibrant, and blacks aren’t as deep are they’re with a shiny display screen. In case you discover shiny screens bothersome, then the choice is for you.

Sitting atop it’s a new 12-megapixel Middle Stage digicam. The 1080p FaceTime digicam it changed was one other a kind of issues that didn’t appear befitting for a professional laptop computer, and it’s lastly gone. Middle Stage retains you within the heart of the body, and the Desk View characteristic offers a perspective of your workspace. In all, the brand new digicam is a greater device for video conferencing.

14-inch M4 MacBook Professional: Battery life

The battery within the M4 MacBook Professional is larger at 72.4-watt hours; the M3 MacBook Professional had a 70-watt-hour battery. The M3 mannequin had “As much as 22 hours Apple TV app film playback” and “As much as 15 hours wi-fi net” whereas the M4 mannequin is said as 24 and 16 hours respectively.

Our battery check includes enjoying a video saved to the SSD in a steady loop till the battery runs out, with the show set to 150 nits (a smidge greater than midway previous the brightness indicator). Apple’s laptop computer battery life has been distinctive ever because the M1 and it’s simply extra of the identical right here. The M4 MacBook Professional lasted about 20 hours in our check, however extra importantly, I used the laptop computer with out plugging it in to do my each day work (picture modifying, some simple video and podcast modifying, and plenty and many writing) and I may go a day with out worrying about needing to plug in.

14-inch M4 MacBook Professional: Apple Intelligence

A evaluate of the M4 MacBook Professional wouldn’t be full with out mentioning Apple Intelligence, the AI-based options being rolled out beginning with macOS Sequoia 15.1. Nonetheless, the primary batch of M4 Macs coming off the road gained’t have Sequoia 15.1, so if you happen to’re among the many early prospects chances are you’ll have to replace macOS by working System Replace in System Settings.

The Apple Intelligence options are unfold out over time. The primary set is in 15.1 and a second set is coming in 15.2, in all probability in December. Apple will develop extra options as time goes by.

Geekbench AI measures the efficiency of the chip’s Neural Engine. It’s a brand new benchmark so our dataset for comparability is restricted. Make sure to try our impressions on the primary set of Apple Intelligence options in iOS 18.1–the insights in that article carry over to macOS Sequoia 15.1.

Do you have to purchase the M4 MacBook Professional?

The adjustments that Apple made to the $1,599/£1,599 M4 MacBook Professional not solely made it a transparent professional laptop computer (lastly), nevertheless it additionally created a bundle bursting with worth. It not looks like a compromised laptop computer, and also you get a number of efficiency and options for the worth. In case you take into account your self a professional person–however not likely a professional’s professional, per se–the M4 MacBook Professional has quite a bit to supply.