Review Apple MacBook Pro: powerhouse

Frits Hamann and Bert van Dijk

In 2020, Apple already surprised everyone with the enormous performance of the M1 processor in the cheapest Macs. With the launch of the new 14-inch MacBook Pro, Apple is going well beyond that. With the M1 Max processor and 64GB of RAM, our test model is even up to 4x as fast! With 7.4 GB/s, data is written to the SSD storage space twice as fast. For most users, however, the basic configuration with an M1 Pro processor will suffice. If you don’t really need the extra graphics power, it’s better not to opt for that M1 Max processor. Not only do the extra graphics cores always consume a little more power, the implementation is also about a thousand euros more expensive.

With Apple now using its own chips derived from iPhone and iPad mobile chips in almost every Mac, you can now run a number of iPhone and iPad apps on the latest Macs and you no longer have to wait when you wake up. Mac. Graphically in particular, the performance is impressive due to the high 256-bit access and more graphics cores.
The high-contrast 120 Hz Mini LED display with Pro Motion is another big improvement. With the default screen setting Apple XDR Display HDR images are displayed very clearly up to 1600 nits. However, normal images are usually displayed at a maximum of 500 nits. As with an OLED screen, the image has a great contrast and black is really deep black. The screen also shows the notch on, a camera cutout at the top of the screen, which allowed Apple to narrow the bezel. Face ID is missing in the notch because Apple believes that Touch ID is easier with a laptop. The six speakers are much better than the speakers in previous MacBooks. They produce a rich, deep sound with 80% more bass and are powerful enough to fill a room with spacious sound. The sound does not seem to only come from the laptop itself. Together with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound, you have a kind of mini cinema in your laptop.

Against the trend of recent years, Apple has made the 14-inch MacBook Pro slightly thicker than the previous version and added extra ports. This is a godsend for professional users who work a lot with peripherals. In addition to three fast Thunderbolt 4 ports, you will also find an HDMI 2.0 and an SD card port that is suitable for Ultra High Speed ​​(UHS-2) cards. There is also a headphone jack, which is suitable for connecting professional headphones without a dongle.
A strong point of this new MacBook Pro is also the long battery life and the good performance with the built-in battery: more than 12.5 hours.

CONCLUSION
Thanks to the M1 processor, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is an extremely powerful laptop for heavy creative tasks with a beautiful Mini-LED ProMotion screen. As always with Apple, prices are high.

Product: Apple MacBook Pro