Read our full review of the 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro (M4).
The new M4 MacBook Pro is for the people who want all the top-of-the-line specs with zero compromises. While Qualcomm Snapdragon processors have been catching up (and sometimes beating) Apple’s M3 chips recently, the M4 once again puts Apple back on top. With Apple’s speediest and most powerful processor to date, the new Pro is game to tackle any task — just be ready to drop $1,599 at the very least. We can’t say it’s the best value when it comes to MacBooks (that goes to our top pick, the M3 Air), but if you’re a professional user who needs the absolute best, then the M4 Pro is certainly the MacBook that can do the most.
The M4 version of the MacBook Pro is by far the fastest and most powerful laptop that Apple has released to date, so of course it’s on our list. Turns out, it’s yet another stunner of a computer, receiving high marks from Gedeon. She wrote that the M4 Pro is “everything we hoped for and more,” highlighting the machine’s performance, battery life, and audio as some of the best improvements.
“The M4 chip is a monster that must be haunting Windows PCs’ dreams,” Gedeon said of the new processor. During her testing period, the MacBook Pro blew the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip out of the water when it came to performance benchmarks, and that’s really saying something, because those newer Qualcomm processors are some of the best out there. “The 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro continues to have angelic audio that sounds like it’s been tuned by a choir of heavenly beings,” Gedeon also wrote, maintaining the high bar that MacBook speakers have set in the past.
The M4 MacBook Pro also received high marks for its battery life, which lasts around 17 hours (the best we’ve ever seen in a MacBook), and the webcam, which got a nice bump in quality from 1080p to 12 MP. As for negatives, there aren’t many. We think the lack of Face ID is a glaring oversight — let’s put that notch to use, please — and that the price tag is a little bit high. Still, if you’re keen on splurging, we say, “Go for it.” If you want something that’s a touch more affordable, try the M3 MacBook Pro, which is bound to go on deep sale now that the next iteration is available to the public.
