Review
WORKING MAC-GIC!
I tested Apple’s new AI-powered MacBook Pro – it’s powerful with huge battery life but the best bit was a total surprise
There are five different ports on the outside – and we've got the full list
BIZARRELY, my favourite thing about Apple’s new laptop isn’t its performance or battery life.
They’re great, sure – but I’ve been trying the 2024 MacBook Pro for nearly two weeks and there’s another part that’s stolen my heart.
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It’s an optional upgrade to the screen called the Nano-Texture Display. It’s wild and I love it. More on that later.
For now, let’s talk about what’s generally new with Apple’s powerful new laptop.
The MacBook Pro is at the top of Apple’s notebook line-up, coming in with more power and a bigger price tag than the MacBook Air.
This latest model features Apple’s new M4 range of chips.
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The M-series chips are designed by Apple, and generally get rave reviews for delivering ridiculous performance and power efficiency.
And the M4 is the latest version of these chips, coming in M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max variants.
The MacBook I’ve been using runs on the regular M4 and it’s pretty phenomenal.
I can spam-click apps to open and they’ll all pop up instantly.
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There are no delays and everything is super smooth, even when I’m doing hi-res editing in Adobe Photoshop or loading up some World of Warcraft.
Performance is helped by the fact that the MacBook Pro has 16GB of base memory (now also matched by the MacBook Air).
I’ve tested the iPhone 16 – the battery is insane but another model is even better
Note that memory is for running apps and features – not to be confused with storage, which is where files are kept longer-term.
On the storage front, you get 512GB of storage as standard, but you can double this to 1TB if you prefer.
That said, 512GB is probably plenty for most people – especially as you can also use external storage if you need more from time to time.
There’s even an SD card slot (and a headphone jack!) just like in the good old days.
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Battery life is impressive: Apple promises 24 hours, which sounds about right.
I can get through a full day of work and them some evening use without running it down.
That includes writing, web browsing, watching videos, listening to music, and gaming.
The MacBook Pro comes in two screen sizes: 14-inch and 16-inch.
I’ve tried bigger and smaller Pro models over the years, and honestly it’s hard to decide what’s best.
There’s something glorious about having an absolutely enormous 16-inch display in front of you.
But the 14-inch feels extremely portable, and the screen is still plenty big. I think for me, that portability wins out.
In any case, my favourite part of the new MacBook Pro is a screen upgrade called Nano-Texture Display.
SO IM-PORT-ANT!
Here are the ports you'll get on the new MacBook...
- Thunderbolt (USB-C)
- HDMI
- SDXC
- Headphone Jack
- MagSafe
Apple also notes that you can drive two hi-res external displays with M4 and M4 Pro models – or four with an M4 Max laptop.
That’s a fairly fancy way of describing what is effectively a matte screen.
You’ll pay £150 / $150 extra for the luxury and – if you can afford it – you should.
It basically deals with the problem of glare and reflections on your screen.
That means you can use the MacBook Pro in a sunny room or outdoors with no problem.
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Even without that benefit, frankly it’s just gorgeous. It makes the screen and everything on it beautiful. I can hardly imagine going back to a regular display.
Add in the fact that it’s a game-changer if you’ve ever use laptops near bright lights, windows, or out in the open world – and you’ve got yourself an unmissable upgrade.
Little needs to be said about macOS – the operating system that Mac runs on.
It’s a well-designed system that even Windows users shouldn’t struggle to use.
Gaming has always been a weak point for macOS due to a lack of top-tier titles – but that’s changing.
And this Mac also supports all of the new Apple Intelligence tricks that were shown off earlier this year.
The AI-powered features include a smarter and more natural Siri, a Writing Tools feature to help clean up your words, and – very soon – a feature to create your own emoji and custom images.
There’s no downside here really: it’s all handy if you need it, but it’s not pushy that it gets in the way if you don’t want to use it.
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And Apple Intelligence will get better over time, so you may find yourself tempted.
There’s basically nothing to complain about with the new MacBook Pro.
It’s incredibly powerful, looks beautiful, and doesn’t run out of charge every two hours.
The starting price isn’t insignificant: it’s £1,599 / $1,599, after all.
But this is an absolute workhorse of a machine, so that doesn’t feel like bad value.
And if you are put off by the price, you might get on much better with the cheaper MacBook Air.
It’s not quite as performant but still incredibly fast and lightweight.
Better still, the Air only costs £1,099 / $1,099 for the M3 model, or just £999 / $999 if you want the M2 version.
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But if you’re a pro user who needs a great laptop as their main work and leisure device, it’s hard to do better than a MacBook Pro.
The Sun says: Apple has done it again: the perfect laptop somehow manages to get even better. This is style and substance in generous and equal measure. 5/5
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All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed.
Always do your own research before making any purchase.
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