- 384
- IGN
- Telesphoreo
So I just got a new M4 MacBook Pro today. I've had an M1 MacBook Air since early 2021. I thought it was time for an upgrade for a few reasons. There are numerous back to school deals and many discounts. My battery on the M1 Air was also draining very fast. It really couldn't last more than just a few hours off the charger. The battery life was the most significant reason, but I also did notice it feeling sluggish. It took much longer to open applications such as the Affinity suite and virtual machines.
The spec I got was the 1TB of storage, 24GB of RAM, and the nanotexture display. I had a lot of trouble deciding if I should get the nanotexture display. For those unaware, it basically gives the glass a matte look instead of the glossy finish on Apple laptops. The advantage is that it scatters light reducing glare. I initially wasn't going to get it, but I am very glad I did. I never realized how many times I subconsciously had to adjust where I was due to the glare. It genuinely is one less thing I have to worry about. In terms of the speed, everything is significantly faster. Everything loads much faster, in terms of opening and general responsiveness of many intensive applications. I also am super pleased with the performance of virtual machines. My Windows 11 VM runs so much smoother on the M4 chip. It also can surprisingly do Minecraft on low shaders at 60fps. My MacBook Air couldn't handle shaders at all. I know Apple laptops are not gaming machines in any capacity so I don't have that expectation. It's still a pleasant surprise it can run shaders on low for Minecraft.
The screen looks incredible. Even putting the matte texture aside, it's super bright and vibrant. People have complained the colors look "washed out" on matte displays, but I disagree. I think that they are more accurate on the matte display and the glossy ones were simply oversaturated but people are used to it. Going to 120Hz is also a huge upgrade from the 60Hz on the Air. The controversial change I wasn't really ready for was the notch. I haven't noticed it yet, but I am sure I will. My menu bar is typically fuller than Apple's minimalist team would like. That's on top of many products such as JetBrains' IDE's having 500 million menu bar options. It definitely isn't ideal to have a big gap in the menu bar.
It certainly is the one thing I am not happy about at all, but I also know it's possible to turn the notch off entirely and have that extra space at the top be black space. I do wish Apple would get rid of more of the bezels and give us the near bezelless designs that look premium on Dell laptops.
The speakers and keyboard on it are both incredible. It took me some time getting used to the new keyboard, as it does feel a bit lower than the Air's. However, it's definitely been an easy adjustment and the keyboard types great. Hooray for Apple for getting rid of the awful butterfly keyboards. This types very well. I personally never minded the half row function keys, so them being full row on the Pro isn't something I particularly care about. The speakers on the MacBook Pro are simply incredible. They are very clear sounding and can really fill up the room well. They don't sound tinny or muddy. There's definitely a huge improvement in the speakers.
One of the biggest concerns for me is the weight. I am not the type to hook a laptop to a monitor and use it as a desktop. I exclusively use my laptop on the go. Carrying it around is a huge deal for me. I was worried about the weight and genuinely accepted I might have to return it if it was too heavy. However, I am pleasantly surprised. Somehow, it feels lighter than my M1 Air despite the numbers saying my new Pro is heavier. It really is not heavy at all, which is a huge relief for me. I remember having to carry around a non-Retina 2012 MacBook Pro back in the day and it was brutal. That was one heavy motherfucker. I think the lightest laptop I have ever used was a mid-tier Chromebook. I obviously don't need to explain why that was so light but in terms of a full fledged computer, it is one of the lightest I've used.
The other usual stuff about Mac's in general still applies. Apple Silicon is miles ahead of any other Windows laptop I've used. It really only runs warm-ish when using a VM and stays cool otherwise. The trackpads are top notch as usual from Apple. I disagree that Windows laptops have caught up. My work laptop has an abysmal trackpad, and it's a year old high tier Dell laptop. The palm rejection certainly works okay, but good luck trying to get it to differentiate between a left and right click. I have to go too far to the left to get it to register as a left click.
Anyway, I definitely am happy with the upgrade. Many YouTubers will tell you there is no reason to go from a M1 to an M4 because the M1 is still really good. To an extent I agree. It is really impressive what it can still do despite being a 5 year old CPU. However, there's no doubt that the M4 chips have some serious upgrades and are much faster. I also would recommend spending extra for the matte texture display. It's a tough pill to swallow since you can't get nanotexture from regular retailers like Amazon or Best Buy, who frequently have MacBook's at a discount. Buying from Apple is a terrible deal 99.9% of the time. I was able to maximize my return by using the education discount which also gives you a free $179 on some accessories. I bought the AirPods 4 with ANC. So on top of the education discount, I got a free $179 pair of AirPods I can sell for further discounts. I also traded in my M1 Air to bring the costs down further. YMMW with cost, but for me it is worth it.
The spec I got was the 1TB of storage, 24GB of RAM, and the nanotexture display. I had a lot of trouble deciding if I should get the nanotexture display. For those unaware, it basically gives the glass a matte look instead of the glossy finish on Apple laptops. The advantage is that it scatters light reducing glare. I initially wasn't going to get it, but I am very glad I did. I never realized how many times I subconsciously had to adjust where I was due to the glare. It genuinely is one less thing I have to worry about. In terms of the speed, everything is significantly faster. Everything loads much faster, in terms of opening and general responsiveness of many intensive applications. I also am super pleased with the performance of virtual machines. My Windows 11 VM runs so much smoother on the M4 chip. It also can surprisingly do Minecraft on low shaders at 60fps. My MacBook Air couldn't handle shaders at all. I know Apple laptops are not gaming machines in any capacity so I don't have that expectation. It's still a pleasant surprise it can run shaders on low for Minecraft.
The screen looks incredible. Even putting the matte texture aside, it's super bright and vibrant. People have complained the colors look "washed out" on matte displays, but I disagree. I think that they are more accurate on the matte display and the glossy ones were simply oversaturated but people are used to it. Going to 120Hz is also a huge upgrade from the 60Hz on the Air. The controversial change I wasn't really ready for was the notch. I haven't noticed it yet, but I am sure I will. My menu bar is typically fuller than Apple's minimalist team would like. That's on top of many products such as JetBrains' IDE's having 500 million menu bar options. It definitely isn't ideal to have a big gap in the menu bar.
It certainly is the one thing I am not happy about at all, but I also know it's possible to turn the notch off entirely and have that extra space at the top be black space. I do wish Apple would get rid of more of the bezels and give us the near bezelless designs that look premium on Dell laptops.
The speakers and keyboard on it are both incredible. It took me some time getting used to the new keyboard, as it does feel a bit lower than the Air's. However, it's definitely been an easy adjustment and the keyboard types great. Hooray for Apple for getting rid of the awful butterfly keyboards. This types very well. I personally never minded the half row function keys, so them being full row on the Pro isn't something I particularly care about. The speakers on the MacBook Pro are simply incredible. They are very clear sounding and can really fill up the room well. They don't sound tinny or muddy. There's definitely a huge improvement in the speakers.
One of the biggest concerns for me is the weight. I am not the type to hook a laptop to a monitor and use it as a desktop. I exclusively use my laptop on the go. Carrying it around is a huge deal for me. I was worried about the weight and genuinely accepted I might have to return it if it was too heavy. However, I am pleasantly surprised. Somehow, it feels lighter than my M1 Air despite the numbers saying my new Pro is heavier. It really is not heavy at all, which is a huge relief for me. I remember having to carry around a non-Retina 2012 MacBook Pro back in the day and it was brutal. That was one heavy motherfucker. I think the lightest laptop I have ever used was a mid-tier Chromebook. I obviously don't need to explain why that was so light but in terms of a full fledged computer, it is one of the lightest I've used.
The other usual stuff about Mac's in general still applies. Apple Silicon is miles ahead of any other Windows laptop I've used. It really only runs warm-ish when using a VM and stays cool otherwise. The trackpads are top notch as usual from Apple. I disagree that Windows laptops have caught up. My work laptop has an abysmal trackpad, and it's a year old high tier Dell laptop. The palm rejection certainly works okay, but good luck trying to get it to differentiate between a left and right click. I have to go too far to the left to get it to register as a left click.
Anyway, I definitely am happy with the upgrade. Many YouTubers will tell you there is no reason to go from a M1 to an M4 because the M1 is still really good. To an extent I agree. It is really impressive what it can still do despite being a 5 year old CPU. However, there's no doubt that the M4 chips have some serious upgrades and are much faster. I also would recommend spending extra for the matte texture display. It's a tough pill to swallow since you can't get nanotexture from regular retailers like Amazon or Best Buy, who frequently have MacBook's at a discount. Buying from Apple is a terrible deal 99.9% of the time. I was able to maximize my return by using the education discount which also gives you a free $179 on some accessories. I bought the AirPods 4 with ANC. So on top of the education discount, I got a free $179 pair of AirPods I can sell for further discounts. I also traded in my M1 Air to bring the costs down further. YMMW with cost, but for me it is worth it.
