Evaluating the 2024 Edition of Apple's Powerful MacBook Pro 16
Apple's new MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro isn't reiterating the age-old saying, "what's old is new again." Simply put, the old is old, the new is new, and it's carrying over the baggage from previous generations. The MacBook Pro 16 with M4 Pro retains the same appearance and chassis that we've been familiar with for the past three years. There's a certain existential quality to the most recent MacBooks. You know they'll be powerful. You know they'll last a decent amount of time. You're so accustomed to it that you may question the necessity of an upgrade.
However, if you find yourself pondering whether the M4 or the M4 Pro chip is superior, the M4 Pro takes the lead substantially. The M4 Pro can challenge desktop-level CPUs in certain tests on its own. Rendering tasks are a breeze, and with the 20-core GPU variant, it can even max out several of the games available to Apple's desktop ecosystem. The upgraded MacBook surpasses the M3 Max from last year. Additionally, the M4 Pro has access to the High Power Mode settings previously exclusive to the Max chips, offering better control over your MacBook's performance.
Despite the promised power, this is an expensive laptop. Our 16-inch M4 MacBook Pro review unit featured the M4 Pro with 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores, along with 48GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. All in all, this configuration would set you back $3,500. The base M4 Max model begins at the same price, making it an expensive choice, even for a 16-inch display. Compared to high-end PCs with a discrete GPU, affordable gaming laptops like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i can still be found for hundreds of dollars less.
Regardless, the MacBook Pro 16 is an unstoppable productivity machine, surpassing the competition in all benchmark tests (except for graphics). It's so similar to the previous model that I'm beginning to wonder what other uses the MacBook may serve, particularly for the M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. Sure, games like Control, Frostpunk 2, and Cyberpunk 2077 are now available on Mac, but the M4 Pro can play games. However, the Mac's operating system may leave you disappointed if you browse its Steam library's Mac compatibility.
Even with the promise of future titles, gaming can't be the primary reason to upgrade to the more expensive Mac. Apple aims to entice anyone using a pre-2020 MacBook Pro with an Intel chip to switch to an M-Series MacBook. If you fit the bill and are considering an upgrade, this is the best opportunity yet. Just keep in mind that even in 2025, Apple's M-Series chip still may not change the world for you.
MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Performance
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Since this year's design is nearly identical to the MacBook Pro with M3, the Pro with M2, and the M1 Pro and Max designs from 2021, performance is crucial. The M4 Pro is a powerhouse that outperformed last year's M3 Max in numerous tests. In fact, it surpassed expectations.
The M4 Pro represents a significant upgrade if you opt for the least expensive MacBook Pro 14. Benchmark results far surpassed the base M4 chip, just as the M3 Max surpassed the base M3 from the previous year. In Geekbench 6, the M4 outperformed the MacBook Pro 14 by 67 points in single-core and nearly 7,800 points in multi-core settings. The M4 Pro also delivered one of our best scoring times for our Handbrake tests, transcoding a 4K video into 1080p.
It also performed better than or at par with the M3 Max MacBook Pro 16 in most tests, except for graphics-specific tasks. The CPU completed our Blender test, where it was tasked with rendering a BMW scene in one minute and 34 seconds, just two seconds behind the M3 Max.
Compared to an Intel Core i9-14900K, the M4 Pro outperformed it by around 800 points in single-core and 1,900 points in multi-core settings with Geekbench 6. A desktop PC with a discrete GPU may still surpass it in rendering tests, but compared to the Intel Core i9-14900HX in a large laptop like the Razer Blade 16, the M4 Pro outperforms it by over 200 points in multi-core tests.
Apple views the M4 Pro as a gaming-ready chip. I tested it with various games and found that, indeed, it can handle demanding titles with relative ease. Apple also boasts about the hardware-accelerated ray tracing support on the M4. I gave the Myst remake a try, and it achieved stable, sub-60 FPS frame rates, although the glitchy ray-traced lighting on water surfaces frequently impacted performance.
Resident Evil 4 could deliver between 100 and 120 frames per second (FPS) at high settings at a 1920 by 1200 resolution. If you maximize the resolution, you can anticipate between 45 and 60 FPS, which you can enhance by increasing the MetalFX upscaling from “Quality.” The story remains the same for Death Stranding: Director’s Cut, with FPS that never fell, despite the background ray tracing.
In Baldur’s Gate III, I could achieve more than 90 FPS indoors and between 60 and 70 FPS outdoors, though at a lower-than-native resolution. Going up to the screen’s 3456 by 2234 resolution required enabling AMD FSR or dialing back the settings to get playable framerates. A computer without a discrete GPU can't offer much more, but it's promising for any future Mac titles.
Let's delve into it. The power-per-square-inch is the reason to opt for the M4 Pro over the base 14-inch M4 models. A high-quality PC is still the best choice if gaming is not your primary Mac use. If gaming is secondary, the MacBook Pro 16 is capable enough to handle tasks.
MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Build Quality and Display
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
The notch remains, a point of annoyance for my Mac screen experience, a constant distraction that Apple refuses to remove. I don’t need a cutout on my display. I want it gone, but that’s not in the cards for this MacBook refresh. It’s another hard pill to swallow because the mini-LED “Liquid Retina XDR” display is already a quality screen; I would want Apple to utilize all the screen real estate it can. Some people may enjoy the iPhone’s dynamic island, but surely it’s a better option than what we’ve had with Apple’s laptops, right? Besides, a new screen might finally mean a transition to OLED. Imagine the iPad Pro’s tandem OLED on a MacBook. Come on, imagine it with me.
There’s now an option among the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 for Apple’s touted “nano-texture” to reduce reflections and glare. Apple sent me a MacBook Pro 14 with the nano-texture and the 16 model without it. However, I found the 16 model seemed more matte than the 14. The difference was obvious side-by-side with the M3 MacBook Pro.
However, the new, higher brightness on the 16-inch display did more to offset issues than a texture. In direct light through a window, I could hardly distinguish much of a difference between one with it and one without. Compared to the IPS LCD MacBook Air 15, both the min-LEDs did a better job reducing glare. I would suggest saving your money and opting for the regular screen. Perhaps doubly so since Apple still wants you to buy a $19 polishing cloth for the nano-texture. Our advice: don’t.
It’s still a visually appealing laptop, to be sure, and in my opinion, it’s even more attractive without nano-texture. The blacks are not going to have the inky quality of OLED (and perhaps we might finally see that OLED Mac in 2025), but they’re deep enough to feel satisfying when gaming or streaming. As for the few other minor changes, there’s a new upgrade to the port selection.
I still feel satisfied with the I/O on the Pro models. There’s the SD card reader, four USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and Apple’s proprietary MagSafe 3. All the versions of the MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and M4 Max, alongside the M4 Pro-powered Mac mini, now include Thunderbolt 5 instead of 4. Thunderbolt 4 capped out at 40 Gbps bandwidth speeds. The upgrade offers 80 Gbps base bandwidth capacity and a max of 120 speeds with Bandwidth Boost, though the higher speed would cap receiving data to 40 Gbps. You can still use the MagSafe 3 charger in the box, but anyone with big power bricks with a USB-C end can expect to max out on charging speed.
Despite the big promises, you can’t support multiple 8K monitors with a MacBook Pro. The M4 Pro chip can do the full 3456 by 2234 resolution on the Pro’s display while supporting two external monitors at 6K and 60 Hz refresh rate. You can do a 4K up to 144 Hz through HDMI plus a 6K at 60 Hz, but you’ll lose out on your MacBook screen. If you want more, you need to spend extra dollars on the M4 Max with support for three 6K monitors through Thunderbolt and a 4K display through HDMI.
Even with the move to Thunderbolt 5, some upgrades seem mysteriously lacking. There’s still no WiFi 7 support; instead, it’s stuck with WiFi 6E. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s strange to see Apple taking the opposite tack when other laptops are jumping up to WiFi 7 long before Thunderbolt 5.
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Battery Life
© Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Macs are renowned for their impressive battery life, and this is no different for the M4, M3, and M2 chip models. The battery life is outstanding, with Apple promising 24 hours of video streaming and 17 hours of web browsing on wireless networks for laptops equipped with the M4 Pro chip. Our tests showed that the MacBook Pro 16's battery life was almost at these levels, but naturally, you won't be able to achieve 17-hour runtimes while browsing the internet on a $3,500 laptop.
In our battery tests, where we played a 24-hour YouTube video at the lowest possible brightness, the MacBook Pro 16 held up quite well, reaching 61% after 12 hours and 50% at the 14-hour mark. Although it eventually died after an additional 12 hours, its longevity surpassed that of its 14-inch counterpart with the M4 chip, which wasn't faring as well during the same tests.
MacBook Pro 16 2024 Review: Verdict
© Photo: Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo
You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned Apple Intelligence until now, as it hasn't significantly affected the user experience of the Mac yet. We've already covered Apple Intelligence in detail in the MacBook Pro 14 review, so I won't go into it again here. If you don't own an M-series Mac or the latest iPhones or iPads, you aren't missing out on much as of now. During our review, Apple released developer betas for macOS Sequoia 15.2, offering ChatGPT integration with the updated Siri. In my opinion, the ChatGPT integration didn't add much to the overall Mac experience. macOS Sequoia is already a great update, and I found iPhone mirroring to be more convenient than using Siri to access ChatGPT.
The M4 chip boasts a more powerful 38 TOPS neural engine than the M3, M2, or M1 chips. According to our Geekbench AI benchmarks, the M4 scores were approximately 14,000 points higher than the M3 scores. However, it's essential to note that the NPU predominantly handles background AI tasks. For more demanding AI tasks, Apple Intelligence's advanced private cloud computing takes over. If you're an AI developer, you'll likely be more interested in the GPU's performance.
The MacBook Pro 16 with the M4 Pro is a powerhouse, effortlessly delivering an impressive performance at a high cost. Even with its strong performance, the type of professional who may need this level of power should give serious thought to the cost before considering such a large investment in a single machine. Just make sure you're comfortable with the chassis design, as I've grown accustomed to it, but I'm always hoping for better.
Despite the impressive performance of the MacBook Pro 16 with the M4 Pro, potential buyers may wonder if the expense justifies the investment. In the future, as more powerful chips and technologies emerge, the M4 Pro may not maintain its competitive edge indefinitely.
In light of this, consumers considering an upgrade might want to consider the long-term reviews and market trends for future MacBook Pro models. This knowledge could help determine if the current M4 Pro will continue to meet their needs or if a future upgrade might offer better value for money.
