Apple MacBook Pro 14 M4 (2024) – Review

It’s scary fast how much, and how little can change in 12 months. This time last year, Apple’s “Scary Fast” event introduced the M3 silicon chip powering its line of MacBooks and iMacs, and just a little over six months later, it debuted the M4 for the iPad line. Launching a new chip for a new refresh of devices is nothing new, and the debut of the M4 Pro and M4 Max on the MacBook Pro is pretty much a given, but even as consumers have come to expect that each new wave of processors are bound to outperform last generation’s model, the American company had one ace up its sleeve that pretty much flew under everyone’s radar.

Apple new suite of Apple Intelligence features that introduces generative models on your Apple ecosystem of devices, from redrafting your writing, to editing your photos and the ability to sift through your photo library, will work on any Mac powered by an M1 chip or later. While other laptop or computer makers are rushing to build new machines powered by the latest Intel or AMD chip that can power artificial intelligence (AI) on Windows machines, Apple basically just told everyone that its new AI features, already integrated across its latest iPhone and iPads, effectively work on its Mac machines sold from 2020 – four years ago.

Does that effectively signal to consumers that they don’t need the new M4 series of Apple computers? Far from it because this signals how powerful Apple silicon chips are, how ready Apple is to support its hardware ecosystem, and how many more reasons do you need to start embracing what Apple has to offer?

With a starting price of S$2,199 for a base machine powered by the 10-Core CPU, 10-Core GPU, 16GB of Unified Memory and 512GB of storage, what you’re getting is the standard yet superior machine housed in a 100 per cent recycled aluminium enclosure, with non of that plastic chassis that dominate entry-level Windows machines across the majority of brands. Cool to the touch with a smooth metallic finish, the premium aesthetics may not have changed much in the last few years because it never needed to, simply by being iconic in its presentation all this time. 

On top of the two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left of the unit, sandwiched between the MagSafe 3 and 3.5mm headphone jack, Apple has added a third USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port on the right side, between the SD card and HDMI port. This means the ports on the MBP 14 now matches that of the MBP 16, though the MBP 16 comes with the latest Thunderbolt 5. Still, it’s convenient knowing you can opt to charge your device on either side, via USB-C. Measuring 31.26cm by 22.12cm x 1.55cm, it is small enough to bring around everywhere, especially since the M4 model weighs a mere 1.55kg.

There’s also the option of a S$220 nano-texture screen on top of the Liquid Retina XDR display, and what this is, is a new glass option for the 14.2-inch, 3,024 x 1964 native resolution screen. If you work with a bright light that reflects off your screen, be it from the way your room light shines on your study table, or from the incoming light from your office window, a normal screen will amplify the glare, making the screen distracting to look at. A nano-texture screen lowers the glare, turning a bright light into a matted spot, reducing the visual distraction. It’s not entirely necessary, and the need for it depends a lot on the light configuration where you’re usually seated at. 

Hardware-wise, all new MBPs now start from 16GB of RAM, doubling the pitiful 8GB that used to make up the base model. It’s a good beginning because the M4 chip outperforms its predecessors, though not in the ways you would expect. Apple says the MacBook Pro 14 with M4 is up to 1.8 times faster than the MacBook Pro 13 with M1 for tasks like editing gigapixel photos, while rendering complex scenes in Blender are up to 3.4 times faster. 

Meanwhile, the Neural Engine is three times more powerful than the M1, and the benchmark tests seems to support it. On Geekbench 6, the M4 review unit clocked 3792 on the single core score, compared to the previous 2,405 on the M1 Max on the MBP 16 we have, and 2,598 on the M2 Max on the MBP 16, and the 2,686 on the M3 Max MBP 16.

With multi-score scores, the numbers are as follows – 15,027 for the M4, 12,321 for the M1 Max, and 14,177 for the M2 Max. It’s pure numbers for sure, with the newer chip churning out better performance figures, but if you’re into using your machine for video editing or photo processing, these metrics do matter.

And if you’re doing it on the go, the battery life of the new MBP 14 is unmatched. The Apple silicon chips have set a new benchmark on how long a laptop can remain powered while on the go, and it used to be that you could count the hours with one hand. The M3 MBP 16 can last a whole weekend of use, and the M4 MBP 14 shows no sign of slowing down, as it lasted through four days of strong use, of catching YouTube clips and word processing, without requiring a recharge. 

Apple rates it as capable of lasting a full 24 hours on one charge and while that depends on several factors, such as screen brightness and if you’re watching videos with a wireless headset, it’s safe to say that leaving a charger behind on a day out has become the way of life because these machines now charge so quickly and efficiently, running out of juice has stopped becoming a concern. 

But what about the new-fangled Apple Intelligence? The initial roll-out just started, so the integration with third-party apps isn’t at a level where the features are intuitive. For example, the Writing Tools that help you with recommended rewrites, based on a Friendly or Professional template remains one of the most obvious tools to tap on, because who hasn’t wasted time framing an email, instead of getting to the point? But like on the phone, it’s currently only available on Apple apps, so if you’re using Microsoft Office or Google Docs, it’s not an option that is readily apparent, unlike say, installing Grammerly on your Google Docs and for Microsoft Word. 

But it is so simple though. Imagine taking notes at a lecture or meeting, or needing a chapter of a book summarised. Writing Tools can assemble key points for you, put them on a table, or condense the material into something easier to digest.

It’s the same with Clean Up on the Photos app, where the software detects obvious objects that do not belong, such as people in the background, or random objects. The software highlights them for easy removal, or you can use a brush to highlight the things you want removed. Independently, these will take some getting used to, though there is no question about their usefulness. Apple seems to be taking small steps, as a way to ease users in, and allowing the masses to get used to a few key features, before unleashing a deluge of them. Remember how you used to swipe up from the edge of your iPhone to do one thing, and now that simple swipe has evolved into a language of its own?

That’s the ever-evolving beauty of the Apple ecosystem, with a series of hardware to support it, with constant software and performance tweaks to make it last for quite a while.

HSALS

Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who’s got time for those?