M1 Macbook Pro Buyer’s Guide

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Today we will discuss which MacBook Pro is best suited for your needs if you are a Mac user looking to upgrade this year. It’s important to read this before making a purchase.

Design

a laptop computer with a colorful design on the screen

Apple has made the same design changes to both the 14in and 16in MacBook Pro models. As a result, both have gained larger screens – even the 16in model has seen a slight increase to 16.2in. To achieve this bigger screen, Apple has reduced the bezels around the display. However, the most notable design change, at least when the screen is turned on, is the addition of a notch.

The notch is likely to attract some criticism, just like the notch on the iPhone has. Apple has designed the software around it, though, so it will appear to be built into the menu at the top of your screen rather than taking away from the project you are working on.

Another design change is apparent when you look down at the keyboard: there is no Touch Bar. The Touch Bar was a feature that Apple introduced to the MacBook Pro back in 2016, but it was not well-received. In my opinion, the Touch Bar was a failed concept, and it seems that Apple learned from their mistakes.

In fact, this entire MacBook design, including the return of the ports, is a love letter to the MacBook fans who have been asking for it since 2016. It shows that Apple has listened to their customers for once.

Display

Let’s start with the pixel count, which is an obvious difference between the two sizes of the MacBook Pro. The 16-inch model boasts 7.7 million pixels, while the 14-inch model has 5.9 million pixels.

The 16-inch screen offers 3,456 x 2,234 pixels, which is an improvement over the 2019 16-inch model’s 3,072 x 1,920 pixels. It’s almost a 4K display.

The 14-inch screen offers 3,024 x 1,964 pixels, compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s 2,560 x 1,600 pixels.

Both new displays offer up to 1,000 nits sustained (full-screen) brightness and 1,600 nits peak brightness, an improvement over the previous 500 nits brightness. They are excellent for color-critical work and can display true HDR content.

With the M1 Pro, you can connect up to two Pro Display XDRs. With the M1 Max, you can connect up to three Pro Display XDRs and a 4K TV.

For the first time on a Mac, we also get Promotion 120Hz. This is one of the reasons I’m getting one this year.

CPU & GPU

Choosing between CPU and GPU workloads can be tricky if you’re not familiar with them. It’s easy to overpay for performance you’ll never use. My advice is to first identify your most demanding workload. For example, if you’re a software developer, CPU performance is more important than GPU performance. On the other hand, a 3D designer would want to spend more on the GPU. This may sound simple, but you’d be surprised how many people make these buying mistakes.

For the average consumer who browses the web and consumes content, the Macbook Air M1 with 8GB of RAM is perfect. It can even handle video editing of 4K videos.

Don’t buy last year’s Macbook Pro M1. It’s the worst value across the board. For that price, it’s better to get the 14″ with so many more benefits. So it’s either the Macbook Air M1 or the new Macbook Pros.

If you’re doing content creation workflows, then the M1 Pro 8-core with a 14-core GPU is more than enough. For more performance when editing 8K videos, the M1 Max with its dual Media Engines for ProRes Raw and HEVC is more suitable.

If you’re doing any intensive graphic work or 3D rendering, the M1 Max 24-core GPU is more than enough and will last you a long time. It’s actually the one I’m getting too. Of course, if you want the best of the best, the 32-core GPU is the one to get for an extra $200.

Ram & SSD

Like the M1 last year, the RAM in the new MacBook is not your typical PC RAM. It’s unified memory, which means you won’t need as much of it to perform the same tasks as with regular RAM. We already knew this from M1 benchmarks. This year, the unified memory is even faster with LPDDR5, and the SSDs are also faster, with speeds of up to 7.4GB/s. This translates to better performance with SSD caching if your RAM is full.

For RAM capacity, I highly recommend 16GB for most workflows. If you want to future-proof a little, go for 32GB, especially if you plan to do a lot of multitasking with heavy programs like After Effects and Logic Pro. In my opinion, 64GB is overkill unless you can justify it, such as if you are a game developer. Keep in mind that this is unified memory, so it will also be used as GPU VRAM. The more graphic-intensive work you do, the more of the unified memory you will be using.

When it comes to storage, I recommend 1TB for most people. If you don’t need that much, you can save $200 and get the 512GB version. Both MacBook models come with a UHS2 SD card reader and Thunderbolt 4, so you can easily add external USB-C drives and edit or work directly from them if you need to.

Battery Life

a laptop computer with a glowing screen in the dark

The 16-inch MacBook Pro surpasses the 14-inch model in one last area: battery life. As the 16-inch model is larger, it can host a bigger battery, leading to a longer battery life. The 16-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 21 hours of video playback, compared to 17 hours on the 14-inch model.

If you are selecting the M1 Pro with 8 cores on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, remember to get the 96W adapter for an additional $20 to enable fast charging. I have already included this in my recommendation list.

Recommendations

So, Now you will see a list of models I recommend depending on your workflow.

Student taking notes

13″ Macbook Air M1 [ 8GB Ram / 256GB SSD ] $999

Student Extra Workload

13″ Macbook Air M1 [ 16GB Ram / 512GB SSD ] $1,399

Video Editor 4K

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Pro with 10-core CPU, 14-core GPU [ 16GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $2,399

16″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU [ 16GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $2,699

Video Editor 8K

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU [ 32GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $3,099

16″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU [ 32GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $3,299

Graphic Designer

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Pro with 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU + 96W [ 16GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $2,219

16″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU [ 16GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $2,699

Photographer

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Pro with 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU + 96W [ 16GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $2,219

16″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU [ 16GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $2,699

Audio Work

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Pro with 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU + 96W [ 32GB Ram / 512GB SSD ] $2,419

3D Designer

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU [ 64GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $3,499

16″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 24-core GPU [ 64GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $3,699

Software Developer

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Pro with 10-core CPU, 14-core GPU [ 32GB Ram / 512GB SSD ] $2,599

Game Developer

14″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU [ 64GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $3,699

16″ Macbook Pro M1 Max with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU [ 64GB Ram / 1TB SSD ] $3,899

Verdict

In conclusion, if you’re a Mac user looking to upgrade, the new Apple Silicon MacBook Pros are definitely worth considering. They offer significant improvements over the previous models, including better performance, longer battery life, and a new design. However, it’s important to choose the right model for your needs based on your specific workflows.

Get the Macbook Pro 14″ M1 Pro here : https://amzn.to/3EfWTeH

Get the Macbook Pro 16″ M1 Max here : https://amzn.to/30ZtgAb

Get the Macbook Air M1 here : https://amzn.to/3Cdk352

Take the time to evaluate your requirements and choose accordingly. Keep in mind that these machines are an investment, so it’s worth spending the extra money to get the features you need. With the right MacBook Pro, you’ll be able to work more efficiently and effectively than ever before.

That’s it! If you have any further questions, please leave them in the comments below. I will be creating another buyer’s guide for Windows laptop users who want to switch to Mac this year.

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