The Latest Apple MacBook Pro 14 inch with Pro M1 Chip Review in 2023
Apple has come up with significant changes both inside and outside of the device. The new MacBook Pro 14-inch M1 Pro laptop is super powerful and sufficient. This MacBook is at the next level, and they are incredible for several reasons.
These laptops have a new top-notch design, and it still looks like a MacBook Pro. Many of us have been asking for a MacBook Pro redesign for years, and with the MacBook Pro 14-inch, finally, we got it.
This is the most significant overhaul the lineup has had in years, and it feels like Apple is once again passionate and excited about the MacBook Pro.
Design
It looks more square than previous MacBook models, just more modernized, and also the Apple logo is more prominent too. The Apple logo on the lid is black, which looks nice.
On the bottom half, Apple’s abandoned quite a few signature design trends of the MacBook Pro. Instead of being thinner and lighter than the last generation, these new models are slightly thicker and heavier.
There are no differences between the other hardware choices between this base model 14-inch MacBook Pro and the more expensive chip configurations.
That means the body is still the same, sporting a flatter kind of more retro-modern design language that Apple products have moving in. But this MacBook Pro is thicker just looking at it compared to its predecessor side by side.
It seems so much thicker, and it’s heavier too, weighing 3.5 pounds, a half-pound increase over the old 13-inch Intel MacBook Pro.
Display
The previous MacBook Pro came in 2 sizes, 13.3-inches and 16-inches. But the new model features 14.2-inch and 16.2-inch displays.
They are larger and illuminated by mini LEDs similar to Apple’s $5000 Pro display XTR, achieving a 1 million to 1 contrast ratio up from the previous generation’s 1000 to 1 ratio.
Now your photos and movies will get much more contrast achieving an appearance similar to an OLED iPhone.
This new technology also allows for higher brightness, increasing from 500 nits to 1000. But there’s even more to love about this display because Apple’s equipped iMac with Promotion technology for the first time.
Doubling the display’s refresh rate from 60 hertz to 120, which means animations and scrolling on the MacBook Pro will be twice as smooth.
Resolution
What might be most impressive is that Apple could squeeze all this new technology into a display chassis that’s just as thin as the MacBook Air.
When it comes to its overall footprint, the 14.2-inch Pro is only about a third of an inch wider and deeper than the Air, thanks to a 60 percent decrease in overall bezel thickness.
To have a 1080P facetime camera with double the resolution, a wider aperture, and a larger image sensor than the previous generation, a notch had to be included to house all those components and its implementation MacBook Pro is quite clever.
The display area still has a 16:9 aspect ratio, and you’re recovering screen space that the menu bar used to take up. Not to mention the notch disappears when apps enter full-screen mode and while watching videos or movies.
We are getting a more prominent 14-inch display with really reduced bezels on this MacBook Pro. It is a fantastic mini LED promotion display editing with the 120-hertz refresh rate, and the final cut feel so smooth.
It feels more like a one-to-one interaction with the computer. The display looks beautiful, with really deep black levels and high brightness of up to 1600 nits. The 1600 nits for HDR video make the colors and highlights pop for extreme dynamic range.
Performance
The M1 Pro and M1 Max are the latest Apple-designed chips. These chips deliver high performance with low power consumption. It features 2 to 4 times speedups compared to the 16-inch Intel MacBook Pro, boasting cooler and quieter than before.
Thanks to less heat being generated and a new thermal system that moves 50 percent more Air even at low fan speeds. The 14-inch and 16-inch M1 MacBook Pros come in space gray or silver and start at $2000.
For the 14-inch model, there are five separate CPU configurations. This version of the MacBook Pro is probably the one most people should buy. This device comes with an eight-core M1 Pro chip, 16 gigabytes of memory, and 512 gigabytes of storage.
Everything about this 14-inch base model is the same as the more expensive configurations from the display to the speaker. To the 1080P webcam like everything’s the same, which is good.
This time the only real difference here is the weaker CPU it’s an eight-core CPU and then a 14 core GPU. The eight-core CPU is weaker; yes, obviously it is.
You’ll be hard-pressed to notice the difference between an M1 Pro 8 core CPU and a ten core M1 Pro or M1 Max system for most tasks that you do every day. They performed similarly, and honestly, even the regular M1 feels just as snappy for basic everyday tasks.
Graphics
Both M1 Pro and M1 Max are big leaps over the existing M1 chip. The M1 Pro has a dual-chip architecture that supports up to 32 gigabytes of unified memory with a bandwidth of 200 gigabytes per second, almost three times the bandwidth of the M1.
The M1 Pro will switch between these two to optimize performance on whatever tasks you are running. For graphics, M1 Pro comes with the 16 core GPU with 2048 execution units.
The performance of 5.2 teraflops which Apple promises, is two times faster graphics performance than the M1. This is the best option for students or any creative professionals looking to pick up a tremendous reliable laptop that can perform well given any task.
For storage, Apple now uses SSD’s an entry model is equipped with 512 gigabytes of SSD storage. You can configure your storage up to eight terabytes, but of course, it will cost you a lot more.
For content creation and creative work, these are the most powerful laptops ever. Even at higher resolutions, this device will run smoothly, and you can do your editing work with no hassle.
Keyboard
Something else Apple abandoned is the touch bar replaced by a traditional row of function keys. Now before the touch bar, these keys were narrow to accommodate the product’s smaller chassis.
You get a more comfortable typing experience because there’s enough space to make the function keys full size. Mainly if you use the escape key more often.
The keyboard is entirely black to make the keys blend seamlessly into the enclosure while also drawing attention to the backlight instead of the aluminum border.
So, yes, everything about this MacBook Pro, from the display to the speakers to things like the keyboard. It’s now blacked out, and I think it looks nice. The typing experience is good and feels pretty much identical to that of the last generation MacBook Pro.
However, the function key row well actually; now, there is a function key row; the last generation MacBook Pros had a touch bar.
Still, the function key row compared to the MacBook Air is now bigger, and then the dedicated touch ID sensors are now housed in a more prominent button as well, and touch ID is still fast enough. It allows for fast unlocking of the Mac.
Connectivity
The connectivity looks closer to a 2006 model, and all Apple has been removing ports from their notebooks for over a decade.
This M1 MacBook Pro reintroduces an HDMI port and SD card slot. Even MagSafe, which features a thinner profile and a woven fabric cable to prevent splitting and fraying.
Now you can still charge over the three included USB C ports like previous models. But MagSafe offers a fast-charging capability powering the MacBook Pro battery from 0 to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.
They are now adorned with a decent port selection of 3 Thunderbolt USB C ports, a dedicated charging port with the MagSafe charging port, a headphone Jack, an HDMI port, and for all things good in this world, an SD card slot.
Battery
The battery life of this MacBook is fantastic, especially when you consider how much more powerful the laptop is? You get nearly 17 hours of battery life when playing full-screen videos. Also, you can expect 11 hours of wireless web browsing.
Apple has worked hard to improve the efficiency of its M1 Pro and M1 Max. This means it is a powerful portable workstation that can last you an entire workday. If you are not a power-hungry user, this can easily last you for multiple days of use.
Speakers
There’s also a new six-speaker system that goes half an octave deeper than before while delivering 80 percent more bass.
It’s also capable of the spatial audio, making it feel like there are speakers on your right and left sides and add to in front of you, resulting in an audio experience I’ve never heard from a notebook before.
The microphones have also been updated to a three mic array. They feature a 60 percent lower noise floor and directional beam forming so your voice can be isolated from any ambient noise.
These are probably the best laptop speakers out there, except the 16-inch model being just slightly better. You get the same display; you also get the same speakers on every 14-inch model.
But still, for the size of the 14-inch, the speakers produce rich room-filling sound with deep bass, especially when you have the MacBook Pro on a hard surface, which increases the overall resonance.
Conclusion
Apple seems to have come back to reality in terms of design finally. The new MacBook Pro is excellent, and you should try it.
Apple has added some valuable ports, and removing the touch bar is an intelligent move. The only drawback here is the machine is costly.
If you are an actual professional, the prices are perhaps easy to justify for the performance. If you want the best, then go for this one.
Specification Table
Final Verdict
If you are a professional that works on your laptop and you are on an older version, or you find yourself reaching the limits of one of these, and you think maybe you should try to look at one of these new MacBook Pros, then yes, you should pick one up.
MacBook Pro 14-inch is worth it. You will love to work on this laptop with a great display, performance, and of course, design.
Dear Reader
That’s our Apple MacBook Pro 14 buying guide; hopefully, you found it helpful. Thank you so much, guys, for reading this post, and I hope you enjoyed reading the post.
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