Apple introduced us to the AirPods 3, the new HomePod mini with new colours, and a new generation of MacBook Pro (14 inch/16 inch). Today I am going to talk about what most people are looking forward to – the new Macbook Pro.
The update of the MacBook Pro is mind blowing. At the press conference last November, the appearance of the M1 chip ignited the enthusiasm of many Mac users. With the release of the new generation MacBook Pro this year, more professional users have also found the most suitable device for them.
The update of the new generation MacBook Pro can be seen in three aspects: Screen, hardware and I/O interface.
When it comes to the screen, Apple packed a larger screen into the same-sized chassis by making the bezel narrower. This has increased the MacBook Pro’s screen size to 14 inches and 16 inches, while keeping the enclosure the same size. In addition, the MacBook Pro supports ProMotion adaptive refresh rate, which gives users a smoother image.
I suspect Apple simply wants to increase the screen-to-edge ratio and differentiate these high-end Pros from others. They have given us probably the most controversial design – the notch, which I think has stressed out a lot of people just looking at it. It’s a strange design, I must say, and I am still trying to understand why Apple did it.
It’s worth noting that the screen on the new MacBook Pro Pro uses DisPlay XDR and the mini-LED screen used by the iPad Pro, LED, so this screen has reached XDR levels in terms of image quality. Of course, this is also the first laptop with an XDR display.
In terms of hardware, Apple has introduced two M-series chips – M1 Pro and M1 Max.
The M1 Pro offers up to 10 cores CPU, up to 16 cores GPU and up to 32 GB Unified Memory that supports up to 200 GB/s memory bandwidth. The M1 Max is another step up from the M1 Pro. It features 10-core CPU, up to 32-core GPU and up to 64 GB Unified Memory and has a memory bandwidth of up to 400 GB/s.
Compared with the CPU-GPU combination of ordinary laptops, the charm of M1 Pro and M1 Max is that they integrate the central processing unit, graphics unit, I/O and neural network engine in one SoC chip with unified memory SoC chip. Thanks to this system architecture, the M1 Pro and M1 Max can not only easily handle high-intensity work that notebooks could not handle in the past, but also offer a particularly long battery life.
In terms of battery life, the 14-inch model supports up to 17 hours of video playback, while the 16-inch model supports up to 21 hours of video playback. It also now only needs to be fully charged once to compile up to four times as much code in Xcode or twice as much time for image editing in Lightroom Classic.
Compared to the previous MacBook Pro with only four Thunderbolt ports, this new MacBook Pro’s I/O ports have been upgraded to three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot. So you do not need to buy additional adapters if you want to connect a monitor and import photos, such as SD cards. Thanks to the return of the MagSafe interface, the MacBook Pro can also be charged quickly for the first time. It can be charged up to 50% in 30 minutes, which can also help us improve the working efficiency.
In addition, the MacBook Pro features a full set of full-size function keys with the built-in Magic Keyboard. These keys feel like mechanical keys that professional users will appreciate, and they also have shortcut keys for Focus, Siri, Dictation, and Do Not Disturb.
The M1 Pro and M1 Max show us Apple’s strong hardware research and development capabilities. With the same performance, the M1 Pro/M1 Max has lower power consumption. With the same power consumption, the performance of the M1 Pro/M1 Max is more comprehensive. This is undoubtedly a punch in the gut for other laptop products.
