Apple MacBook Pro 14 2024 review - The M4 Pro and matte display are massive upgrades

Thanks to the new M4 Pro SoC, the 2024 version of the MacBook Pro 14 has been given a huge performance boost and in many cases, its processor performance is ahead of the old flagship M3 Max. At the same time, its power consumption has sunk. This is a remarkable achievement and Apple has further extended its lead in both multi-core and single-core performance. The new GPU has also become around 30% faster.

Additional highlights of course include its matte display option. The picture quality remains impressive, while the screen's matte surface proves to be a game changer if you often find yourself using your MacBook in bright surroundings or outdoors. Moreover, Apple has managed an improved SDR brightness of over 1,000 nits when using the ambient light sensor. Otherwise, the mini LED panel remains the reference in many respects—from its high brightness to how well it handles HDR content.

During everyday use, the MacBook Pro 14 stays silent or at least very quiet for a long time and its battery life is still great. However, we cannot yet identify any real improvement over the M3 generation.

In general, the M4 Pro requires more power than its predecessor, which is why the laptop's surface temperatures can get pretty high under load and can be particularly annoying around the keyboard area. Its lack of maintenance options in conjunction with Apple's enormous surcharges for memory/storage upgrades are further disadvantages. Its keyboard also still shows room for improvement.

The new MacBook Pro 14 is available to order from 8 November 2024. You can purchase it directly via Apple's website, with the small M4 Pro model with 24 GB RAM and a 512-GB SSD costing $1,999.

It is also available from online retailers such as Amazon, where the same model currently costs $1,949.

Apple has launched the 2024 models of its MacBook Pro which, as expected, use the M4 processor generation. After the regular M4 SoC already made its debut in the iPad Pro, the M4 Pro/Max variants are now also available. Aside from more performance, this is the first time you can make use of Thunderbolt 5. The starting price for the new MacBook Pro 14 with the M4 Pro is $1,999. The price for our test sample is about $3,350. It comes with the faster M4 Pro variant, 48 GB RAM, a 2-TB SSD as well as the new nano-texture glass which we already know from the iMac.

The 2024 version of the MacBook Pro 14 now only comes in silver or black—irrespective of which processor you go for. Space Gray is no longer an option. Apart from this, we noted no changes in its case design. The 14-inch version of the MacBook Pro in particular looks relatively bulky due to its shape with a base unit that features a constant height—although it is by no means excessively thick, measuring in at 15.5 mm. The MacBook, with its unibody construction, still boasts excellent build quality. However, the black version is somewhat more susceptible to collecting dirt than the silver-colored model.

The hinges hold the screen lid in place super securely and it barely wobbles at all when you adjust its angle, however, the display's maximum opening angle is still only 135 degrees. The notch at the top display frame still doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing but even so, we prefer this solution over many of the camera bumps on competitor products. We also noted no functional limitations in this respect. 

The basic connectivity of the MacBook Pro 14 with the M4 Pro/M4 Max hasn't changed much because, in addition to three USB-C ports, it also has a full HDMI output, MagSafe for charging and a full-sized SD card reader. However, the configurations with the M4 Pro/M4 Max now already support Thunderbolt 5 with a maximum transfer rate of 120 GB/s. The M4 Pro supports image output to two external displays (in addition to the internal screen), while the M4 Max supports a maximum of four external displays.

No changes have been made to its Wi-Fi module, as the Wi-Fi 6E standard and Bluetooth 5.3 are still supported. Its transfer rates were very good and stable in conjunction with our reference router from Asus, but it doesn't yet support the newer Wi-Fi 7 standard. Apple still doesn't offer any cellular network options (LTE/5G) for its MacBook Pro.

The webcam now features a 12 MP sensor and, as a result, a significantly higher resolution than before (2 MP). Plus, the webcam now supports follow mode (image follows the person as they move) and a desktop view, in which the area in front of the laptop is recorded in addition to the regular display, for example for displaying products. However, screenshots using the PhotoBooth app still have a low resolution (1,440 x 960 pixels) and the quality of recordings isn't much better than before, which also applies to videos (max. 1080p). Face ID is still not supported.

Apple provides extensive information on its environmental efforts, additionally providing a separate report for the MacBook Pro 14 on its website. For example, its packaging is made entirely without plastic and the MacBook itself is also made primarily from recycled materials. However, there are no maintenance or upgrade options for users.

Thanks to its brilliant software integration, the haptic trackpad can be classed as one of the best solutions in the laptop segment. Nothing has changed about this, but the competition has since managed to catch up, offering edge gestures (e.g. Huawei Matebook X Pro) and even some additional features. Apple still hasn't installed a touchscreen into its MacBooks.

The 2024 MacBook Pro 14 is available with a total of five different processors: M4, 2x M4 Pro & 2x M4 Max, each of which also affects the amount of RAM it can have. Models with the M4 Pro are available with either 24 or 48 GB RAM; for 36, 64 or 128 GB RAM, you'll have to go for the M4 Max SoCs. In this respect, the MacBook Pro also differs from the new Mac Mini, where the M4 Pro can be combined with up to 64 GB of RAM.

Apple offers three different energy profiles: Low Charge, Automatic & High Performance, whereby we could not detect any difference in performance between the latter two. Only the fans were significantly louder under load (max. 44.5 vs. 56 dB(A)). We therefore carried out the following benchmarks and measurements using the preset Automatic mode. The Low Charge profile noticeably limits the SoC's performance (max. ~9.5 watts), but the fans stay extremely quiet or inaudible at all times (max. 25.1 dB(A) at ~2,400 rpm).

The two variants of the new M4 Pro are equipped with different graphics cards. The weaker model features 16 GPU cores, while the faster model in our test device has 20 GPU cores. This is an increase of 2 cores each compared to the old M3 Pro (14 and 18 GPU cores respectively). The M3 Pro's 18-core GPU consumed a maximum of 28 watts, while the M4 Pro consumes up to 32 watts. We cannot read out its GPU clock.

Its performance is once again outstanding, as we noted an increase of more than 30% compared to the old M3 Pro with the faster 18-core GPU. In the WildLife Extreme Unlimited test, the new M4 Pro GPU was even on par with the GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop in the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.

When it comes to image/video editing or large renderings, its big shared memory is also a major advantage of the M4 GPU. Its GPU performance remains stable both in battery mode and under constant load. Further benchmarks and efficiency comparisons are available in our analysis article, which will be published shortly.

In addition to emulated games, more and more native games for Apple's M processors are coming onto the market. These include Baldur's Gate 3, Resident Evil Village and No Man's Sky. All of these games can be run without any problems and Baldur's Gate 3 runs smoothly at around 60fps even with maximum details in 1080p, making the MacBook on par with dedicated GPUs such as the RTX 4050 Laptop. Its performance when playing emulated games such as Cyberpunk is also not bad, although a native version is due to be launched next year. The device's gaming performance remains completely stable even during longer sessions.

As usual, the two fans either remain completely deactivated during most everyday tasks or operate at a low speed of ~2,500 rpm, which is practically inaudible at 25 dB(A). When the components are pushed harder, the fans increase their speed and quickly reach a maximum value of 44.5 dB(A). This is clearly audible and can be a bit annoying, especially during quiet game passages. In general, however, we noted no disturbing frequencies or other electronic noises. In High Performance mode, the fans get pretty annoying (56 dB(A)); conversely, they are almost always inaudible in Low Charge mode.

The metal case stays super cool in idle mode and during simple tasks, but we measured higher temperatures than with the predecessor models under high load or when gaming. In the middle upper keyboard area, we noted up to 47 °C, which can be annoying when in direct contact. The keycaps are a little cooler, but you do simply notice the high temperatures when typing. In this case, the device would have benefited from faster fans. On the underside, however, there are no problems with a maximum of 44 °C.