Verdict
The MacBook Pro M4 is n’t quite as ‘ pro ’ in the execution stake as the M4 Pro and M4 Max model , but by offering several improvements over the MacBook Air M3 – admit a badly better video display and far more ports – this is easy the best all - rotund MacBook option on the marketplace in 2025 and the easy to recommend entry - level MacBook Pro in twelvemonth .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Apple ’s MacBook stock is a little confusing . There are two distinct line in the Air and Pro , but the MacBook Pro M4 I have could almost be described as the ‘ Pro Christ Within ’ .
The entry - level MacBook Pro has been hard to recommend antecedently , as it lack legion feature available on the pricier exemplar , but this is n’t the case for this twelvemonth .
If I were deciding on which new MacBook to bribe it would be this one – here ’s why .
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Design and Keyboard
The MacBook Pro M4 is a lovely political machine to depend at , and it ’s equally as overnice to practice day - to - mean solar day . The design has n’t changed much in recent year but that ’s not a speculative affair .
It come in either a Space Black or a Silver chromaticity , with the previous Space Grey ditched completely . I ’ve become the Space Black here , and this is the first time the home MacBook Pro has had this colour . It ’s a nice colour too – even if it ’s more dark grey than complete black . My first MacBook was the iconic calamitous polycarbonate manikin from the 2000s and this certainly has shades of that .
It is prostrate to smirch though , specially if you ’re moving it around a lot . A cloth to wipe it down is essential if blot bother you . The Silver is the more classic MacBook face and is much good at concealing ding and staying fingerprint - free .
This entry - level example now has three USB - C / Thunderbolt 4ports ( the old loop had two ) plus an SDXC card slot . There ’s aMagSafeport for bill and an HDMI . If you ’re upgrading from one of those MacBook Pros that had four USB - deoxycytidine monophosphate ports then the choice usable here will be welcome .
The healthy interface pick is also a very honest reasonableness to choose this model over the tatty MacBook Air . This has just two USB - light speed larboard and MagSafe and ditches both HDMI and SD . As I rate the variety and do n’t need to be beholden to a dongle , the port selection is a huge welfare .
The MacBook Pro M4 remains one the best laptop when it come up to keyboard and trackpad quality and performance . The large methamphetamine trackpad has haptic responses rather than physically move , so it can be pressed anywhere . The amount of vibration can be tweak to personal predilection .
Apple belong back to basics on the MacBook Pro keyboard a few year ago , and this will be another notable upgrade if you ’re coming from any machine sold between 2015 and 2019 with the maligned flat butterfly stroke design . Here , the key are large , well - space and have enough travel to make for a pleasing typewriting experience .
There ’s a full - sized row of function headstone on the top and a skilful backlight for when light is inadequate . I also really like how the keyboard remains black – offering a nice direct contrast that ’s easier on the middle .
You ’ll sure as shooting be able to find small , scant laptops on the market . This is n’t a heavy laptop to carry about . Although as the racing shell is designed for models flow far more knock-down components you will still have to put up with that spare bulk . For deterrent example , the MacBook Pro M4 is 310 g heavier than the currentMacBook Air M3 , and 0.42 curium taller .
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Display
This version of the MacBook Pro only come with a single screenland option : 14 - inches . If a bigger screen is significant , there ’s theMacBook Air 15 - inchor the 16 - inch professional with either the Pro or Max chips . I ’d get it on to see a 16 - column inch Pro with the cheaper chip at some point .
The near intelligence is that even the base MacBook Pro M4 has all the high - end sieve specs available on the pricier role model . The big new feature this year is an optional nano - texture presentation . Apple has offer this screen type on theiPad ProandStudio Displaybefore , and it ’s there to reduce glare and observation in particularly bright plaza .
I solve in a very shiny elbow room and the difference between the default screen and the nano - texture alternative is huge . The decrease in glare move over me the exemption to work well in more environments and I discover the matte finish easier to look at for longer period , especially when I am reading – it feel more like newspaper , rather than a silver screen .
Now , there are downsides . dividing line is n’t as good and videos and images look very somewhat washed out as a result . The difference is minimum though , and the only misgiving I have towards choosing the nano - grain choice is the £ 150/$150 price difference .
The remainder of the screen specs are the same as the few previous MacBook Pro models . There ’s ProMotion for adjusting the refresh rate , pushing it up to 120Hz , and this give everything a smooth finish and is great for game running at high skeleton rates .
Rumours of OLED panel arriving on the MacBook line have n’t yet turned into anything more than net yak . This laptop uses the sameMini LEDpanel as the prior generation . It ’s a swell projection screen , that is now able-bodied to hit up to 900 nits of SDR luminance in outdoor conditions . This is up from around 500 nits . There are apps uncommitted that can fight the last - gen modality up to that storey , but here it ’s useable by default . If you ’re edit or watching content then HDR video brightness level levels can polish off 1600 nits
liken to the MacBook Air M3 , the sieve on the MacBook Pro M4 is a measure up in just every potential way . It ’s slimly roomier , packs a higher - resolving power , 120Hz and comes with a superior panel . It ’s probably worth paying the exchange premium in price for the better display alone .
Performance
There are three distinct versions of the MacBook Pro . They range in cost drastically from £ 1599/$1599 to around £ 7349/$7500 reckon on chip , SSD and memory selection .
I ’m front at the low - end model here . It has anM4 chipcomprised of a 10 - core GPU , 10 - core CPU , 16 - core neuronal engine for AI tasks . There ’s also 16 GB of coordinated memory . The 8 GB store pick is no longer available , which is large .
If you ’re after more oink for professional tasks , the M4 Pro modeling ( set off at £ 1999 ) up the memory to 24 GB and arrive with a 12 - core central processing unit and 16 - core GPU . Above that is the M4 Max variant ( from £ 3199/$3199 ) which starts with 36 GB memory , 14 - core CPU , 32 - core GPU and a 1 TB SSD .
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While the M4 manakin has some customisation selection , they are far more limited than those of the M4 Pro / Max . The M4 role model support memory up to 32 GB , while the M4 Max can be specced up to 128 GB . The M4 Max can also take an 8 TB SSD , whereas the M4 maxes out at 2 TB .
Any customisations need to be made at the time of leverage as they ca n’t be done afterwards . And when you do start reach upgrades , the M4 creeps up to a price not far off the M4 Pro . Move to 24 GB memory and the damage is less than £ 200/$200 cheaper – at that point , I ’d just spend the supererogatory cash to go up a model . This machine is best in its default specification , with the nano display if the benefits of that solicitation .
There are many option here , and it comes back to my notion that Apple ’s MacBook Pro line is quite perplexing . This simple machine I have here has the same check as the Mac Mini M4 , and while it ’s supremely equal to for lots of tasks , I would n’t call it Pro in the same mode the M4 Pro and M4 Max are .
The MacBook Pro M4 is a with child option for someone who needs a trivial bit of opulence in the screen , invention and interface departments . Though maybe not so much in the performance stakes . That said , the MacBook Pro M4 is a seriously capable automobile for routine labor , even in its base country .
In our common rooms of benchmarking tests , the MacBook Pro M4 pip machine running the M3 – although the results are only marginally gamy . In both Geekbench 6 and CineBench R23 ( two reliable ecumenical tests ) there are thin gain in performance , more in the multi - core tests .
Where the bad changes and improvements are mat up is when the results are compared to older M - series chips , even the once flagship poser from just a few old age ago . The M4 comes out on top in Geekbench 6 single core tests , and again in Cinebench R23 . Although , multi core workflow are still much in force on the Pro and Max organization – where the M2 Ultra and M3 Max still clean house up . If you ’re really exit to be pushing this car , you ’re still good off with either a Pro or Max bit , or looking at an older in high spirits - end M - serial .
you could see the full partitioning of scores in the graph , and further resultant role in the Test Data box at the bottom of the Sir Frederick Handley Page .
MacBooks have never been gaming beast . The hardware has n’t been design for it , and the games were n’t useable . thing have been interchange somewhat and Apple is focusing more on it , with the M - series boasting dear graphic performance . There are more games available on the App Store too , with the fantastic Control coming shortly .
This M4 MacBook Pro can scat Shadow of the Tomb Rader and Rise of the Tomb Raider at a unchanging 30fps and both are utterly playable .
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There is a devotee inside the MacBook Pro M4 although it ’s very seldom heard . In my tryout , the fan only made itself know on a few occasions . Most of those , notably benchmarking test , are not something anyone is going to run for every day . I could n’t get the fans to spin even with over 100 tabs unfastened in Chrome , playing a couple of test games and exporting 4 kB video from Final Cut .
Housed in the nick at the top of the show is a 12MP webcam . This is a very effective webcam for a laptop computer , bring forth good skin tones and plenty of item . I still prefer an international webcam for a wider shot – the one here is very punched into the nerve – but for most effortless situations the camera is great . It also has a peachy Desk View magic that prove both your face and what ’s on your desk in a single scene ( handy for basic tutorial ) .
When the M1 first arrived , app compatibility was an issue . While Apple ’s translation stratum ensure many apps designed for Intel ran fine on Apple Silicon , the best experience do from native services plan for M - serial . With the MacBook Pro M4 , I have n’t had issues with apps not functioning as they should . There are also many more aboriginal apps built for the chip , include Office , Creative Cloud and loads of games .
Finally , the speakers on the MacBook Pro M4 deserve some congratulations . The audio is loud and surprisingly immersive for a small machine . The mike are crisp and percipient , too .
Battery Life
The MacBook Pro M4 has very sound battery life , but how impressive it feel will depend on what sort of auto you ’re coming from . Upgrading from any of the previous received M - series potato chip ? Yes , there ’s a little more endurance here – a few hours more video playback and a little more work per twenty-four hours .
The great ascent will be felt when coming from an Intel Mac , something I ’m certain a slew of hoi polloi will be doing as we ’re now reaching the stage where M - serial chips have matured and even the final Intel - based MacBooks are hitting the end of life .
Apple claim the MacBook Pro M4 can last for 16 hours of WWW browsing and 24 time of day of TV playback . I put these claim to the test and my event just about matched up . A looped television , downloaded into the Apple TV app , ran for just unsure of 23 hours – that ’s a welcome jump over the MacBook Air M3 .
These numbers are only really useful for Apple , as there are n’t many position where you ’d be streaming download video recording for that long or only using the web browsing . In real - world trial , the MacBook Pro M4 can still last . I am comfortable forgetting my charger if I am point to the office , and 12 hour of battery life with multiple apps go is more than accomplishable .
let in is a 70w brick with a USB - ascorbic acid to MagSafe cable for charging . However , to do good from faster burden you ’ll call for to get the 96w plug instead . Any of the USB - C ports can be used for charge too .
Should you buy it?
If you ’re settle between this and an Air , the Pro M4 make sense for someone who really apprise a quality display with HDR skills , and a ask quick entree to SD and HDMI .
This is a Pro in name , but closer to the M3 Air in damage of performance . Go for the M4 Pro / Max versions if firm multi burden performance is key .
Final Thoughts
Apple ’s MacBook Pro line might be a fiddling confusing , but this is the best base model to arrive in the series in a tenacious metre . I ’d even go as far as saying it is the overallbest MacBookavailable right now for many the great unwashed – combining a antic screen , good port selection , impressive stamp battery life and a price that should make many think double about just going for theMacBook Air .
For those true ‘ professionals ’ who want the beefiest CPU and GPU plus lengthened storage and SSD selection the M4 Max and M4 Pro are the MacBook Pro option to plump for .
The M4 Pro choice might also be a serious choice if you be after on upping the memory / storage as once those costs are factor in in , the prices crawl up to the £ 1999/$1999 M4 Pro translation which has 24 GB of retention as standard .
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If you just desire heavy everyday performance , plus a top - tier cover then this entry - level model is surd to resist – and I care it even more with the nano - texture selection too . Is it thebest laptop ? There are thinner and lighter machine , like the MacBook Air M3 , but when everything is considered it ’s the MacBook Pro M4 that ticks just about all the boxes .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge primal things including figure quality , functioning , screen caliber and bombardment living .
These include formal celluloid benchmarks and scripted tests , plus a series of real - humankind check , such as how well it hunt down popular apps .
FAQs
There is a battery charger in the MacBook Pro box . It ’s a 70w brick with a USB - ascorbic acid to MagSafe cable length . However , to gain from faster institutionalise you ’ll need to get the 96w stop up instead .
Test Data
Full Specs
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