Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4, 2024) review: Windows PCs must feel sick right now

The 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro has officially entered the chat — and it’s here to remind Windows who's boss.

For those who haven't been closely following the PCs vs. MacBooks battle in recent months, Windows laptops began to gain the upper hand with the introduction of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. Machines with this new chip delivered shockingly long battery life and jaw-dropping performance — so much so that they began to eclipse the M3 MacBooks.

But that was then. This is now. The M4 chip is here and its presence is monstrous — it's a beastly gem that is the pride of Apple, but a scary-fast rival for the Windows world.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip may have sparked whispers of Windows’ comeback, but Apple’s M4 has arrived to make those whispers vanish. This MacBook Pro is everything we hoped for and more — and it’s ready to prove that Windows’ short-lived bragging rights end here.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) price and specs

The 14-inch MacBook Pro in this review costs $1,799 via Apple's official website and comes with the following specs:

• 10-core CPU

• 10-core GPU

• 16GB of RAM

• 1TB SSD

If that’s too pricey for you, the cheapest configuration has a price tag of $1,599, but you’ll have to downgrade your storage to 512GB of SSD storage.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) design

My 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro comes in Space Black, but it's not quite black enough, if that makes sense.

If you’re hoping this colorway would scream "Batmobile black," you might be a bit disappointed. But it’s still deep enough to deliver that brooding, refined vibe.

My Space Black M4 MacBook Pro gives off the vibe of a mysterious man in the corner, smoking a cigar and sipping a bitter Old Fashioned — the kind of guy who doesn’t want company, but you can’t help being drawn to him. That said, I wish this hue leaned more toward a true inky black. Under certain lighting, it veers into dark gray territory, leaving me craving an even darker, sexier, more enigmatic finish.

Space Black is a new option for MacBook Pro models with the vanilla M-series chip. Last year, the Space Black colorway was reserved for the M3 Pro and M3 Max configurations — not for the entry-level, vanilla M3 models. However, it looks like Apple is being a little more generous this year. This onyx finish is now available for the base M4 models. Woot! (Last year, I begged Apple to bring Space Black to more Apple products, so this is likely a forecast that my wish may be coming true.)

While this color variant minimizes fingerprints, it doesn't get rid of them completely. You'll have to keep a microfiber cloth handy anyway.

You can also get the M4 MacBook Pro in Silver.

Other than that, there aren't any other notable gen-over-gen design changes for the M4 MacBook Pro. And why should there be? It's just fine the way it is, with Apple's signature logo on the lid and an island-style keyboard on the deck. The new MacBook Pro continues to feature a 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosure.

Plus, it brings a lot of power in such a portable package (more on that later); I could see this being my new travel companion for sure.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) display

You may be wondering, "Did Apple make any upgrades with the display?" The answer is yes, but they're minor.

Similar to the M3 MacBook Pro, the M4 MacBook Pro sports a 3,024 x 1,964-pixel display that continues to be quite striking to the eye. While watching Netflix’s Time Cut on the new laptop, I was blown away by the vivid, lush colors that brought the early-2000s sci-fi slasher to life. The Ugg boots, Victoria’s Secret PINK tracksuits, and Rollie Sneakers gave me flashbacks of peak Y2K cringe — but thankfully, the display’s stunning visuals made up for the throwback fashion fails.

The M4 MacBook Pro continues to sport a 16:10 aspect ratio, slim bezels, and that controversial notch that gets people in a tizzy. Do I love the notch? No. Will you get over it and forget it's there? Yes. My only complaint is that the notch should make itself useful and add Face ID to the mix.

The gen-over-gen improvement featured on the M4 MacBook Pro's display is brightness. Like its predecessor, the M4 MacBook Pro emanates 1,000 nits of sustained brightness for general use as well as 1,600 nits peak brightness for HDR content. However, the difference lies in the brightness offerings for SDR (Standard Dynamic Range). The M3 MacBook Pro delivered SDR content at 600 nits, but the M4 MacBook Pro is now more brilliant, now emanating SDR content at up to 1,000 nits.

There's also a new nano-texture display option. My review unit doesn't sport this feature, but I've had experience with this panel offering on the iPad Pro as well as the M4 Pro MacBook Pro. Its mission is to ensure that the display remains highly visible, even in challenging lighting situations (e.g., a sun-drenched room).

It holds up impressively well in bright settings, but the trade-off is a slight dip in the vividness and saturation you’d get from the non-nano-texture display.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) ports

You'll now find three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the MacBook Pro. Compared to its last-generation counterpart, that's one additional Thunderbolt 4 option for you to play with.

The M4 MacBook Pro also sports an HDMI port (supports TVs and 4K displays at up to 240Hz or 8K TVs up to 60Hz), a full-size SDXC card slot, as well as MagSafe 3 charging.

No, the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro doesn't come with Thunderbolt 5; you'll have to upgrade to configurations with M4 Pro and M4 Max for that. As it stands now, the 14-inch M4 MacBook supports up to 40Gb/s of throughput for accessories. (With Thunderbolt 5, however, you can get faster data transfer up to 120Gb/s). The M4 MacBook Pro, in addition to the built-in display, can handle up to two high-res external displays. For example, the M4 MacBook Pro can support two 6K external displays at 60Hz.

This is awesome for anyone who desires a multi-monitor setup. The last-generation 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro could only support one external display at up to 6K at 60Hz. Womp, womp!

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) audio

The 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro continues to have angelic audio that sounds like it's been tuned by a choir of heavenly beings.

I listened to "Timeless" by The Weekend and Playboi Carti, and as incredible as my M2 MacBook Air sounds, nothing on the entire planet beats the MacBook Pro's six-speaker sound system with four force-cancelling woofers and two tweeters.

I've been reviewing laptops for several years now, and nothing comes close to what the MacBook Pro has been able to do with sound. "Timeless" sounded so good that it gave me chills — as if the music danced around me in 3D.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) keyboard and trackpad

Apple didn't change a darn thing about the built-in Magic Keyboard. As a reviewer who has tested countless laptops, I wouldn't say the MacBook Pro sports the best keyboard (that praise is reserved for the HP OmniBook X), but it's up there.

The keys are spacious and well-placed with a black-and-white theme that provides high contrast for peak visibility. Plus, there's still Touch ID support, which is always a breeze to setup (unlike Windows PCs).

Still, I can’t quite crown this keyboard as king. While it’s undeniably snappy and clicky, I’ve tested plenty of laptops with a springier feel that gives my fingers a more satisfying launch from letter to letter.

I have no notes for the glass-covered Force Touch trackpad. It's roomy and has the right balance of smoothness and resistance for highly responsive swiping.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) benchmarks and performance

The M4 chip is a monster that must be haunting Windows PCs' dreams.

Long story short, in the realm of Windows, Qualcomm has been bragging about its energy efficiency and performance numbers, claiming that it's better than the M3 chip. And according to our testing, Qualcomm was right; it does, indeed, have an edge over M3-based MacBooks.

As such, Qualcomm-based laptops, particularly those packed with Snapdragon X Elite processors, have been enjoying praise from laptops reviewers, like myself, who were blown away by their performance scores.

However, Apple dropped the M4 chip and obliterated Windows laptops in one fell swoop. On Geekbench 6, the MacBook Pro notched a sweet multi-core score of 15,199. This beats our most powerful non-gaming PC laptop, Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, which delivered a score of 14,548 on the same test.

We also tested the MacBook Pro on other benchmarks (higher is better):

• Cinebench R3 (multi-core) - 13,891

• Blender GPU score - 1,065

(Just a note: while we don’t yet have competitor scores for Cinebench R3 and Blender, this gives you a look at the MacBook Pro’s own impressive results.)

And hallelujah, the entry-level MacBook Pro now has a starting configuration of 16GB as opposed to 8GB, which means the risk of slowdowns while multitasking has decreased. Feel free to flood Google Chrome with as many tabs as you want.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) webcam

Apple upgraded the webcam from yawn-worthy 1080p to a better-quality 12MP.

To test the new webcam, I made two FaceTime calls with my fiancé: one using my M2 MacBook Air with its 1080p webcam and the other using the M4 MacBook Pro with the upgraded 12MP camera. He accurately identified the 12MP webcam. However, he noted that the difference between the two wasn’t dramatic, aside from a slightly sharper image. He observed "less artifacting" on the new camera, which handles varying lighting conditions much better than the 1080p webcam.

Personally, I'm lovin' the updated camera, which supports Center Stage, a feature that was once limited to newer iPad models and Macs connected to an Apple Studio Display.

What's Center Stage? It's a feature designed to automatically keep you centered in the frame, even as you move around during video calls. (This is available on video-conferencing apps like FaceTime and Zoom.)

Whether I swayed to the left or shuffled over to the right, the updated webcam followed me like a loyal dance partner.

The real star of the show, however, is Desk View, which lets the webcam capture a top-down view of whatever’s on your desk. Initially, I thought a second camera might be required to make Desk View work, but it turns out you don’t need one. With just the 12MP camera, I was able to activate Desk View during a FaceTime call. It’s pretty impressive.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) battery life

Apple claims that the MacBook Pro can provide up to 24 hours of video streaming on a single charge.

To test this proclamation, we kicked off our 1080p video rundown with the Tears of Steel film at 50 percent brightness. The 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro didn't quite reach 24 hours, but it survived for 16 hours and 32 minutes, which is still quite good. That's nearly 17 hours of battery life.

Is the Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) worth It?

The 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro basically said, "In your face!" to Windows laptops after they made noise with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip this year.

From its impressive battery life to its monstrous M4 chip performance, this machine is built to dominate. But let’s be real — at a starting price of $1,599, it’s an investment that’s not for the faint of heart.

If you’re a creative professional who thrives on serious power in a sleek, portable package, this MacBook Pro is your best friend. But if you’re only using it to browse the web or stream Netflix, you might want to save your cash for a more budget-friendly option. (Perhaps wait for the next-generation MacBook Air.)

For those ready to embrace Apple’s latest powerhouse, though, the M4 MacBook Pro won’t disappoint.