The base model gets double the RAM, a new camera and a big boost in battery life.
(Image credit: Apple)
It's been a busy week for Apple. After teasing us with announcements of a new M4 iMac followed by a new M4 Mac mini, it's finally made the main reveal: new MacBook Pros with a choice of M4, M4 Pro or M4 Max chip.
The imminent release of new MacBooks was a poorly guarded secret. They had been rumoured for weeks, but today's announcement came a little earlier than expected. And there are a few details that we hadn't seen in the many rumours.
The base model will get a boost in memory. That's to help power Apple Intelligence, but it also shows Apple may have listened after it was criticised for the decision to provide a not-very-pro 8GB of memory in the base model of last year's M3 laptops (see our Black Friday MacBook roundup for deals on that).
The base M4 MacBook Pro 14 should be a significant upgrade from the M3 version. It has a minimum of 16GB memory instead of 8GB and three Thunderbolt 4 ports instead of two. Also the black colour is now available for the base model.
Like with the M4 Pro Mac mini also announced today, opting for the more expensive M4 Pro or Max MacBook gets you faster chips but also faster ports, with Thunderbolt 5 coming to MacBooks for the first time.
As for the displays, all models have Liquid Retina XDR displays for up to 1,000 nits of brightness and the option of the new nano-texture display to reduce glare. There's also a new 12MP Centre Stage camera that follows you around the room, and every configuration is intended to use Apple Intelligence as it rolls out in macOS Sequoia, including Writing Tools and the new Siri.
(Image credit: Apple)
All three M4 chips use second-generation 3-nanometer technology for improved performance and power efficiency. Apple says they have the world’s fastest CPU core. It also says that the new MacBooks can deliver up 24 hours of battery life. If that's the case, it would be more than six hours more than what we got when we tested the M3 Max MacBook Pro 16.
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As with the previous generation, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is available only with Pro or Max chips.
M4 MacBook Pro price and release date
The new M4 MacBook Pros are available for pre-order today for release on 8. The cheapest model, the M4 MacBook Pro 14, starts at $1,599 / £1,599 – the same starting price as last year's M3 model despite the larger memory. 14-inch M4 Pro configurations start at $/£1,999, 16-inch M4 Pro configurations at $/£2,499 (see below for deals on previous models). Going for the new nano-textured display option adds $150 to all prices.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
