New M4 MacBook Pros: Features, Performance, and Upgrades

The new MacBook Pros with M4 chips enhance performance and introduce exciting features, making them a compelling upgrade option.

### New MacBook Pros: M4 Chips, Features, and Performance Insights
* 💻 The new MacBook Pros feature the **M4 chips**, marking a **significant internal upgrade** while maintaining the same **14 and 16-inch designs** as the M3 versions.
* ⚡ Apple's M4 Pro and Max options offer enhanced capabilities compared to the M3, delivering **"significantly better" performance** than the M1 models, making them **appealing for upgrades**.
* 📊 The M4 chips include low and high power modes, allowing users to **adjust performance based on their needs**, with benchmark results from Geekbench 6 showcasing the **performance improvements**.
* 🎮 For gaming, switching to **high power mode** can enhance performance significantly, although it may impact battery life, which Apple claims can last **up to 24 hours**.
* 🖼 New AI-driven tools in the Photos app, such as the **Cleanup feature**, allow users to **effortlessly remove unwanted elements** from photos, although the effectiveness can vary.
* 🌈 Additional features include **Thunderbolt 5 support** and a nanotexture display option that **reduces glare**, making it **easier to use outdoors**, alongside a new **12-megapixel Center Stage camera** with a **Desk View feature** for presentations.
* 💰 The pricing starts at **$1,600 for the 14-inch model** and **$2,500 for the 16-inch**, prompting potential buyers to consider whether to **upgrade now or wait for future models**.
* 🤔 Overall, while the M4 MacBook Pros offer notable enhancements, the decision to purchase may depend on **individual needs** and whether the features **justify the price** compared to the M3 models.

The new MacBook Pros are here, and while the 14 and 16-inch designs haven't really changed, they're the first MacBooks with Apple's M4 chips and are ready for Apple intelligence. We had a couple of days to try some of the new features out and give you a glimpse at the new hardware, so let's have a look. So, here they are, and as you can see, they don't look strikingly different from the M3 versions, and that's because they aren't. It's really what's inside that's changed this time around, and that's mainly Apple's M4 chips. The M4 first appeared in this year's iPad Pro, but now you can get it in the iMac and Mac Mini and the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros. And that includes new M4 Pro and Max options. We've been testing the M4 and M4 Pro in these, and yes, they're a bit more capable than the M3 overall, but more importantly, they're significantly better than the M1. So, if you're looking to upgrade, the new

Chips will speed things up for you. The M4 Pro and Max also have low and high power modes, so you can adjust performance for what you're doing and whether you're on battery or plugged in. The power mode can have a significant impact on performance, and you can see that from our results from the Geekbench 6 benchmark test. Geekbench is also free for personal use, so if you want to see how your laptop measures up, you can download it and try it yourself. For more test results, check out our written review of the new MacBook Pro on cnet.com. But if you want more of a real-life demo, I can show you what it does for gaming. So I've pulled up Steam here to play a little Hades 2, just to show you what the gaming is like on the MacBook Pro. But first, we need to make an adjustment to the power mode, and you can do that now, right here under the battery setting. There's a drop-down now. It tells you energy mode, and you can go

from automatic, which is what it's default at, and then you can go to low or high power mode. Now, for gaming, you probably want the high power mode. It's going to hurt your battery life, but overall, it will give you much better performance. You can use high power mode whether or not the MacBook is plugged in, but of course, it's not great for battery life, so you'll want to use low power mode to help with that. Apple is claiming up to 24 hours of battery life for both sizes. The M3 MacBook reached 21 hours on our tests, so getting three more hours isn't a stretch. Now, with the M4, you'll also get faster neural engine performance to help with on-device AI tasks like Apple Intelligence. There are a handful of new tools driven by AI for writing and for summarizing email and messages and helping reduce notifications while you work. But a couple of the best new features are in the Photos app. So, for one of them, is something that a lot of the other apps have, which is a tool called Cleanup.

which helps you get rid of things that are in the backgrounds of your photos that you might not want there. Um, so what we're going to do is open up the photos app, and I've got a photo right here ready to go. Let's just get that bigger, and now we're going to go to edit in the corner, and your edit panel will open up. But right up here at the top of the panel is clean up, so you're going to click on that, and it automatically goes through the photo looking for things to remove. Uh, in this case, it's a bunch of people in the background, which I definitely want out of there, so it would be nice to have them go and not leave a trace behind. And since Apple's gone and highlighted them, I'm just going to go ahead and click on them, and yep, that one's gone. And then these people back here, let's get rid of those people. Those are gone, no problem. And you can see the uh image is pretty clean. You can't can't really see any trace of those people, but

We're going to remove these people, and it's a little less successful, so not entirely perfect on that one. Um, you're going to have to, uh, fix a little bit of the photo or unfortunately leave them back in there. And that's all you have to do to get them back is just to undo, and, uh, they're back in the picture. But again, it works pretty well, um, and I've tried it on a bunch of other images, and, uh, if there's H things like patterns or something, obviously it's difficult with these people in front of the, uh, in front of the wall there. So, they, Apple, has to recreate the wall, but otherwise, it actually works pretty well. Okay, so beyond M4 and Apple intelligence, there are a few other noteworthy additions like Thunderbolt 5 with the M4 Pro and Max chips. The new MacBook Pros are also the first to have a nanotexture display option that greatly reduces reflections and glare. You can see here next to the glossy display of an older MacBook Pro.

just how well it works. This display also has an SDR brightness of up to 1,000 nits when used outside, so the combo really makes it easier to work in sunlight and still see your screen. It's a $150 add-on, but it definitely seems worth it. And then there's the new 12-megapixel Center Stage camera, which is naturally an improvement over the last gen's 1080p FaceTime camera, but also adds a new desk view, which is a separate app that creates a virtual camera to capture what's on your desk. Let me show you how it works. I've got here, I've opened up a FaceTime call, and then I'm going to go up to the camera menu at the top of the screen, and right at the bottom of the menu is desk view. So, I'm selecting that, and it pops open the second screen. You get a little target there to set up what you're going to be presenting, in this case, it's a keyboard, and you can zoom in and out, so you

can get tight or farther away, but a warning: the more you tighten, the worse the picture quality gets 'cause you're essentially digitally zooming in, and the camera's already doing extra work to create this virtual second camera, so the resolution is not great anyway. We're going to go in and go ahead and start Desk View, and you see you're instantly given another view of what's on the desk. And there we go, we've got it open with me on the screen at the same time, and you can present what you're working on while you're doing a FaceTime call. That's a look at Desk View, and there you have it, some of the important highlights of the new M4 MacBook Pros. The M4 is certainly a reason to upgrade from an older M1 chip, but I'm not sure there's enough new here not to consider an M3 MacBook Pro at a reduced price while stores still sell through the stock. The nanotexture display would be a good reason though, especially if you

work outside a lot, and if you're really sold on Apple intelligence features like the natural language search in photos, will benefit you. Though for me, the importance right now is pretty low. The better webcam is great, although there's still no Face ID support for some reason. And I like the ability to adjust performance on the fly, but you'll have to remember to use it instead of leaving it in Auto all the time. And of course, the price is always an issue, with the 14in starting at $1600 and the 16in starting at $2500. So what do you think? Is this enough to get you to pull the trigger on an M4 MacBook Pro, or wait it out for the M5, or just look for an M3 at a discount? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for watching, and you'll see me when you see me.

New M4 MacBook Pro: Here’s Why You May or May Not Want One Right Now

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The new MacBook Pros feature Apple's M4 chips, marking the first significant hardware change since the M3 versions.

The M4 Pro and Max options offer low and high power modes for adjustable performance.

These new chips provide a noticeable speed boost, especially compared to the M1, making them a great option for those looking to upgrade.

Power Modes and AI Features in the New MacBook

The MacBook offers three power modes: automatic, low, and high, with high power mode providing better performance for gaming at the expense of battery life.

Apple claims up to 24 hours of battery life, with the M3 MacBook reaching 21 hours in tests.

The M4 MacBook features faster neural engine performance for on-device AI tasks and introduces new AI-driven tools in the Photos app, including a Cleanup tool for removing unwanted elements from photos.

The photo editing tool allows for the removal of people from images, with the option to easily undo the change.

The new MacBook Pros feature Thunderbolt 5, a nanotexture display option for reduced glare, and an SDR brightness of up to 1,000 nits for outdoor use.

The 12-megapixel Center Stage camera offers a desk view feature, creating a virtual camera to capture what's on the user's desk during video calls.

The M4 MacBook Pros offer a unique Desk View feature, allowing users to present their work while on a FaceTime call.

Tightening the view can negatively impact picture quality due to digital zooming.

The M4 chip provides a compelling reason to upgrade from an older M1, but the M3 MacBook Pro at a reduced price may also be a viable option.

The M4 MacBook Pro offers Apple intelligence features, a better webcam, and the ability to adjust performance on the fly.

However, it lacks Face ID support and has a high starting price of $1600 for the 14in model and $2500 for the 16in model.

The decision to buy now or wait for the M5, or look for a discounted M3, is left to the viewer.