A reviewer spent a day editing high-resolution photographs on a laptop unplugged from the wall, and found the machine quiet, cool, and quick enough to make an older desktop feel behind. That small scene carries a larger story about Apple's entry-level professional laptop finally shedding the compromises that once made it an in-between machine. The newest version arrives at the same price as last year's, with more memory, more ports, and a stronger chip, yet it also reveals the familiar pull of a pricing structure that rewards each further step up. Buyers are left weighing not only what the bas
Apple's M4 MacBook Pro Finally Feels Like a Real Pro, Not a Compromise
For the first time in a long time, it actually feels like a Pro.
Mark
Why does a third port matter enough to headline a review?
Mimi
Because it was the thing that made the base Pro feel hobbled. Now the right side has a Thunderbolt port like the pricier models, so you can charge or plug in a display from either side.
Mark
And the RAM?
Mimi
It starts at 16GB, double last year's base. The reviewer notes that's an Apple-wide bump, and jokes that Apple Intelligence is the reason.
Luke
Careful with the speed claims, though. The reviewer says the M4 felt faster than their M2 Pro Mac Mini, but admits the Mini has two years of clutter. That's an impression, not a controlled test.
Mimi
Fair. The controlled numbers are the benchmarks: about 64 percent better multicore than the M3, around 41 percent on the sustained loop.
Luke
Worth noting the M4 has two more cores than the M3 tested, so the multicore jump isn't a like-for-like chip comparison. The single-core gains, over 20 percent, are the cleaner signal.
Mark
What about the price argument?
Mimi
The base is $1,599, but the reviewer's unit was $1,949, which sits $50 below an M4 Pro model. That's the funnel they describe.
Luke
And the 12-hour battery figure is one reviewer's use, described as moderate-to-heavy. It isn't a standardized test.
Mark
So what's the verdict?
Mimi
It's an opinion piece scoring it a 9, and the praise is for how little it feels like a compromise now.
El Pulso
- The base 14-inch MacBook Pro has long felt like a compromise, squeezed between cheaper and costlier machines.
- The M4 version jumps to 16GB of memory and a third Thunderbolt port, closing gaps that frustrated earlier buyers.
- Benchmarks show the chip roughly 64 percent faster than the M3 in multicore work, and single-core scores climb past 20 percent.
- Desk View's distorted, low-resolution webcam and a pricing ladder that nudges buyers toward costlier upgrades keep the praise from being unqualified.
- The verdict lands at a 9: a true Pro-feeling machine whose real question is how far the upgrades will keep climbing.
A reviewer spent a day editing high-resolution photographs on a laptop unplugged from the wall, and found the machine quiet, cool, and quick enough to make an older desktop feel behind. That small scene carries a larger story about Apple's entry-level professional laptop finally shedding the compromises that once made it an in-between machine. The newest version arrives at the same price as last year's, with more memory, more ports, and a stronger chip, yet it also reveals the familiar pull of a pricing structure that rewards each further step up. Buyers are left weighing not only what the base model lacks, but where their spending will stop.
The reviewer spent a full day editing 33-megapixel raw photos in Lightroom on Apple's new 14-inch MacBook Pro, never plugged in. The laptop ran for just over twelve hours of real work, stayed cool and silent, and felt noticeably faster than the reviewer's own M2 Pro Mac Mini, though that comparison is tilted by the Mini's two years of accumulated app clutter.
That experience anchors The Verge's verdict: the entry-level Pro finally feels like a real Pro. For years the base model was a middle child, carrying an Air's processor in a Pro's body and stripped of features to keep it in its place. Last year's M3 dropped the Touch Bar but still lagged in chip speed, base memory, and ports.
The M4 closes most of those gaps at the same $1,599 starting price. It brings a 10-core CPU and GPU, 16GB of memory, and a third Thunderbolt port on the right side, mirroring the pricier models. The benchmarks back up the feel, with multicore gains around 64 percent over the M3 and GPU and single-core improvements too, though the M4 Pro and Max still pull far ahead in heavy work.
Not everything earns praise. The new webcam handles backlighting well, but Desk View is distorted and low-resolution, and the reviewer points to an iPhone via Continuity Camera as the better choice. Price is the sharpest caveat: the reviewer's test unit, with nano-texture glass and 1TB of storage, costs $1,949, only $50 short of an M4 Pro with more memory and Thunderbolt 5. The reviewer names this Apple's pricing funnel, where each small upgrade makes the next one easier to justify.
The verdict is a 9. The real question for buyers is no longer what the base model lacks, but whether the upgrade stack stops at $1,599 or keeps climbing.
The reviewer spent a day editing 33-megapixel raw photos in Lightroom Classic on Apple's new 14-inch MacBook Pro, unplugged the whole time. The laptop ran just over 12 hours of moderate-to-heavy use and stayed quiet and cool to the touch. It also felt quicker than the reviewer's own M2 Pro Mac Mini, even with the same bloated Lightroom catalog copied over and the same external SSD. The reviewer allows that the Mini carries nearly two years of app clutter, which tilts the comparison.
That experience sits at the center of The Verge's verdict on the M4 model: the entry-level Pro finally feels like a real Pro. For years the base model was an in-betweener, with a MacBook Air's processor in a Pro's body and features stripped out to keep it in the middle. Last year's M3 version dropped the Touch Bar and moved closer to the higher-end machines, but it still had a weaker chip, less base RAM, and one fewer port.
The M4 closes most of those gaps. It starts at $1,599, the same price as the M3 model, with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. That is two more CPU cores, twice the RAM, and a third Thunderbolt port. The new port is on the right side, as on the pricier Pros, so you can charge or connect an external display from either side. The reviewer credits Apple's across-the-board move to 16GB, driven by Apple Intelligence, which the reviewer calls mostly boring and useless for now.
All three MacBook Pro tiers also gained a 12-megapixel webcam with Center Stage and Desk View, an optional $150 nano-texture anti-glare display, and a space black finish. The M4 Pro can now run two external displays with the lid open, one more than the M3 could. The reviewer likes the nano-texture screen: a glossy panel has slightly deeper contrast, but not worrying about glare matters more to someone who doesn't edit only in a dark room.
The benchmarks back up the feel. Against the M3 the reviewer tested, the M4 was about 64 percent faster in Cinebench's multicore test and held a roughly 41 percent lead over a sustained 30-minute loop. Single-core scores in Cinebench and Geekbench were each more than 20 percent higher, and GPU tests ran up to 25 percent faster with the same GPU core count. A Premiere Pro 4K export took 3 minutes 14 seconds versus 3 minutes 47 seconds on the M3. The M4 Pro and M4 Max pull well ahead in heavy workloads; the 16-inch M4 Max finished the same export in 1 minute 18 seconds.
Not everything earns praise. The new webcam has good contrast even when the reviewer is backlit by a window, and Center Stage reframes without being too aggressive. Desk View, which crops and corrects the image to show a top-down view of your desk, is distorted and low-res. The reviewer points to Continuity Camera with an iPhone as a better option. The space black finish can still smudge.
Price is the other caveat. The base Pro costs $100 more than a comparable 15-inch MacBook Air, which still starts at 256GB, and a 512GB upgrade costs $200. For that gap you get stronger performance, faster Thunderbolt ports, a higher-resolution screen up to 120Hz, two more speakers, and a better webcam. But the reviewer's test unit, with nano-texture and 1TB of storage, costs $1,949. That is $50 short of an M4 Pro model with 24GB of RAM and Thunderbolt 5, or $200 short if you add nano-texture there too. The reviewer calls this Apple's pricing funnel, where each small upgrade makes the next tier easier to justify.
The review's score is 9. For buyers weighing the base 14-inch Pro, the question now is less what it lacks than whether the upgrade stack stops at $1,599 or keeps climbing.
Citas Notables
The entry-level MacBook Pro no longer feels like a compromise, with the ports and creature comforts of higher-end Pros.— The Verge review
Desk View is distorted and low-res, and better options exist, including Continuity Camera with an iPhone.— The Verge review
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