It’s been quite a busy week for Apple – the Cupertino tech giant has so far launched its new desktop computers in the form of the 2024 Mac Mini and iMac, and today it finally unveiled its new MacBook Pro models, which are powered by the M4 chip, which also comes in M4 Pro and M4 Max variants. With that in mind, Apple promises big boosts to performance with its newest laptops.
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New Tricks, Same Old Look
As with the new Mac Mini and iMac, the biggest highlight of the 2024 MacBook Pros is Apple’s new M4 chips. According to the company, the M4 Pro and Max variants come with faster GPU cores inside. This means up to twice faster speeds for ray-tracing and a faster neural engine; the M4 Max comes with up to 16 GPU cores and 40 GPU cores, with up to 128GB of RAM (or “unified memory” as Apple calls it) for the most souped-up version available. As for design, Apple hasn’t messed with the look of the new MacBook Pros, as you still get the flat-sided metal unibody design, as well as the notch on the screen.
In terms of screen specifications, the 2024 MacBook Pro models pack a Liquid Retina XDR display, although there are slight differences both in size and resolution – there’s a 3024 x 1964 pixel resolution on the 14-inch model, while the larger 16-inch Pro packs a 3456 x 2234 resolution. Since they are Pro models, Apple has also equipped both 14 and 16-inch variants with 120hz refresh rates. Similar to some of its other products, there’s also an option to get them with Apple’s nano-texture option, which boosts peak brightness at 1,000 nits in SDR and up to 1,600 nits when viewing HDR content.
Other Hardware Details
Since the new MacBook Pros mostly come with a very similar chassis to their predecessors, they feature a lot of the same ports as well, albeit with some differences. For one, the “regular” 14-inch Pro model features three USB-C ports, all with Thunderbolt 4 support. Also present is a MagSafe charging port, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. Additionally, there’s a built-in HDMI port and SD card slot, and there’s support for wireless connectivity options including WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Another upgrade is the inclusion of a new 12MP camera for video calls.
For software, there’s Mac OS Sequoia onboard, so users get access to several exclusive software features and apps from Apple, including staples such as iMessage, FaceTime, Pages, Notes, Safari, and more. Additionally, there’s support for Apple’s new AI features (depending on regional availability), courtesy of the new M4 chips – this includes the upgraded Siri features, ChatGPT integration, email summaries, and more. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 starts at £1,599 and £1,499 for education, while the M4 Pro model starts at £1,999 and £1,849. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at £2,499 and £2,299 for education.
