Review: M1 Max MacBook Pro After Three Months

[Eric_WVGG]

This (16" MBP) is sort of a bittersweet computer for me.

I still miss my Touch Bar. I had around 60 custom buttons spread across over a dozen apps, now I'm back to trying to remember is it's F1 or F2 that is mapped to ctrl-option-command-D in Safari. The Touch Bar MacBook was like a computer from the future; the M1Pro is a souped-up computer from the past.

I have never used an HDMI port or an SD card with a laptop. On the previous generation of Macbook, people who needed HDMI and a card reader had to carry around HDMI and a card reader; now I, a person who doesn't need those things, has to lose a port and carry them around. What sense does that make?

The M1Pro MBP is a great machine and I'm glad to own it, but I'll never feel affectionate about it like i did with that 2016 MBP. (Glad to have a good keyboard again, though.)

 

[applefanboysince93]

I have the OWC dock + 16" MBP (Intel). I also have frequent crashing or situations where I have to unplug the thunderbolt 4 cable, open the laptop and wake it up and plug back in to the dock. This has happened after it has been sleeping. This has happened on both the newest OWC dock and the previous generation dock.

I have the OWC dock + 16" MBP (Intel). I also have frequent crashing or situations where I have to unplug the thunderbolt 4 cable, open the laptop and wake it up and plug back in to the dock. This has happened after it has been sleeping. This has happened on both the newest OWC dock and the previous generation dock.

What do you connect to the dock? Hard drive?

 

[Freeangel1]

just buy the updated Mac mini M1 Max.

Save yourself a ton of money and grief. Buy the monitor you want.


There are so many things that can go wrong in an ALL IN ONE MacBook Pro or iMac for that matter.

The quality of APPLE's software and quality control in the future on these M1's scares me.

And once your locked in to the tune of a fully loaded $4500 laptop your stuck up a creak

As Pc processors and video Cards get faster and faster and leave APPLE in the dust with no upgrade path like a PC with PCIE slots.

 

[Danfango]

Hardware reviews which ignore the problems in the (mandatory) operating system are meaningless.

The 3 Month Review, done properly:

"Great hardware, probably more than you need, all crippled by a shoddy quality OS & apps."

That’s always what kills me about macOS. iOS is actually much less painful for daily use so I almost always reach for the iPad.

 

[swissmann]

I love mine. 14", 2 TB, 16 GB RAM, M1 Pro. Way too much power for many daily tasks. I wish the screen was brighter in full sunlight. And while I've used all the extra ports I find myself wanting a USB A port more often than everything else combined. Being really picky here and would buy again in a heartbeat. I considered a MacBook Air but when you go to 16 GB and 2 TB difference is only about $600 then I'm back to what I bought easy. I have already used 1.2 TB. If not I'd consider a 1 TB Air.

 

[citysnaps]

just buy the updated Mac mini M1 Max.

Save yourself a ton of money and grief. Buy the monitor you want.


There are so many things that can go wrong in an ALL IN ONE MacBook Pro or iMac for that matter.

The quality of APPLE's software and quality control in the future on these M1's scares me.

And once your locked in to the tune of a fully loaded $4500 laptop your stuck up a creak

As Pc processors and video Cards get faster and faster and leave APPLE in the dust with no upgrade path like a PC with PCIE slots.

How many hours can I get with that on a fully charged battery?

 

[macintoshmac]

I knew going in that these computers will not disappoint me, and they did not. Paeans may be sung and words rehashed over and over for clicks and feel-good factors, so I won't do that.

Suffice to say that is a great computer for anyone who wants/ needs to buy a powerful machine. Nothing to not like about it, for me at least.

 

[macintoshmac]

How many hours can I get with that on a fully charged battery?

Depends on the UPS one pairs that Mac mini up with.

 

[DogHouseDub]

3 months in and I’ve rebooted my M1 Max more times than I did over several years with my previous 2015 MBP. On the positive side, it has immediately fixed almost every problem.

 

[Synchromesh]

Sorry but after looking at this tank of a machine I decided against purchase. Huge stop backwards in both weight and size. Not interested in lugging something that's comparable to a unibody design from 2008.

 

[OliOliOliOli]

Just for not earring anymore the fan I can invest 4K!

 

[mzeb]

Hardware reviews which ignore the problems in the (mandatory) operating system are meaningless.

The 3 Month Review, done properly:

"Great hardware, probably more than you need, all crippled by a shoddy quality OS & apps."

HA! Ok, one can dump on anything but that just makes you a troll.

Seriously, what's better right now? Windows 11? Nah, it's rougher than the latest macOS. Ubuntu LTS 20.04? Nah, it's way out of date (we'll see what happens this year, tho). ChromeOS? Nah, no ecosystem. Android, well, we can talk about shoddy apps here if you like.

Not saying I'm happy with the latest macOS revs but it's still the best we've got as far as a desktop OS is concerned IMO.

 

[mattzone]

It's now been a few months since the M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro models launched in October, and MacRumors video editor Dan Barbera has been using one of the new machines since they debuted. Over on the MacRumors YouTube channel, Dan has shared a three month review of his MacBook Pro to see how it has held up over time and how it's changed his workflow.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

Dan is using the 16-inch MacBook Pro that features an M1 Max chip with 10 compute cores and a 32-core GPU, aka the top of the line chip. The machine features 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, and it is the high-end pre-configured version that Apple offers.

In usage, the MacBook Pro is close to perfect, but Dan does go over a handful of complaints in his video. The MacBook Pro is subject to crashes and restarts when used in clamshell mode, which could be attributed to third-party Thunderbolt accessories.

The SSD can also malfunction randomly when transferring footage from an external drive. At times, transfer speeds slow to a crawl, an issue fixed with a restart. These are the two major issues that Dan has experienced, and he has otherwise had no problems. Performance overall is excellent, the display is beautiful, and the extra ports are useful.

For those considering a purchase, Dan says that he wishes that he had gone with a 2TB SSD over a 1TB because of his video editing needs, and he's not sure that he's happy with the weight and size of the 16-inch MacBook Pro when the same functionality is available with the smaller and more portable 14-inch MacBook Pro.

Make sure to watch Dan's video for his full review, and let us know in the comments how you're liking your 2021 M1 Pro/M1 Max MacBook Pro if you have one.

Article Link: Review: M1 Max MacBook Pro After Three Months

Good review. I'm still on the Intel (2019 16"), but these M1 problems sound eerily similar to what I see with my own setup. Overall, Apple is probably tinkering with MacOS and it's showing itself on the user end. Thanks, though, for the review!

 

[dmr727]

Seriously, what's better right now? Windows 11? Nah, it's rougher than the latest macOS.

I upgraded my desktop to Windows 11 and was surprised that it was released in that state. I *liked* Windows 10, but upgraded to 11 because I was trying to decide if it was good enough to get me to buy a Surface instead of a MBA. I was so disappointed in all the rough edges that I went forward with the MBA and have been happy with the decision.

I thought about rolling back the desktop to Windows 10, but figured I'd push forward to see if maybe I'd feel differently after using it for awhile. Even after several months I still find it much more enjoyable to use Monterey.

 

[Saturnine]

I got the 14” Max with 64GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. I couldn’t be happier with it. Is it perfect? No, of course not, but it’s by far the best laptop I’ve ever owned and should suit my needs for years to come.

I do a lot of video editing and some 3D rendering hence the inflated specs but so far I haven’t been able to challenge it.

I watched all the review videos and tests when they were first released and decided that I didn’t really care about the conclusions. In most cases the testing methodologies were flawed anyway. All I can say is that the laptop is great for me.

I also have a Microsoft Surface Laptop 3(?) which I use for work. The differences are like night-and-day. I’d pick the MacBook every time. MacOS may not be perfect but it’s an absolute dream compared to Windows, in my opinion.

I can’t wait until the software fully catches up and takes more advantage of the hardware.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

The sound quality is incredible! I honestly watch content on my MBP over my TV because the sound bar and sub from Samsung just don't compare.

I feel bad that your main audio is so terrible that laptop speakers sound better.

 

[Marli]

The SSD slowing issue is on all Macs. I get that quite often on the last Intel iMac.. Tried a number of various brands of SSD.

 

[SFjohn]

Really Yay? what do you miss about it? (touchbar). For us it's been completely useless since day 1 lol, of course you "could do" stuff, but 99% of it was slower & less efficiently than physical keys.

Not my experience with the Touch Bar. The question is not what could you do with it, but what could you not?

 

[lederermc]

Same here, owned the 14” Pro since launch and have yet to hear the fans. Stays cool to the touch too.

Unless you need Intel x86 for bootcamp I cannot think of a single reason you would want an Intel Mac over an M1 Mac.

I don't hear my fan either on 14" but the iStat app says it's going.

 

[mdatwood]

I have had the 16" max 64gb for a little over a month. It's awesome! The only downside is it replaced an M1 MBA I had for the last year and got used to the light weight. But, I remind myself whenever I was on the MBA for a long time I wished for a bigger screen

Battery life is crazy long. I take video meetings on battery and think nothing of it. The fans have only come a couple of times. The screen is great, and I don't notice the notch anymore.

The extra ports I guess are nice (I would have preferred 4 tb instead), but things like MagSafe were not really needed. I haven't even taken the new power brick out of the box. My 96w dock charges the computer fine when I'm at my desk. Back when I couldn't use my Intel MBP w/o being plugged in, MagSafe made much more sense. Now, I charge when I'm at the desk and run on battery the rest of the time.

 

[Loismustdie1]

I have the same MacBook Pro Dan has (16" M1 MAX 32 GB RAM 1 TB SSD), and I have mixed feelings. I knew going into this that I would lose the ability to use Bootcamp and that I would not be able to virtualize Windows Server, but man did losing that functionality suck. I admit that my use/work case is niche but in many aspects, the 2019 16" was a better fit for me. That being said, not having my laptop sound like a roaring jet 24/7, plus the performance on applications I use that are optimized for Apple Silicon has been a glorious experience. I wish I would've waited for the M2X gen before making the switch, but hindsight is 20/20 and otherwise it's a great laptop. Once Windows 11 arm64 mature and (hopefully) run natively on Apple Silicon, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[ikramerica]

If Dan had a 14” for a while he would regret it based on his workflow due to fan noise and screen size. The speakers on the 16” are also much better which may matter for his work also.

I wanted to buy it really hard, but I just can’t. The design is ugly, looks like a 2010 MacBook Pro and I don’t see myself buying a laptop with 2000s
Ports. Getting rid of the touch bar wasn’t a good idea too, it made the MacBook pro different, although it needed to be improved (now it’s dead so that’s not a problem anymore). The perfect MacBook Pro for me is the M1. I’m planing to get one next year, great product with beautiful design, no legacy ports and it includes apple silicon, baaaby that’s all I can ask for.

hdmi is not a legacy port. They are still updating the spec and it’s the universal connection method for video displays. Not requiring a dongle or dealing with the flakiness of displayport is a stop forward.

 

[nvmls]

Not my experience with the Touch Bar. The question is not what could you do with it, but what could you not?

Pretend not having to look at it?

Then the question is, what could you do that your screen couldn’t, finger it? iPads support emojis too.

 

[MauiPa]

Um, those hands are up?

Anyway. I'm looking forward to some of the newer features filtering down to the 13" model when the touch bar is finally sent out to pasture. I currently have a 2018 Intel that suits all my needs nicely for now. But, the return of mag safe and varied inputs will be nice.

I know a lot of people have said that if you're looking for a cheaper than $1999 computer, then you're not in the "Pro" market. From my viewpoint, I disagree.

I'm one of those people that buys the base "Pro" model to get some sort of longevity out of the purchase. I purchased my iPad Pro in 2019 and my MBP around the same time. Both still suit my needs well, and probably will for another year, maybe two. This way, I can upgrade on my terms, not the product cycle.

But I'm not a power user, I just like nice stuff from time to time.

I love the Touch Bar. Seeing as how you can turn it off to function just like the Fn keys, never understood why some would complain. Extra feature, don’t have to use it if you don’t want to, what is not to love?

 

[MauiPa]

Pretend not having to look at it?

Then the question is, what could you do that your screen couldn’t, finger it? iPads support emojis too.

Then go to settings and turn it off, dah