Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Surprising QC Variances (Keyboard and Screen) between M4 Max Models

G

groovatious

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 16, 2017
43
53
Melbourne
Having 2 x 14" M4 Max MacBook Pros side by side here, I'm quite surprised at the difference in QC/Tolerances between them for such a "premium" item.

I originally purchased a base M4 Max but decided to upgrade to the top spec Max w 64GB memory and 2TB SSD - currently have both next to each other and and have noticed:

- The keyboard on the base M4 Max here is VERY clacky, noisy and somewhat cheap feeling. The other, while not "butterfly" levels of noise/feel is MUCH quieter and more solid with less key noise and rattle.

- The upgraded model's screen is simply not as bright as the base Max's - At full brightness it's about equal to the Base model after knocking it down a notch or 2. Also, if you look closely, the Base (brighter) model's screen details are RAZOR sharp - on the other they're more "dithered" and dare I say it, slightly blurry. Both are the glossy version.

- The screen hinge friction varies greatly - one is quite stiff and the other relatively loose.

Anyway, just surprised at how much two seemingly identical machines differed in look and feel. Not sure if I want to return the "upgraded" model and risk more potential issues - see how it plays out...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Canadia69
The keyboard part is one that I wouldn't faze me, but the rest would make me nervous. Whenever I get a new MBP, I never know what the keyboard is going to be like in a year after I've broken it in. Sometimes I love it at first and dislike it after a year. Other times its vice versa.

The lack of hinge friction would really freak me out. That sounds like an expensive display ribbon cable issue just waiting to happen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Canadia69 and groovatious
At least we no longer have the panel lottery, if anyone here remembers the hubalub for the OG 15” retina in 2012 having an LG vs a Samsung manufactured display. I can’t remember which was the “better” but I remember mine had it, lol, and people were exchanging 3, 4, 5 MacBooks until they finally got one with the “good” panel.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Macintosh IIcx and Canadia69
groovatious said:
Having 2 x 14" M4 Max MacBook Pros side by side here, I'm quite surprised at the difference in QC/Tolerances between them for such a "premium" item.

I originally purchased a base M4 Max but decided to upgrade to the top spec Max w 64GB memory and 2TB SSD - currently have both next to each other and and have noticed:

- The keyboard on the base M4 Max here is VERY clacky, noisy and somewhat cheap feeling. The other, while not "butterfly" levels of noise/feel is MUCH quieter and more solid with less key noise and rattle.

- The upgraded model's screen is simply not as bright as the base Max's - At full brightness it's about equal to the Base model after knocking it down a notch or 2. Also, if you look closely, the Base (brighter) model's screen details are RAZOR sharp - on the other they're more "dithered" and dare I say it, slightly blurry. Both are the glossy version.

- The screen hinge friction varies greatly - one is quite stiff and the other relatively loose.

Anyway, just surprised at how much two seemingly identical machines differed in look and feel. Not sure if I want to return the "upgraded" model and risk more potential issues - see how it plays out...
Click to expand...
About to buy mine…this is making me anxious now..i wonder if m4 pro will have worse QC than the max (talking 16inch here) never knew they could differ like that, always thought they were all exactly the same
 
Im not surprised, Apple's quality control went to the trash in 2015 with their iPads. I think this is a result of them having several companies manufacture their laptops. But a Max unit should be the best for quality control with the least amount of flaws. Im surprised to hear that it's the opposite. There is definitely huge variation from unit to unit on the keyboards. Ive confirmed this with others on Reddit. I got lucky with the first unit I got having a firm and click keyboard, though it's a bit stiff out of the box. Should soften over time.

Even though the outside keys still feel like complete garbage. Can press the inside of the key a few times, then the middle, then the outside of the same key and you can even hear it that the key presses differently and sounds different through the keypress. That is a sign of very cheap quality keycaps. All key caps should feel the exact same no matter where you strike on the key. I don't know of any other keyboard that suffers from such a big flaw. Even $300 laptops don't have this issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Canadia69
I currently have a MPB 16 M3 Pro and M4 Pro here.
I noticed also a difference in the hinge stiffness: the M3 Pro is more stiff, the M4 Pro less stiff, and wobbles longer when excited.
Not a huge difference, and I am not even sure if the M3 Pro is better or even too stiff, and the M4 Pro should be the ideal version. Can you try if both stay opened at a certain angle of the display? I tried 10°, and also the more loose hinge stayed open. So I am not sure if this is a big problem.

Regarding screen sharpness, I have the nano texture display, so I cannot say if one is sharper than the other.

The keys are also completely different: the M3 Pro is more settled in, less clicky. There are only some "clicky" keys. On the M4 Pro, nearly all keys are "clicky“; still typing on both of them feels nearly the same. I would not prefer one over the other, to be honest.

TLDR: I also have these variations (except for the display), and I cannot even say which I prefer; I think everything is in an acceptable range.
 
Ascn said:
I currently have a MPB 16 M3 Pro and M4 Pro here.
I noticed also a difference in the hinge stiffness: the M3 Pro is more stiff, the M4 Pro less stiff, and wobbles longer when excited.
Not a huge difference, and I am not even sure if the M3 Pro is better or even too stiff, and the M4 Pro should be the ideal version. Can you try if both stay opened at a certain angle of the display? I tried 10°, and also the more loose hinge stayed open. So I am not sure if this is a big problem.

Regarding screen sharpness, I have the nano texture display, so I cannot say if one is sharper than the other.

The keys are also completely different: the M3 Pro is more settled in, less clicky. There are only some "clicky" keys. On the M4 Pro, nearly all keys are "clicky“; still typing on both of them feels nearly the same. I would not prefer one over the other, to be honest.

TLDR: I also have these variations (except for the display), and I cannot even say which I prefer; I think everything is in an acceptable range.
Click to expand...

All keys definitely don't press the same on M4 Pro. Try pressing the outside keys from the inner, middle and outer part of the keys. They give different key feel and you can even hear it sound differently too.
 
Yes, the keyboard feels off on my M4 Pro. It’s the one thing I don’t like about this new MBP. Also, the uneven backlighting when using my machine at a shallow angle, like in bed, is really starting to annoy me. But from what I understand, it is an issue common to all newer Mac laptops.
 
To add to this I've also discovered significant chip temperature/cooling variations between identical units. I have 2 colleagues with identical top spec 14" M4 Max machines and all doing identical workflow tasks - ie loading the same project in Logic, downloading the same software and updates etc - my machine is running 10-20 degrees warmer and has the fans engaged the majority of the time (all running TG Pro to monitor) - VS their machines staying much cooler and hardly engaging the fan at all.

Thinking I may have a lemon.
 
Wondering what the display model numbers are for your different displays? That was something we did in the good old days (mentioned above, and it was Samsung that was the preferred panel back then).

My prior 14" MBP had a display model number of A04E, and I thought it not a great panel (streaky, lots of dithering, etc). At the Apple Store, I sampled a few new 14" M4 MBPs, and their display models were both A05E. I purchased one, and my display model number is A061. I think it's a pretty nice display TBH.

If you want to go down this rabbit hole of obsession, you can open ColorSync Utility, go to the Profiles tab, expand "Computer" then "Displays" then "Color LCD", click on "Open" on the right, scroll to #16, and see your model numbers there.

EDIT: I can also confirm there is noticeable variability in the keyboards (like when you look at the keys from a shallow angle, which keys have light bleed and which don't), and also the trackpad (how recessed it is in the case, and what the click mechanism feels like).
 
  • Like
Reactions: digimc
I just got my BTO 14" M4 Pro MBP today. As far as I can tell, it seems to be pretty solid all the way through. The hinge might be just a teeny bit looser than the hinge on the 16" M1 Pro that it's replacing, but it's still plenty snug. The lid doesn't move at all when I set the computer down with the lid open.

The speakers sound great. Everything good on my end, but I've only had it for about 4 hours now.

My only complaint is that the keys wobble a little more than I prefer. These keys will probably feel better once they break in a bit. They'll wobble less once the rubber domes break-in a bit. The same thing happened with my M1 Pro. The keyboard wasn't to my liking initially, but was just right after one year of use.
 
Last edited:
FWIW I have the 16" M3 Pro 32GB, and the keyboard is legitimately the nastiest, cheapest, hollow sounding mess that I've used in a long time.

The crappy Dell Latitude they give to customer service agents at work has a significantly better keyboard than the MBP, a machine that is 6x the price. It's embarrassing.

But Apple don't care. People shamed them (rightfully) for the reliability of the butterfly keyboards, so they took a huff and decided to put one of the worst laptop keyboards in their most premium laptops.
 
mikethebigo said:
Wondering what the display model numbers are for your different displays? That was something we did in the good old days (mentioned above, and it was Samsung that was the preferred panel back then).

My prior 14" MBP had a display model number of A04E, and I thought it not a great panel (streaky, lots of dithering, etc). At the Apple Store, I sampled a few new 14" M4 MBPs, and their display models were both A05E. I purchased one, and my display model number is A061. I think it's a pretty nice display TBH.

If you want to go down this rabbit hole of obsession, you can open ColorSync Utility, go to the Profiles tab, expand "Computer" then "Displays" then "Color LCD", click on "Open" on the right, scroll to #16, and see your model numbers there.

EDIT: I can also confirm there is noticeable variability in the keyboards (like when you look at the keys from a shallow angle, which keys have light bleed and which don't), and also the trackpad (how recessed it is in the case, and what the click mechanism feels like).
Click to expand...

M3 Pro also has the weird backlight issue. It looks just as cheap as the keyboard feels.

I'm glad mine is work provided, as I'd be sick to my stomach spending thousands on such a cheap feeling laptop. The entire casing has a hollow sound when you type towards the middle of the keyboard.

As you say, trackpad has variability and mine feels loose and weak, even with the strong setting.

All I can compare to is my M1 MBA, and that device feels completely solid. Keyboard feels nice, no rattle or hollow sound, even backlighting with no bleed. The trackpad has a nice crisp click as well. It almost sounds high pitched, vs the dull weak buzz of the 16" MBP.

I wonder how much of a difference the size of the chassis makes? Do 14" M4 owners have a better experience?
 
Just got my M4 Max 14" MBP. I was so excited to get it, but then when I started typing on it, I immediately noticed it was way different than my M1. Kinda not loving it, but gonna see if I can get used to it. I have a very sensitive RSI so hopefully it doesn't aggravate it.
 
Coufu said:
Just got my M4 Max 14" MBP. I was so excited to get it, but then when I started typing on it, I immediately noticed it was way different than my M1. Kinda not loving it, but gonna see if I can get used to it. I have a very sensitive RSI so hopefully it doesn't aggravate it.
Click to expand...

That's rough. I can empathize as someone who used to have pretty bad RSI. Minute changes in keyboards would set off my symptoms and even though the keyboards from model year to model year or unit to unit seemed to be the same, I could feel one of them more. Luckily, I've mostly gotten over my RSI.

A few months ago, I upgraded to an M4 Pro. Love the computer, but I wish I could have kept the keyboard from my M1 Pro. I was hoping it was simply a matter of breaking in, but after several months I'm still not fond of my M4 Pro's keyboard. I think it's because there's a new coating on the finish. They feel slippery and mess up my typing mechanics.

My guess is that the coating helps make the keys resistant to becoming shiny or blanching. They succeeded there. This is the most pristine my laptop's keyboard's ever looked after a few months, but it cost me my typing comfort.

I know most people won't agree with me, but I'd much rather have shiny discolored keys instead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back