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Switching from Windows to MBP 16" (M4 Pro, 48GB). Is it actually as good as they say?

O

Ortemii

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hi everyone!

I’m planning to upgrade my laptop and I've got my eye on the MacBook Pro 16" with the M4 Pro chip (48GB RAM / 512GB SSD). I’ve heard a lot of "miracle" stories about this machine: 14–16 hours of real battery life (not just light typing, but actual work), the ability to run heavy LLMs locally thanks to the unified memory, and that the XDR display is just magical.

Coming from a Windows background, the battery claims sound almost too good to be true. Can anyone who actually uses this model share their experience? Is the hype real, or am I going to be disappointed after spending this much money?

Also, for those who have the Space Black version: I plan to carry it with me daily (university, cafes, work, etc.) rather than keeping it on a desk. How easily does the finish scratch or show wear under constant "on-the-go" use? I’d hate for a premium device to look beat up after just a month.

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I hope everything is clear—English isn't my native language, so I relied on a translator for this post.
 
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The battery life will depend a lot on what "actual work" means for you. You can burn through the battery in 3 hours if you've got some really heavy calculations going on the whole time, but that's about the worst case. Have you looked at macOS and whether you like how it looks and behaves?
 
Basic75 said:
The battery life will depend a lot on what "actual work" means for you. You can burn through the battery in 3 hours if you've got some really heavy calculations going on the whole time, but that's about the worst case. Have you looked at macOS and whether you like how it looks and behaves?
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Thanks for the feedback! To be more specific about my workload: it’s mostly software development in various IDEs and running some LLMs locally. I don’t do constant heavy renders or 24/7 calculations, so my typical use case is somewhere in the middle.

Regarding macOS — the main reason I’m switching is the hardware efficiency and long battery life. I am more than willing to adapt to a new OS to get that level of performance away from the plug. The ability to run decent-sized LLMs on the go is also a huge selling point for me.
 
I have a 14” M3 Pro (11 core, 18GB), and even now, as it’s closing in on two years old, I still often leave the power adapter home when I go to work, and run a full day of AutoCAD on an external monitor, and YouTube going on my MacBook’s screen, on the battery. I’ll still have 20-30% left by the time I pack up.

A 16” M4 Pro has much better battery life than mine does!

Coming from a PC, the battery life will feel like wizardry.
 
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I have the 14inch M3 Max and battery life is stellar. I do a lot of coding in Xcode and Godot, sometimes Unity. I do a good amount of 3D work too. Heavy renders will kill your battery since they use all the system resources they can steal but for your regular work it's great. I can work a day and a half easily before needing to plug in.
 
To answer OP's original question, you want a skinny case. I had the same question, and there were lots of recommendations for InCase. I have one now on my Space Black MBP. Apart from incidental scratch protection, it has feet that provide more friction on surfaces to reduce sliding. This is the light weight solution that is obviously not Otterbox level protection. And a surface for stickers on the back, customization imminent.


IMG_0267.jpeg
 
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Non-Euclidean said:
To answer OP's original question, you want a skinny case. I had the same question, and there were lots of recommendations for InCase. I have one now on my Space Black MBP. Apart from incidental scratch protection, it has feet that provide more friction on surfaces to reduce sliding. This is the light weight solution that is obviously not Otterbox level protection. And a surface for stickers on the back, customization imminent.


View attachment 2617060
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I have this, too, on my Space Black 14" MBP M3 Pro and it is the best hard case I've owned. For spill protection, I also use a Translucent Tinted UPPERCASE Ghostcover Ultra Thin keyboard cover - I can't even see nor feel it when I type.
 
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The "battery miracle" was achieved in a major part by going from CISC to RISC, and a smaller part by Apple integration.

Mac dark colors are known to be fingerprint attracter, u may have to keep wiping it at lot and after bumps and bruises the sharp angles may get rubbed enough to expose the shiny aluminum under. Can always use a skin.
 
Try getting a 1TB of disk. 512 is really not a lot and many people try to resell their MacBook because of that.
A lot of people will argue that you have TB ports but…
 
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Non-Euclidean said:
To answer OP's original question, you want a skinny case. I had the same question, and there were lots of recommendations for InCase. I have one now on my Space Black MBP. Apart from incidental scratch protection, it has feet that provide more friction on surfaces to reduce sliding. This is the light weight solution that is obviously not Otterbox level protection. And a surface for stickers on the back, customization imminent.


View attachment 2617060
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Be careful though. Those back corner pieces on the bottom can break off. Both of mine did. The company sent me a new case under warranty.
 
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Non-Euclidean said:
What did it take for that to happen? Drop related? Snagging them on something?
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I have no idea. I never dropped the machine. I had traveled to Europe for three weeks with the machine. When I got back I found a piece of plastic on the floor. After some searching for the source, I found that one corner was missing on the case. Maybe placing on the tray tables in the airplane or train I bumped the case. I contacted the company, was asked to send pictures and a copy of the purchase receipt. The company sent me another case.
 
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