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Video Comparison: M1 MacBook Pro vs. M1 Pro MacBook Pro
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As someone who loves the TouchBar & uses it all the time, it looks like it’s time to upgrade to the 13” MBP. It looks like the TouchBar is going away. I only wish I could get more than 2TB of SSD in it.
I do like the touchbar too, and now will have to remember the short cuts in all the applications I use, i think most of the MBP users don't use applications that don'n use the touchbar, but for me as a software developpers i find it very useful.
I took my 14” Max/64/2/32core back to Apple today. I just didn’t find that any of my apps used the graphics power that is the distinguishing difference in the configs. I kind of expected this considering that the trash can was a machine that was great for video, but had almost zero support for using the second video card as was intended in the design.
Apple has made big investment in GPU power being used for compute use, but there are very few apps outside of their own that support it, and almost none outside of video.
I may go back and get the $2400 config as the screen and form factor are very enticing. I could care less about the MagSafe and HDMI, I really would have preferred a 4th universal TB port. Dongle life is not the huge deal that all the moaners make it out to be. I need some basic cables whether on my Mac or Thinkpad. Dedicated, single use ports are wastes of space Inthe age of TB4
Apple has made big investment in GPU power being used for compute use, but there are very few apps outside of their own that support it, and almost none outside of video.
I may go back and get the $2400 config as the screen and form factor are very enticing. I could care less about the MagSafe and HDMI, I really would have preferred a 4th universal TB port. Dongle life is not the huge deal that all the moaners make it out to be. I need some basic cables whether on my Mac or Thinkpad. Dedicated, single use ports are wastes of space Inthe age of TB4
This is the problem when you buy a new product, there are no 3rd party support, you have to wait, this is the same problems with many developer tools, I'm keeping my MBP 15" mid 2019, because after 1 year not all of the applications I use, are fully supported in M1. Talking about the MagSafe, I used to miss it when i changed my old MBP, but now i only use one cable with my MBP it's a SATECHI dongle (I don't miss the MagSafe), it gives my MBP 3 USB 3.0 ports, 1Gbps Ethernet , Micro SD and SD Reader, HDMI port for an external monitor, and it charge the MBP, all of this with only one cable, but now with the MagSafe I will need to plug to cables, the biggest concert of mine is that the TB port I use, some day will get damage, but the MBP has 3 more to use
. But we have to admint that the HDMI and SD reader on the new MBP are a good step, because we won't need to take the dongle every time we go mobile, it is annoying.
Usually Mac users keep their Mac's for years to come (5 to 10) and again over time new software usually demands more memory. For now it probably may be fine to use 8GB in your situation. Milage can always vary per user situation.
I'm sort of a heavy user, as I use my current Macbook Pro (2011!) basically every day for multiple tasks. 16GB was a good choice at that time, it did speed things up (including loading applications) significantly compared to my previous Mac. My old MacPro at home had 2GB, which was fine in the beginning, but over time it slowed things down significantly. Adding more memory even speeded up browsing the internet.
When the time come that this Macbook Pro needs replacement, I'll get one with 32GB to be future proof and reduce SSD wear (reduce swapfile).
I'm expecting the M1 Max I ordered is gonna ROCK at gif playback on Facebook. Can't wait!![]()
If you're unsure whether you should purchase a MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip or if an M1 machine will best suit your needs, our latest YouTube video is for you. We've compared the 14-inch base MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip to the 13-inch base MacBook Pro with M1 chip to give our readers an idea of how they measure up to one another.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
The M1 MacBook Pro is priced starting at $1,299, and it comes with an M1 chip that features an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU, along with 8GB memory and a 256GB SSD.
The base 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro is priced starting at $1,999 and has an 8-core CPU, a 14-core GPU, 16GB memory, and a 512GB SSD. Upgraded models of the M1 Pro come with a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, but we're comparing the two base models.
Apple's 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro is $700 more expensive than the M1 model, but as you'll see in our video, it's much more capable. It has a brighter, crisper display that makes a noticeable difference and additional ports. There's one more USB-C/Thunderbolt port, a MagSafe charging port, an HDMI port, and an SD card reader. Speakers probably aren't a major selling point for most people, but the sound is much improved, and there's also a somewhat better webcam at 1080p vs. 720p.
There are clear performance differences with the M1 and M1 Pro when it comes to Geekbench scores. The M1 MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 1705 and a multi-core score of 7385, along with an OpenCL score of 18480. In comparison, the 14-inch MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 1763, a multi-core score of 9823, and an OpenCL score of 30569, which is a decent improvement in multi-core and graphics performance.
This does translate to real-world usage as well. Rendering a 4K timeline in Final Cut Pro took the M1 Pro MacBook Pro about 2 minutes and 55 seconds, but the M1 MacBook Pro took 3 minutes and 40 seconds, which is a notable difference. The M1 Pro MacBook Pro was able to handle 8K footage with no problem, but the M1 MacBook Pro struggled.
So is the 14-inch MacBook Pro worth the premium? Sure, if you need the kind of power that it delivers. If you're just going to be reading emails, browsing the web, and doing other lightweight tasks, the M1 chip is more than sufficient. As a note, though, if you're considering an M1 MacBook, it's probably best to go with the MacBook Air, a thinner and lighter machine that is nearly as powerful and $300 less expensive than the M1 MacBook Pro, saving you even more money.
If you need more power for pro-level tasks like video editing, sound editing, photography, and similar purposes, shelling out an extra $700 may be well worth it given the benefits of the M1 Pro, the extra 8GB memory you get with the base machine, and the additional storage space compared to base M1 options.
Make sure to watch our video for the full comparison, and let us know in the comments if you think the M1 Pro MacBook Pros are worth the additional money over the M1 machines.
Note: Our YouTube video and article have been republished after we addressed an error with the Geekbench scores.
Article Link: Video Comparison: M1 MacBook Pro vs. M1 Pro MacBook Pro
