Buying an M4 MacBook Pro? Don't make the same mistake I did...

[@hacorn96]

ram is always the bottleneck for macs, if not today then tomorrow. the cpu & gpu can handle things for far longer, until the memory starts slowing it down, preventing it from ever needing to reach its limits. if you're buying a mac, whatever memory you think you need, just double it.

[@JustineCooksVegan]

Do you think the MacBook m4 pro chip with 14 cpu/20 gpu with 48 gb of ram is worth getting over an m3 max chip with 14/30 & 36 ram for video editing? I have an m3 max chip I just got but not sure if extra GPU or ram is better for long form video editing. Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@LazyWarriorV]

Your M3 max is going to be better than the M4 pro chip for video editing - this is simply because it has two media engines instead of 1 in M4 Pro. I think your setup is more than enough and will last you for a good few years before there’s any noticeable reason for upgrading. Good choice on your current M3 Max

[@hacorn96]

@@JustineCooksVegan I agree with the other comment. Add to the fact that there's practically not much difference in performance between 36 and 48 gb. And not much difference between m3 max and m4 pro performance, apart from the max possibly having a better gpu. Good rule of thumb, you'll barely notice much difference between 1 generation difference. M3 max should be excellent for 3-4 years before you find an upgrade that's worth the money.

[@JustineCooksVegan]

@ thanks so much for the info!! I appreciate it! I just noticed that editing already it’s pushing the ram pretty much to the max, just editing on CapCut pro, and having epidemic & notes open. Seemed weird to use so much ram? that’s why I wasn’t sure if the 48 gb ram would be a better investment…

[@JustineCooksVegan]

@@hacorn96 thank you!! I appreciate it! Do you think 36 ram will suffice for several years? That’s only reason I was looking at upgrading 🙏🏼

[@brianthomas3249]

I have the 14th inch M1 MacBook Pro and I can tell you I carry it around often because I’m in school the 14 inch is not a light computer to carry around go with the 16 inch It’s so much more worth it for the screen real estate

[@UltraDoug]

I was going to upgrade, but my mid-level M1 14” with 32GB RAM and 2TB has proven to be a workhorse that has plenty of work left in it.

[@Ok_HelloThere]

dude 87 charge cycles after 2 years is crazy. i bought my m1 pro in mid 2022 and i currently have 950, i know i'm addicted to using it. also i'm not going to defend the notch but apple putting faceid on macbooks is kindof unlikely for now as they would most likely put the same module that is on ipads and iphones on the mac and that is thicker the macbook display, so i don't see it happening any time soon which is kindof sad but doesn't bother me.

[@Samuel-hj9ty]

Personally, the way that I think about buying electronics is the cost per year. So upgrading would be (cost of new - trade in cost)/(expected lifespan). Helps me put into perspective how much money I’m actually spending!

[@TokyoNeko8]

Same. I do it per day then it frees me up to upgrade every year since e daily cost is low

[@SogMosee]

are you a mathematicians. teach me to look at the world and make decisions based on equations

[@jsabhiraj]

This is a great way to measure expenditure!

[@uvajedagain]

My M1 Pro is fine with 2TB storage. If you are a browser tab junkie, then more than 16GB RAM is a must. For future proofing, for local machine learning/AI, more RAM and GPUs are always better.

[@MrLocsei]

Still using the 2021 14" Macbook Pro M1, it's the non-binned M1 Pro with 8 P-Cores, 2 E-Cores, and 1 TB SSD which by the way is crazy fast, around 6000 MB/s read and write speeds in Blackmagic test. The 16 GB RAM does not yet seem to be a limiting factor to me yet, I even routinely use WIndows 11 ARM in VMware fusion and allocate half of the Mac's resources to the VM, and still switch between them a do stuff simultaneously without an issue. Sometimes I even fire up games on the Mac side without even quitting the Windows VM, and everything works just file. I think the SSD speed is clearly helping there as there is swapping happening. With 32 GB RAM there would probably be no swapping, but hey, as you mentioned, budgets are a thing, and this thing wasn't cheap back then in 2021. Good to see Apple replaced all current Macs with 16 GB variants and does not anymore sell 8 GB models. I have a desktop M2 Mac Mini with 8 GB RAM, and while it is not an issue for the use cases I have for it, I might trade it in for the M4 Mini mainly for the more advanced GPU, because I do occasional gaming on the Macs these days, since GPTK and Crossover allows for Windows titles to be run, but also because there are more and more native AAA games coming out, such as Cyberpunk 2077 early 2025, and I want to try out the new features of the M4 GPU such as ray tracing, etc.

[@mcal27]

Yep I’m using the 14” version of yours. It’s been great! Best Mac I’ve ever owned! I have a Mac mini Pro as an office machine (base model) and an M1 Max Mac Studio for media work and testing for clients. None of them feel slow at all yet and even though Thunderbolt 5 gave me my first tweak of “ungrade time?” I have more urgent expenses right now so I’m happy to wait

[@andyH_England]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have the same model (M1 Pro), and it has been excellent for my needs. I primarily use it for office tasks, so 16GB/512GB feels like overkill for me. Some advantages I've noticed include the ability to put it in a case without worrying about heat issues, which can be common with Windows machines from the same era. Additionally, the battery life is impressive; I consistently achieve at least 10 hours of screen-on time since I always use it unplugged. I prefer mini LED over OLED displays, and it's hard to imagine that I'll ever need to replace this device. However, I like to maintain a backup that closely resembles my main device in case any issues arise. Therefore, I might consider buying a new one in 2-3 years, using this one as a backup to replace my base MacBook Pro 13 M1. I would recommend this laptop to anyone, and it’s unfortunate that more people don't choose these due to the legacy and inherent natural monopoly that Windows has.

[@SandiaPeaks]

Yes. My regret for my 2021 M1 was over spec’ing it. Size, ram, disk, etc. it is still a beast but too much to take off the desk and into a bag or lap. Therefore, I’m going with a mid range 14” M4 pro. It will be more portable. And the trade in for the M1 was 1,200+ so I’ll take that loss to get something newer and more useful. Thanks for the video and sharing your experience.

[@fuzzylogix]

I have same M1 Pro 16 for past couple of years and its excellent. Great work Alex. Cheers!! - Fazal from India

[@owlmostdead9492]

I had the foresight to go for 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage and the binned M1 Max, hurt at the time but is was worth it. If I was to upgrade from my current MacBook I'd go for a minimum of 48 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage, I'm regularly pushing 28+ GB of RAM usage and sometimes I only have ~200 GB of free space.

[@nextjsguru]

Yeah I have a 16" MacBook and I can confirm that thing is huge and I don't like to carry it around. I would rather have 14" MBP But I can't do that anymore. So, my advice to those who are willing to buy MBP is: Go for 14" and use a monitor if you feel like you need more screen. These machines are fast. 16" is really great device (battery + screen + speakers) as well but not for carrying around!

[@DenCato]

I have a 16" Intel Mac and love it. 2 times a week I have to walk 2 x 15-20 minutes with it in a backpack, but that's fine. I love the extra screen space, battery and improved speakers. Just ordered the M4 Pro 16" 48GB 1TB. If I would have to do those walks all days of the week, it might be another story, but to be honest I feel I would still go for the 16"

[@jimtipton8888]

I went from the M1 Max 16" to the M3 Pro MBP 14" and I just ordered the M4 Pro MBP 16". I thought I was going to use the 14" more as a travel device but I added the M4 iPad Pro 11" to the mix and that really hit a sweet spot for my mobile needs and I missed the screen size and the speakers on the 16". Apple needs to start sending me a birthday card since I always seem to owe them money.

[@Xainlrd]

You went with the iPad Pro 11" with the new Magic Keyboard?

[@gameworkerty]

the keys are made of ABS, so its not actually your finger grease, the texture of your fingers themselves are wearing them away like sandpaper. It is definitely the thing I find the most annoying about these computers.

[@DroneCorpUK]

Alex, this was a great piece of work mate. Excellent 👌

[@JulianHalliday]

I have, I believe, the same generation of MBP, which reports as an 18,2. 16" display, all the same stuff as you review -- but I got 32GB RAM, 2 TB SSD, and the M1 Max CPU. I use it for daily reading/messaging/etc., and also for (still) image processing. Like you, I have large portable external SSDs where I can access images dating from before 2023 (I keep two years' worth on my SSD). Worth noting that I also work occasionally on an anemic Dell laptop (not my own, but my client's) and a fairly high powered desktop PC (mine) with an i5 chip, 65 GB of RAM, and a mammoth amount of internal storage. I'm probably spoiled; even when I first got the MBP (which replaced a similar-sized 2015 Intel-based version), I was underwhelmed by the performance boost. I believe that only those who work extensively in video will really see the difference. I remember reading a review saying something like "apps seem to open almost before you've touched the icon." Well, no. Some things simply aren't as fast as I'd like, and of course the remarkable increase in program complexity (e.g. LR Classic, Photoshop -- my two most used programs) means that even blistering speed is eventually compromised. However: the battery life is wonderful (mine's at 87% capacity, and I wonder why you managed to do better? Fewer discharge/recharge cycles? Anyway -- the screen is amazing, the sound (which I sometimes use) is the best I've heard in a laptop, the keyboard seems ideal, and I've never used a trackpad, even on the earlier MBP, that I like as much. Upgrading is a moot question for me -- I simply couldn't afford it now, so this is going to be my computer for the foreseeable future -- and long may it last! All in all, I'm very content with it.

[@arkabhowmik7832]

I've been using the base M1 Pro 14 inch for almost 2 years now. Prior to that I've been a lifelong Windows user. After using this, I can safely say this has become my favorite Apple product along with the AirPods Pro 2. It has been an extremely stable system so far. No annoying background Windows updates, no random crashes and blue screens. I use the MacBook just like you do - connected to a monitor using a USB C cable which also powers it. I only wish the gaming ecosystem was better. There's still hope, but compared to Windows, it's so far behind in terms of playable games. That's the only sacrifice I had to make with the Mac.

[@pranaav2027]

I don't really think most people really need to buy a new macbook if your M1 is fine, wait for another 2 years atleast, If you really need something like that for some particular reason, then sure......but for 90% of people I think M1 Macbooks more than enough. Think real well for what your purpose is that you need to buy the new MacBook.

[@SonOfRamenEgg]

2:25 I had to convert to Southern Mississippi opossum units. It checks out

[@JustineCooksVegan]

Thanks for the review! Do you think the MacBook m4 pro chip with 14 cpu/20 gpu with 48 gb of ram is worth getting over an m3 max chip with 14/30 & 36 ram for video editing? I have an m3 max chip I just got but not sure if extra GPU or ram is better for long form video editing. Thank you! ☺️

[@welingtonws]

I am really curious to see how M1 Pro compares to M4 (not Pro) in terms of performance.

[@mhergoparian174]

Which Mac modem ate you thinking of getting??

[@Tilaton]

Definitely waiting for OLED screen and hopefully FaceID. Until then my M1 pro 14 is sufficient for anything I need.

[@truenetgmx]

Exacly my reason for upgrade- my M1 air dev machine 16 GB RAM is limiting me

[@SlavaDruk]

I want to upgrade from 15" MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012, 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB). Which 16" model is better to consider? Top on M4 Pro (with more memory): 14-Core CPU, 20-Core GPU, 48GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD ($3,099) or Entry on M4 Max (less memory but faster memory bandwidth 546 vs 273 GB/s): 14-Core CPU, 32-Core GPU, 36GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD ($3,499)?

[@maddada]

9:06 The surface and a few other laptops are using newer haptic track pads that feel amazing. patiently waiting for next gen snapdragon laptops.

[@jansix4287]

You can’t make mistakes. Standard RAM is always good enough. And you can’t really benefit from more memory, because the amount of RAM you can utilize depends on the processor. The M4 is now more powerful than the M1 Pro/M2 Pro and those always came with 16 GB minimum. And the M4 is just slightly slower than the M3 Pro, which started at 18 GB. So 16 it is. Apple will never allow you to configure a bottleneck in one of their pristine products. They will however allow you to overpay for features you don’t need. 😂

[@aurelian1]

Windows laptops are catching up on trackpads in some respects; I dig the Surface Laptop 7 and (to a lesser degree) Zenbook S 14. But it's still true that Apple is the gold standard on this front.

[@madatemad]

i am a heavy user of aftereffects and adobe photoshop in my dailyworkflow... and i do regret going for a 1TB SSD and only 16GB, on my 16inch m1 pro machine... my ram pressure is always yellow and sometimes even gets red. a memeory swap of 16-20gb is always there probably its that f#*@^ chrome browser but still... oh on the right side, I feel some loose aluminium that clicks whenver i pick it up, i hope thats normal :?

[@markusTegelane]

But if patents are the reason why window snapping took this long, why have Linux desktop environments and window managers done this for decades already?

[@Dj_Ropes]

Open source baby.

[@asideofthings2526]

Just realizing something....Sort of funny...I like Macbooks...yet so many 'issues' which keep coming back in long term reviews.... I never had any of those on any of my Windows laptops ...and this now spans a period of over 25 years of comparing Mac to Windows Laptops.

[@Centrifugadora34]

2 years only?

[@tdkoc]

I got an M1 Mac Mini, and I don’t use it for gaming but mostly for web-based activities, both for personal and work stuff. Works well, and it’s the bottom end unit, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD. I’m always watching the memory pressure to a fault, and I’m somewhat abated the storage issue by using a NAS and a USB-attached 1TB SSD. Im looking at upgrading to an M4 Mini or MBA, so next year’s thing. No way to M2 and M3 due to GoFetch.

[@ClaxtonBay123]

Why not go for a MacBook?

[@tdkoc]

@ClaxtonBay123 Too rich for my blood. I'm a regular tech guy who gets a middle class paycheck when most of these kids have Teslas with the MkB matte wrap, LTT toolkits, and a new Supreme or Fendi-branded MBP every year. /s