M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro Review | My Honest Thoughts & Recommendations

[@CoderGuyMan]

Great video, thanks. I got the M1 MBA with 8GB but upgraded to the 8GPU and it's been everything I need. FCP and Logic work great for my needs. I am tempted to upgrade to the 14 for screen and ports but videos like this just reaffirm that it really isn't "necessary".

[@rupajsen7558]

I went for the Macbook Pro 14” M1 Pro base model with 96W adapter

[@Techkhamun]

Nice!!

[@josecardenas3682]

Well. I hadn’t taken any buy decision. Struggling with 14inch M1 pro with 32gb and 14inch m1max 24gpu price difference. It’s just 200, so why you should go for M1pro and not m1max in that case?

[@TheSolderingGuy007]

Battery life for one. Another (debatable) reason could be that SW which might benefit from extra CPU horsepower isnt available for ARM based CPUs.

[@cristibaluta]

The decision is simple, M1pro for programmers, Max for video editors, M1 for the rest.

[@michellemartincreative]

Yep they targeted me with this one. Upgrading my mid-2014 13" MBP for the new M1 Pro 16".. just went base 16GB/512GB as that's enough for my needs but I'm super excited for the display mainly and having more room to work. Everyone going on about Magsafe and ports - I couldn't imagine being without those ever... 2016-2021 were the Dark Times 😅

[@jemenesk]

The base 16" 16GB MacBook Pro it is absolutely not enough for photo editing. I ordered a 64GB MBP which I am still waiting for. In the meantime I kept watching reviews of these laptops bc I am still within the cancelation period and I was convinced by every reviewer and bought a base model in the meantime since they have it on stock, thinking I might save myself $3000 avoiding the 64GB 4TB SSD version because everyone says 16GB is more than enough for photo editing. But no, the base model is definitely NOT enough for just photo editing. Just editing and moving files from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop: color grading, masking, healing, stamping, 2 to 5 layers on PS and this thing keeps a constant 40% memory pressure at all times using swap memory constantly really close to 20GB of RAM! 20GB on a 16GB model (Yeah, whatever... Apple calls it unified memory. Apple and their stupid labeling philosophy crap. It is just Soldered RAM🤦🏻‍♂️). In TWO days, 2 freaking days! The MBP wrote 2 TB of swap RAM to the SSD ( as per the kernel process stat in Monitor.) Wth!! That's gonna reduce the lifespan of the SSDs. Lightroom Classic runs now natively in the M1 so that means it is actually being efficient with the memory. It is just soooo much that It has to work wonders with the amount swapping it around so it doesn't slow down. I've been using 60MP files which are not much different that the 45 MP that most reviewers use as benchmarks, but uploading, exporting all that is not true memory usage. Yeah, it is very quick doing that specifically, it is not a discussion. But working on the files abuses the memory which is a different issue. Processing power rarely goes above 20% RARELY... so that is not the issue. Any M1 alone is enough on that. The issue is the RAM usage which is the same in any computer. Mac OS, Windows, Linux... whatever OS. Memory is always memory, it is like matter and space. No matter how fast it is moved matter always accupies the same space. The soldered RAM or unified as the wanna call it does avoid bottlenecks, so that is probably why most reviewrs say 16GB will be enough since the computer doesn't slow down at all. But the swapping takes a heavy toll on the SSD which have limited life. I am glad I didn't cancel my overpriced 64GB MBP, but I started leaving comments saying this because many will buy underpowered laptops thinking they will be enough and not realize that the lifespan of the laptops will be significantly reduced if they buy too tight in performance to save money which they are gonna end up spending later by upgrading sooner due to just that. Not singling out your review, actually you are one of the very few reviewers who actually made mention of what I am about to say. "High end equipment requires high end computing power, simple." I just think there needs to be more clarification between computing power and the hardware used, file size and quality. People who edit 12MP cellphone JPEGs sure will be ok with a base model or even a MacBook Air (100MP cellphone cameras are not true 100MP, they are still 12MP quality), but high end 45MP RAW files and up from full frame and medium format mirrorless cameras definitely need at least 32GB. Found a video where the 64GB model runs out of memory with basic editing, no more than 5 layers video footage, some stabilization and color grading from A7S3, RED, and DJI Mavic 3. Even with swap and all and the MBP displays the out of memory pop up window.

[@haikalfrsh]

9:10 What app is that? Love the ship design

[@cristibaluta]

I listened to the benchmarks and went 16Gb 1T with the idea i won't notice the swap. I use it for Xcode, which is 5x faster than the first touchbar mac and no heat at all (which was also more expensive than this and maxed out at that time). I also use Bridge and Photoshop and leave them open forever, but didn't install them yet because Bridge is not native M1 yet.

[@jeffreyvaldez7374]

It's been a bit since you've posted! As always, great analysis and real use-case review! I am always on the fence with my M1 Air. You've given me something to think about. Thanks for another great video! 👍🏽

[@Techkhamun]

Yes it has been! Just been busy with so many projects lately, but I’ve missed making videos on this channel so I’m glad I didn’t lose my touch hahaha

[@saturn5036]

I’m buying the 14inch M1 Pro because I need it for school and Coding and To also start an e-commerce business

[@tomburke5311]

I think I;’m going to hang on for the M2 MBA, later this year. Let’s see what that brings to the mix.

[@Techkhamun]

Yeh the M2 is going to be interesting, I really do not think we will see much of a performance difference maybe 10% which is still good but no where near these macbooks but its more about the specs they combine with that plus a refreshed design, I really have no idea where they are going to go with that rumours aside

[@souagt]

hey i want to get a 14 inch base model macbook pro but im hesitant because the edge is really squarish and could dig into your wrist and i type alot. Thoughts on this?

[@Techkhamun]

I haven’t had any issues, it’s no different to basically any other Mac for the past 5 years, the air has a slant to its more ergonomic but if you need the power of the 14inch, I wouldn’t stop buying the 14inch for this single reason, there are far more benefits to your workflow

[@Mingyu1031]

I am so used to the air’s slant as well. But I need pros now and wonder about the edge solution too.

[@wj9949]

great and useful review. thanks :)

[@bo_1093]

Hello man i had a question i am getting a used macbook air 2020 i5 512 gb for 700 dollars. Now should i go for it or should i buy the m1 macbook air, i am eligible for student discount

[@MrJakobTarp]

I will definitely say that the M1 air will be a lot better option. Better battery, better performance and more future proof than the intel i5. No doubt

[@bo_1093]

@@MrJakobTarp Thanks man i bought the m1 anyways great video

[@GoldenRvr]

All of the the new 16" come with a 140watt charger not the 96watt.

[@Techkhamun]

Yes I said that Joe. The 14 inch comes with the optional 96 watt charger for an extra £20 but again I said this in video

[@GoldenRvr]

@@Techkhamun 8 minutes and 7 second’s look it’s written right on the screen but whatever I still liked your video

[@Techkhamun]

Doh 🤦‍♂️ and thanks 😂

[@JV-pd8wg]

Hi! Love your videos! Please help! I’m getting an iPhone 13 pro max to create videos for KZbin. I want to edit with Final Cut Pro. Will an M1 Air 16 gb work for what I’m trying to do with video editing? I’m on a budget. Thank you!!! 🙏

[@keifercosta171]

Great review like always and happy new year bro 😊✌🏻

[@Techkhamun]

Same to you bro!!!

[@patahel]

The metal based cycles update is already in alpha in 3.1! On 32core BMW takes about 45s instead of over 3mins. Chosen the MAX model, because apple and blender announced cooperation 😃 (Otherwise I kept my Intel 16" basemodel)

[@Techkhamun]

Yes it is! When I made this video it wasn’t but I will wait for the full release to rerun the tests 😊

[@patahel]

@@Techkhamun it is already amazing how much faster it is. I hope when it is optimized it will be 25% faster 😜 At this point I’m just happy that my MacBook wont thermal shutdown after just 3min of modeling and cycles preview on 😂 (Intel builds some really wasteful CPUs) Blender for iPad would be awesome, but this would require some AppStore guideline change (I think) and heavy UI optimizations. Maybe it would be easier for better Sidecar support.

[@Techkhamun]

No one wants blender with the current version of iPadOS 😂 Apple really needs to overhaul iPadOS because the M1 iPad Pro is such a waste using it hence why my review wasn’t great and no one will tell me otherwise lol lots of power with no way to use it, and I never ever buy a product based on “future use” lol And yeh once blender has made all the optimisations for blender and it’s out of alpha and beta then I know the team are happy for professionals to use it without experience bugs, can’t wait to see what it’ll bring!

[@patahel]

@@Techkhamun true, iPadOS needs some work. I think that’s why they split it in the first place. At the moment I also view my iPad as a overpowered companion device for my MBP. ( really needed it because of 120hz and HDR) I think they are on the right track, but still need to figure things out. Apple really should give more experimental feature-flags and choice. It’s still better what Microsoft is doing: no full desktop and no full tablet since 10 years (and even way to much bugs). Many reasons why I made a complete ecosystem switch, never regretted it, especially since blender got apples support now.

[@rkustanto]

U look buff 💪🏼

[@terryquinalty]

I got a max'd out 16" M1 Max just because my wife said I could.👍😎

[@Techkhamun]

I don’t see a better reason 😂

[@doctorachirty234]

yep.. it is thick 💪🏻

[@joefilter2923]

So if you don’t post “honest” in your titles, then I should assume they’re not?

[@Techkhamun]

Haha 😂 I hope this is a joke 😅🤦‍♂️