M1 MacBook Pro vs M1 Pro MacBook Pro

[jwar1976]

So I have started saving for my new MacBook Pro and I cannot decide on which one to get out of last years M1 or the 14” M1 Pro. My main uses will be.

Lightroom
Photoshop
Sidecar to my 2021 iPad Pro 12.9”
A small amount of video editing (not a regular thing) & Handbrake from time to time
Archiving Vinyl records from my Sony Hi Res Turntable & basic editing like splitting tracks, compressing to different format

I do have a high capacity Synology Nas, so drive space isn’t too much of a issue once work is completed

I would love to be able to archive vinyl onto my iPad, but without extra hardware plugged into it, I cannot see any way of achieving this.

Can anyone here advise, now that the new models are out ?

Many thanks

 

[flapflapflap]

M1 13, 100%. Single-Core performance is almost exactly the same. Last year, “Pros” on YouTube raved about the M1 and admitted to using it as their primary video editing device. The battery life is astounding and completely crushes the over-powered (for most) 14. If you’re considering the 14, you should just pay the extra $200 and get a larger, more immersive screen with better thermals and significantly better battery life. The 14 was poorly designed. There should be an option to trade some power with better battery life. The 14 gets 5-8 hours of mixed use according to some on this forum. That is not acceptable in 2021 and in the new era of Apple Silicon Arm Chips. We need to move forward, not move backwards. Design is one thing but the battery? Imagine buying a product that has design language from 5-7 years ago, uglier, clunky, thicker and heavier than its immediate predecessor for power, yes, but almost 50% of the battery life? The 14 battery is trash.

 

[jwar1976]

M1 13, 100%. Single-Core performance is almost exactly the same. Last year, “Pros” on YouTube raved about the M1 and admitted to using it as their primary video editing device. The battery life is astounding and completely crushes the over-powered (for most) 14. If you’re considering the 14, you should just pay the extra $200 and get a larger, more immersive screen with better thermals and significantly better battery life. The 14 was poorly designed. There should be an option to trade some power with better battery life. The 14 gets 5-8 hours of mixed use according to some on this forum. That is not acceptable in 2021 and in the new era of Apple Silicon Arm Chips. We need to move forward, not move backwards. Design is one thing but the battery? Imagine buying a product that has design language from 5-7 years ago, uglier, clunky, thicker and heavier than its immediate predecessor for power, yes, but almost 50% of the battery life? The 14 battery is trash.

Wow I had heard some rumours that the 14 wasn’t that great but admittedly I hadn’t read through all the threads & posts on it. But from your explanation it does look like the M1 13 is the way to go as battery is essential with editing. It is a shame really and I feel for those that have suffered with problems on the so called more powerful model.

Thank you for the detailed reply

 

[flapflapflap]

Wow I had heard some rumours that the 14 wasn’t that great but admittedly I hadn’t read through all the threads & posts on it. But from your explanation it does look like the M1 13 is the way to go as battery is essential with editing. It is a shame really and I feel for those that have suffered with problems on the so called more powerful model.

Thank you for the detailed reply

It really depends on your use case and your needs. If you need a portable, svelte MBP with decent performance and excellent battery, the M1 13 is for you IMO.

 

[jwar1976]

It really depends on your use case and your needs. If you need a portable, svelte MBP with decent performance and excellent battery, the M1 13 is for you IMO.

Yes portability is very important for me, which is why the M1 Pro 16 was never a contender, as going to and from my partners house the lighter the better is the case. When in the field or on a long train journey after a shoot, I can do the majority of editing on my iPad Pro, but with some things at home a MacBook with full apps is superior as I can say for instance archive my vinyls and then go to my partner’s home and edit them while dog sittin.

 

[haralds]

I have the M1 MacBook Pro from last year with 16GB/2TB. I lust after the new stuff but this is totally fine. Save your money for a good external monitor. I also have a Synology NAS 920+ with a DX517 drive extension cabinet. I use an Eero WiFi 6 Pro for the network. But for large transfers, ethernet 1GB is still a little faster. So I plug in the M1 at times. The NAS is hooked to a managed switch for a bonded connection maximizing throughput if wired and wireless are accessed at the same time, but this is probably overkilled in most use cases.
BTW, I bought the Magic Keyboard Touch for when I am hooked to my monitor and like it.
I should note I use the combo of M1 MacBook Pro and NAS to replace what I did on a Mac Pro!

 

[bill-p]

M1 13, 100%. Single-Core performance is almost exactly the same. Last year, “Pros” on YouTube raved about the M1 and admitted to using it as their primary video editing device. The battery life is astounding and completely crushes the over-powered (for most) 14. If you’re considering the 14, you should just pay the extra $200 and get a larger, more immersive screen with better thermals and significantly better battery life. The 14 was poorly designed. There should be an option to trade some power with better battery life.

Again, I disagree. Please don't state things like this like gospel. This is simply not true.

Can anyone here advise, now that the new models are out ?

If you don't do anything CPU or GPU intensive, stick with last year's M1 Pro or Air. They will give you longer runtime. But note that they have some inherent limitations to external display support and GPU performance that prevents them from doing certain things well.

In my case, I edit a lot of photos and do 3D modeling as well on top of trying to drive an external 5K display. The M1 would choke as soon as I try to push 3D models @ 5K resolution. It makes sense. The thing is just not that powerful.

I have an M1 Pro 14" now and it is... indeed just what I need to be able to do 3D modeling at 5K. I certainly could reduce resolution to what the M1 is comfortable with, but then... what's even the point?

On top of that, the M1 Pro is 2x as fast as M1 at exporting >100 photos, and also 2x as fast at slicing my 3D models for the printer. I also occasionally run audio simulation with 3D spectrum and waterfall graph analysis, and the M1 will choke a lot when it comes to that while the M1 Pro can easily handle it. All of those tasks are more CPU dependent than GPU dependent. The 14" easily does all of that while still easily lasting between 10-12 hours for me. M1 would also only last just that long if I was pushing it that hard.

But during light use, I must admit, the M1 MacBook Pro 13" that I have would easily last around 15 hours or so. It'll easily last even longer than a single work day and longer than my iPad Pro 12.9". Also its performance should be fast enough for most other tasks that don't involve hardcore 3D work.

So again, I think you should get one of last year's model and save your money for something else. But if you can afford the extra $$$, and you want to be able to do all of your tasks pretty much about twice as fast as M1, then go for the 14".

This pretty much sums it up: (note that M1 is slightly faster than the Core i9 but it's not that much faster)

^ there's practically no difference in performance between the 14" and 16" M1 Pro, on that note.

 

[flapflapflap]

Again, I disagree. Please don't state things like this like gospel. This is simply not true.



If you don't do anything CPU or GPU intensive, stick with last year's M1 Pro or Air. They will give you longer runtime. But note that they have some inherent limitations to external display support and GPU performance that prevents them from doing certain things well.

In my case, I edit a lot of photos and do 3D modeling as well on top of trying to drive an external 5K display. The M1 would choke as soon as I try to push 3D models @ 5K resolution. It makes sense. The thing is just not that powerful.

I have an M1 Pro 14" now and it is... indeed just what I need to be able to do 3D modeling at 5K. I certainly could reduce resolution to what the M1 is comfortable with, but then... what's even the point?

On top of that, the M1 Pro is 2x as fast as M1 at exporting >100 photos, and also 2x as fast at slicing my 3D models for the printer. I also occasionally run audio simulation with 3D spectrum and waterfall graph analysis, and the M1 will choke a lot when it comes to that while the M1 Pro can easily handle it. All of those tasks are more CPU dependent than GPU dependent. The 14" easily does all of that while still easily lasting between 10-12 hours for me. M1 would also only last just that long if I was pushing it that hard.

But during light use, I must admit, the M1 MacBook Pro 13" that I have would easily last around 15 hours or so. It'll easily last even longer than a single work day and longer than my iPad Pro 12.9". Also its performance should be fast enough for most other tasks that don't involve hardcore 3D work.

So again, I think you should get one of last year's model and save your money for something else. But if you can afford the extra $$$, and you want to be able to do all of your tasks pretty much about twice as fast as M1, then go for the 14".

This pretty much sums it up: (note that M1 is slightly faster than the Core i9 but it's not that much faster)

It’s true, there are many Pros on YouTube who said they use or intend to use the M1 as their primary video editing device. They were all blown away with the M1 performance and marveled at its battery life.

 

[bill-p]

It’s true, there are many Pros on YouTube who said they use or intend to use the M1 as their primary video editing device. They were all blown away with the M1 performance and marveled at its battery life.

You can go back and take a look at their videos and see how light their workload is on the M1 compared to what they're throwing onto the M1 Pro/Max now.

I'm not going by other people's words, though. Just my own experience. It's clear to me the M1 is a great computer, but it has limitations. Sure, you can certainly use it for casual tasks like browsing the web and watching Youtube videos. It's great for that.

But as soon as you try to push M1 to do 3D modeling or even rendering 4K videos with a lot of effects and adjustments (I do this occasionally, but I mostly just take photos) and the app you're running doesn't start with "Final Cut" and end with "Pro"? It chokes. Heck, it chokes even in Final Cut Pro if I try to do anything too intensive with 4K footage. Here's proof:

^ you really have to drop the resolution of your footage by a half or a quarter in order for M1 to keep up. M1 Pro does not need to do that. It will keep up just fine.

Here's 3D modeling:

Again, M1 is great. I would be happy with my M1 13" Pro as well but... it's just not the monster that people have been singing about. And you can only see this once you have used the thing for these tasks.

Edit:

Even M1 Max chokes at 8K:

So... please don't buy what Youtubers tell you. Ask people what they are actually using and what they are seeing. They will definitely tell you that the M1 benchmarks really well but in real use, it's like... just okay.

 

[ADGrant]

M1 13, 100%. Single-Core performance is almost exactly the same. Last year, “Pros” on YouTube raved about the M1 and admitted to using it as their primary video editing device. The battery life is astounding and completely crushes the over-powered (for most) 14. If you’re considering the 14, you should just pay the extra $200 and get a larger, more immersive screen with better thermals and significantly better battery life. The 14 was poorly designed. There should be an option to trade some power with better battery life. The 14 gets 5-8 hours of mixed use according to some on this forum. That is not acceptable in 2021 and in the new era of Apple Silicon Arm Chips. We need to move forward, not move backwards. Design is one thing but the battery? Imagine buying a product that has design language from 5-7 years ago, uglier, clunky, thicker and heavier than its immediate predecessor for power, yes, but almost 50% of the battery life? The 14 battery is trash.

I disagree 100%. When equipped with the same amount of RAM and size of SSD, the 14" is only $300 more. For that you get 50% more full power cores, 75% more GPU cores, a better port selection, a proper keyboard with real function keys and most import of all, a much better screen.

IMHO, the M1 13" MBP is a waste of money. If your needs are small, just get the base MBA, otherwise the base 14" is a good starting point thought the 16" is better of course. What I wouldn't do is get the 14" with an M1 Max in it.

 

[wilberforce]

I got the base 14" MBP M1 Pro, and have been intensively testing it on Lightroom and PhotoShop. From a performance point-of-view, it is more than sufficient for this purpose.
However, really the number one most important thing for Lightroom and Photoshop is a big high resolution screen, like 24" or 27", 4K at least, i.e., a desktop monitor or iMac.

 

[flapflapflap]

I disagree 100%. When equipped with the same amount of RAM and size of SSD, the 14" is only $300 more. For that you get 50% more full power cores, 75% more GPU cores, a better port selection, a proper keyboard with real function keys and most import of all, a much better screen.

IMHO, the M1 13" MBP is a waste of money. If your needs are small, just get the base MBA, otherwise the base 14" is a good starting point thought the 16" is better of course. What I wouldn't do is get the 14" with an M1 Max in it.

I agree - if your needs are small, get the M1 MBA, but that may not be in consideration by OP. Do not get the 14, get the 16.

 

[throAU]

If you're doing that, go for an M1 Air. It has basically the same performance as the M1 Pro 13 in a marginally smaller form factor, for less money with no touch bar (and no fan to make noise or break).

IMHO the M1 Pro 13" is and always has been an awkward overpriced "half-step" machine relative to the M1 Air (intel machines are a different story), and the massive performance and screen quality step to the new 14" machine just makes that a no brainer vs. the 13" pro if you need more than an Air in my view.

M1 Pro vs. M1 MBA performance difference is just not significant.

 

[jwar1976]

I have the M1 MacBook Pro from last year with 16GB/2TB. I lust after the new stuff but this is totally fine. Save your money for a good external monitor. I also have a Synology NAS 920+ with a DX517 drive extension cabinet. I use an Eero WiFi 6 Pro for the network. But for large transfers, ethernet 1GB is still a little faster. So I plug in the M1 at times. The NAS is hooked to a managed switch for a bonded connection maximizing throughput if wired and wireless are accessed at the same time, but this is probably overkilled in most use cases.
BTW, I bought the Magic Keyboard Touch for when I am hooked to my monitor and like it.
I should note I use the combo of M1 MacBook Pro and NAS to replace what I did on a Mac Pro!

Thank you for that information I will keep it in mind with the network extras.

Again, I disagree. Please don't state things like this like gospel. This is simply not true.



If you don't do anything CPU or GPU intensive, stick with last year's M1 Pro or Air. They will give you longer runtime. But note that they have some inherent limitations to external display support and GPU performance that prevents them from doing certain things well.

In my case, I edit a lot of photos and do 3D modeling as well on top of trying to drive an external 5K display. The M1 would choke as soon as I try to push 3D models @ 5K resolution. It makes sense. The thing is just not that powerful.

I have an M1 Pro 14" now and it is... indeed just what I need to be able to do 3D modeling at 5K. I certainly could reduce resolution to what the M1 is comfortable with, but then... what's even the point?

On top of that, the M1 Pro is 2x as fast as M1 at exporting >100 photos, and also 2x as fast at slicing my 3D models for the printer. I also occasionally run audio simulation with 3D spectrum and waterfall graph analysis, and the M1 will choke a lot when it comes to that while the M1 Pro can easily handle it. All of those tasks are more CPU dependent than GPU dependent. The 14" easily does all of that while still easily lasting between 10-12 hours for me. M1 would also only last just that long if I was pushing it that hard.

But during light use, I must admit, the M1 MacBook Pro 13" that I have would easily last around 15 hours or so. It'll easily last even longer than a single work day and longer than my iPad Pro 12.9". Also its performance should be fast enough for most other tasks that don't involve hardcore 3D work.

So again, I think you should get one of last year's model and save your money for something else. But if you can afford the extra $$$, and you want to be able to do all of your tasks pretty much about twice as fast as M1, then go for the 14".

This pretty much sums it up: (note that M1 is slightly faster than the Core i9 but it's not that much faster)

^ there's practically no difference in performance between the 14" and 16" M1 Pro, on that note.

Thank you for the detailed reply and videos which I will take a look at. In terms of the speed for importing ‘ exporting photos, my previous MacBook Pro was a 2015, so anything after that is a upgrade.

It’s true, there are many Pros on YouTube who said they use or intend to use the M1 as their primary video editing device. They were all blown away with the M1 performance and marveled at its battery life.

I won’t be doing that much video editing on it as mainly do stills photography.

You can go back and take a look at their videos and see how light their workload is on the M1 compared to what they're throwing onto the M1 Pro/Max now.

I'm not going by other people's words, though. Just my own experience. It's clear to me the M1 is a great computer, but it has limitations. Sure, you can certainly use it for casual tasks like browsing the web and watching Youtube videos. It's great for that.

But as soon as you try to push M1 to do 3D modeling or even rendering 4K videos with a lot of effects and adjustments (I do this occasionally, but I mostly just take photos) and the app you're running doesn't start with "Final Cut" and end with "Pro"? It chokes. Heck, it chokes even in Final Cut Pro if I try to do anything too intensive with 4K footage. Here's proof:

^ you really have to drop the resolution of your footage by a half or a quarter in order for M1 to keep up. M1 Pro does not need to do that. It will keep up just fine.

Here's 3D modeling:

Again, M1 is great. I would be happy with my M1 13" Pro as well but... it's just not the monster that people have been singing about. And you can only see this once you have used the thing for these tasks.

Edit:

Even M1 Max chokes at 8K:

So... please don't buy what Youtubers tell you. Ask people what they are actually using and what they are seeing. They will definitely tell you that the M1 benchmarks really well but in real use, it's like... just okay.

As far as the video editing goes, I am a amateur and only put clips together and add music, I haven’t honestly though about anything more intense like special effects. Also 3D rendering is something that I have never thought about doing

I disagree 100%. When equipped with the same amount of RAM and size of SSD, the 14" is only $300 more. For that you get 50% more full power cores, 75% more GPU cores, a better port selection, a proper keyboard with real function keys and most import of all, a much better screen.

IMHO, the M1 13" MBP is a waste of money. If your needs are small, just get the base MBA, otherwise the base 14" is a good starting point thought the 16" is better of course. What I wouldn't do is get the 14" with an M1 Max in it.

I didn’t realise how little extra the 14” was, I will continue to do research

I got the base 14" MBP M1 Pro, and have been intensively testing it on Lightroom and PhotoShop. From a performance point-of-view, it is more than sufficient for this purpose.
However, really the number one most important thing for Lightroom and Photoshop is a big high resolution screen, like 24" or 27", 4K at least, i.e., a desktop monitor or iMac.

I will be eventually be getting a iMac, the MacBook is purely for portability to archive vinyls at mine and then edit them at my partners. Also while the majority of my Photo editing is now done on the iPad via internal storage and creative cloud, only extra editing abilities would be done on the MacBook. I will be investing in a iMac in the future, the only reason I haven’t bought one in the last few years, is because of waiting for the silicon.

I agree - if your needs are small, get the M1 MBA, but that may not be in consideration by OP. Do not get the 14, get the 16.

For ne portability is essential and so the 16” is too big for my needs. I know the touch bar is a Marmite (either love it or hate it) among many users, but must admit I am intrigued by it, which was another reason I was considering the M1.

If you're doing that, go for an M1 Air. It has basically the same performance as the M1 Pro 13 in a marginally smaller form factor, for less money with no touch bar (and no fan to make noise or break).

IMHO the M1 Pro 13" is and always has been an awkward overpriced "half-step" machine relative to the M1 Air (intel machines are a different story), and the massive performance and screen quality step to the new 14" machine just makes that a no brainer vs. the 13" pro if you need more than an Air in my view.

M1 Pro vs. M1 MBA performance difference is just not significant.

Yes I have seen quite a few videos of pros comparing the models side by side.

 

[radow]

I think it comes down to whether you want that mini-LED screen on the MacBook or not.

- M1 and M1 Pro machines will handle all your task just fine IMO. But 16GB RAM is bare minimum for serious work, so make sure go with 16GB on M1 machines.
- 13 inch MacBook Pro only if you really put battery life first. The screen is 100 nits brighter, but really isn’t life-changing. No noticeable performance gain compared to Air model. Battery life is stunning though. I don’t recommend upgrading SSD on this model, since investing on 14 inch Pro model will give you more value.
- M1 MacBook Air is a better choice. Upgrade SSD to 512GB, and it’s still cheaper than 256GB M1 Pro 2020 model. 512GB may also be more generous since you need a relatively big temporary storage.
- for about $300 more than 16GB+512GB M1 Pro 2020, you can go 14 inch base model, and get
> mini-LED display. this display is on par with the iPad Pro 12.9 M1, I actually think this might do some help for your workflow, because HDR photos will be identical on both displays
> SD card slot, so if you do photography no dongle needed
> headphone jack with better high impedance headphone support, might be helpful with Hi-Res music listening
> Video decode engine, great for video editing
> better multi-core performance, but since Photoshop is bad at utilizing multi core this is not that much important.

Overall I would say get the Air (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for value, or 14 inch Pro model(10C/14C M1 Pro model, I don’t see the need to go 16 GPU core) for that display.

 

[jwar1976]

I think it comes down to whether you want that mini-LED screen on the MacBook or not.

- M1 and M1 Pro machines will handle all your task just fine IMO. But 16GB RAM is bare minimum for serious work, so make sure go with 16GB on M1 machines.
- 13 inch MacBook Pro only if you really put battery life first. The screen is 100 nits brighter, but really isn’t life-changing. No noticeable performance gain compared to Air model. Battery life is stunning though. I don’t recommend upgrading SSD on this model, since investing on 14 inch Pro model will give you more value.
- M1 MacBook Air is a better choice. Upgrade SSD to 512GB, and it’s still cheaper than 256GB M1 Pro 2020 model. 512GB may also be more generous since you need a relatively big temporary storage.
- for about $300 more than 16GB+512GB M1 Pro 2020, you can go 14 inch base model, and get
> mini-LED display. this display is on par with the iPad Pro 12.9 M1, I actually think this might do some help for your workflow, because HDR photos will be identical on both displays
> SD card slot, so if you do photography no dongle needed
> headphone jack with better high impedance headphone support, might be helpful with Hi-Res music listening
> Video decode engine, great for video editing
> better multi-core performance, but since Photoshop is bad at utilizing multi core this is not that much important.

Overall I would say get the Air (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for value, or 14 inch Pro model(10C/14C M1 Pro model, I don’t see the need to go 16 GPU core) for that display.

Thank you very much for simplifying it for me, there are advantages with all the models listed above some from a price prospective and other on performance. As far as listening to high res goes, when at home I use my Yamaha Musiccast system which plays DSD & Flac files from a separate Synology NAS, when away from home I use my Sony High Res player for DSD & Flac files, or if on a short journey I listen to Flac files via an app on my iPhone 12 Pro. Very rarely do I listen to my music on a laptop for anything other than testing archived vinyls.

 

[bill-p]

Thank you for the detailed reply and videos which I will take a look at. In terms of the speed for importing ‘ exporting photos, my previous MacBook Pro was a 2015, so anything after that is a upgrade.

I won’t be doing that much video editing on it as mainly do stills photography.

As far as the video editing goes, I am a amateur and only put clips together and add music, I haven’t honestly though about anything more intense like special effects. Also 3D rendering is something that I have never thought about doing

Yeah, then just go for the MacBook Air. There's not much more the 14" can offer that will be beneficial to you IMO. It's mostly just quality of life changes. The 14" is really only necessary if you know you need the extra graphics horsepower and/or the extra processing power.

 

[UltimateSyn]

You get excellent battery life with the 14". Not as great as the 13", but still excellent. And so many other additional features and advantages in basically every other aspect of the machine. Well worth the $300 premium.

 

[jwar1976]

Yeah, then just go for the MacBook Air. There's not much more the 14" can offer that will be beneficial to you IMO. It's mostly just quality of life changes. The 14" is really only necessary if you know you need the extra graphics horsepower and/or the extra processing power.

You get excellent battery life with the 14". Not as great as the 13", but still excellent. And so many other additional features and advantages in basically every other aspect of the machine. Well worth the $300 premium.

Thanks for the replies, I am going to give it sone serious thought. Thankfully I have some time to save up, now that winter is almost here, shoots are dropping dramatically so have plenty of time to do more research and decide.

 

[flapflapflap]

I recommend the Air or 13 MBP. The 14 has thermal issues and is trash in battery compared to the 13 MBP.

 

[jwar1976]

I recommend the Air or 13 MBP. The 14 has thermal issues and is trash in battery compared to the 13 MBP.

I will be doing some research on these issues on the 14”. But as I will be getting a iMac in the future, I will more than likely just looking for something that can do what I need it to.