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M1 Pro, M1 Max MBP owners are you going to M4?

Was going to sell my MBP16 (upgraded M1 Max, 64GB, 1TB) and go for a M4 Pro Mac Mini considering the laptop never leaves my desk - I have a M3 MBA for portable use already.
But decided to hold and go for a M4 Max Studio when it's released instead......
 
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I did trade in my 16" M1 Maxbook for a 14" M4 Probook, but I did it largely because I wanted the smaller screen/overall computer size, not because of anything else "wrong" with the M1 Max, which is honestly still crushing any task I've thrown at with the fans rarely even spinning up, it including some games (every one of which made my i9 MBP's fans spin at full speed). Future-proofing for what I expect will be quite a while longer (amped for TB5 to propagate) was a nice benefit for sure, but man I was getting sick of the 16" because when I need it for remote work I'm often cramped for space or the screen gets in the way.

I could have gone the used route but it's still a pretty good chunk of change for an M1 Maxbook these days with enough RAM/SSD to be worth my while. With Apple Card installments, about $160/mo after trading in the M1 Max for $1100 seemed pretty ok to me.
 
heretiq said:
I love my 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro — it is perfect in every way except 1: It’s too damn bulky and heavy. I‘m waiting for a MacBook Air that matches the performance of the M1 Max 32 Core GPU. It looks like the M4 Pro might come close; but unfortunately the Air does not [currently] have a Pro CPU option. Hoping that Spring 2025 presents new options.
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the weight didn't really bother me about the 16", but rather the size. it's huge! it gets in the way all the time when I'm doing remote audio work.
 
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mctape said:
the weight didn't really bother me about the 16", but rather the size. it's huge! it gets in the way all the time when I'm doing remote audio work.
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Understand.
mctape said:
the weight didn't really bother me about the 16", but rather the size. it's huge! it gets in the way all the time when I'm doing remote audio work.
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Understood — it’s not prohibitively heavy; but I notice the weight most when walking through airports with it slung over one shoulder. I’m in the uncanny zone with the bulk and weight: traveling frequently enough to wish it was a svelte laptop, but not enough for it to be a deal breaker.
 
mctape said:
the weight didn't really bother me about the 16", but rather the size. it's huge! it gets in the way all the time when I'm doing remote audio work.
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I paired my M1 Pro 14" MBP with a iPad Pro M4 13". Now I have a separate iPad I can use and dual screen solution when I need serious work done. Maybe it is a bit of an overkill but it works perfectly for me.

The only thing I can still wish for is to upgrade my MBP M1 to MBP M4 (14"). Then I am fully covered :)
 
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mctape said:
I did trade in my 16" M1 Maxbook for a 14" M4 Probook, but I did it largely because I wanted the smaller screen/overall computer size, not because of anything else "wrong" with the M1 Max, which is honestly still crushing any task I've thrown at with the fans rarely even spinning up, it including some games (every one of which made my i9 MBP's fans spin at full speed). Future-proofing for what I expect will be quite a while longer (amped for TB5 to propagate) was a nice benefit for sure, but man I was getting sick of the 16" because when I need it for remote work I'm often cramped for space or the screen gets in the way.

I could have gone the used route but it's still a pretty good chunk of change for an M1 Maxbook these days with enough RAM/SSD to be worth my while. With Apple Card installments, about $160/mo after trading in the M1 Max for $1100 seemed pretty ok to me.
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The 16" really heavy and chunk.
 
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I was going to wait for the M5 Max since I have a MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16 with 32 GB, but I decided to upgrade now since it will most definitely cost more in the future with the threats of tariffs, meaning that M5 Max with 64 GB for probably $6560 or more. The MacBook Pro is the one I use the most, although it’s docked most of the time.

The one I got is the full M4 Max with 64 GB, which is very expensive as Apple forces a upgrade on the SoC too, but given that I’m using the GPU more for image upscaling and things that use the GPU, it may be worth it and it can easily last me for 5-6 years. The M1 Pro would take a lot longer to do these tasks while the M4 Max cuts the time to complete these tasks by a lot.

the M1 Max Studio won’t get updated anytime soon since I only use that system infrequently, probably two times a week or when I need to run desktop apps when I’m on my iPad Pro, I can just remote into it as it’s on 24/7.
 
Was thinking about switching to M4 Pro 16 inch, but to be honest, the M1 Pro is a very solid machine. I've had it for 3 years. I have 246 battery cycles, 92% health. When I found out I can get the battery replaced and the top case for $250 at Apple vs going the self service route at approximately $600 I'm more convinced to wait it out. Thoughts?
 
golfnut1982 said:
Was thinking about switching to M4 Pro 16 inch, but to be honest, the M1 Pro is a very solid machine. I've had it for 3 years. I have 246 battery cycles, 92% health. When I found out I can get the battery replaced and the top case for $250 at Apple vs going the self service route at approximately $600 I'm more convinced to wait it out. Thoughts?
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How did you get the $250 quote from Apple? My understanding was that they only replace batteries when the health is below 80%. Or is it that they will replace above 80% but for a charge?
 
I only bought my M1 Pro 12 months ago, so the battery life is still great (99% health) and I couldn't see any reason to pay the extra for the M2 or M3.

I feel pretty much the same for the M4 lineup, the M1 Pro is still a very capable machine over my old i9 MBP and can't see myself upgrading anytime soon, for my use case.
 
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stu.h said:
I only bought my M1 Pro 12 months ago, so the battery life is still great (99% health) and I couldn't see any reason to pay the extra for the M2 or M3.

I feel pretty much the same for the M4 lineup, the M1 Pro is still a very capable machine over my old i9 MBP and can't see myself upgrading anytime soon, for my use case.
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Indeed. If one configures a new Mac laptop well it should last for 5 years or longer.
 
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Kylo83 said:
Anyone with m1 shouldn’t go to m4 it’s not worth it, for better benchmarks that don’t translate to real world. 99% of people will be able to do everything on the M1 Max so what if you save 30 second export time
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Sorry but although your observation is correct for some [including me], the number is nothing like 99% of people. The M4 will give noticeable hardware assist to apps like 3D, Blender, games, etc. Folks using those kinds of apps may see huge performance improvement with M4s with enough RAM on board. Also many of the folks who put minimal RAM in their M1s will be feeling the sluggishness by now.

Note too that lesser performance is not about "save 30 second export time" despite the many silly clickbait UTube videos that are posted. Export times [easy to measure and sensationalize comparisons] are not as important as UTube wants them to be. Content creators experience performance sluggishness in seconds or milliseconds. A brief delay such as waiting to see the impact of a blur, a color change, or whatever interrupts the flow of creative thought, decreasing creative productivity. A few delays are SOP, but at some point they become significantly intrusive, and better hardware [often with more RAM] becomes cost effective.
 
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Alphazoid said:
Have an M1 Max. Was happy to sit tight. But i'm now thinking i won't get a better trade-in value than now. I'm someone who likes to trade in old stuff to offset cost and maybe with preventing e-waste.
Also now that Trump is elected i'm wary of tariffs and future cost of Apple products

If i trade in my M1 Max now its worth ~ £1100. With education discount i can get a 14" M4 Pro/48GB/1TB or base binned M4 Max/36GB/1TB for ~£1310 or ~£1710 respectively
I'm leaning towards the M4 Pro with more RAM but part of me wonders if i should just spring for the M4 Max, Don't need the encoders but for gaming.

I'm especially irritated with the RAM/storage pricing this year. If i could get M4 Pro with 36GB RAM i'd be all set. I hate that i have to spend ~400 quid for a RAM upgrade which is why i'm considering the Max

But by buying the Max i'm basically playing into Apple's hands. And i'm worried about thermals in the 14" chassis.

Unfortunately 24GB isn't enough for me anymore. Arrrgh.:eek:
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Buy the additional RAM. And do not be "worried about thermals in the 14" chassis." MBPs deal with heat very well.
 
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