MacBook Pro 14 Inch - Base Model Impressions

[EEzycade]

Config: Base MBP 14-inch (512 SSD, 16gb RAM, M1 Pro)

Like many of you, I was anxiously awaiting the new 14-inch MBP with Apple silicon. And like many of you, I was a bit grumpy at the price tag of the base model. But I decided to pull the trigger on the base model, ordered it, and picked it up on the same day. First I'll detail the reasons I decided to buy. Background: I am a web developer.

1. Figured 16gb of RAM is always helpful.
2. Need a reliable keyboard, it would hurt my workflow to have my old butterfly keyboard fail and have to replace/repair suddenly.
3. 512gb SSD is more than my old 256gb.
4. And of course some arguably (to me) less important reasons. These include: the speakers, bigger and better screen, the design, function row, etc.

Now on to the impressions after a week or so of ownership:

1. Screen. Wow! Brighter, deeper blacks. Looks great. As for the notch, it's practically disappeared.
2. Speakers. Impressive, better than my 2018 MBP 13-inch.
3. Battery. Gets the job done. I'd say a bit better than I expected. But nothing out of this world.
4. Keyboard. No complaints. I like the feel and the additional travel. Plus I'm more confident in it, and not afraid it will become unusable.
5. Trackpad. Huge. Great.
6. Performance. Definitely snappier than my old MBP. Haven't heard the fans once. More than enough for me.
7. Design. Initially wasn't a fan. But after looking at it on Apple's site and in many reviews, and now having it at home, it is a beautiful machine. Love the rounded bottom and flat-ish top. The "MacBook Pro" engraved on the bottom is also cool.

Overall:

This is a great machine. The upgrades over the previous gen are too many to name. It is also an expensive machine. Even with the student discount I ended up paying $2400 (Apple Care+ included). However, I have not had a shred of buyer's remorse and am loving my new laptop. While steep, the price tag is justified for me because of my needs and the quality of the machine. It won't be worth it for everyone. If you're planning on light use (Office, web browsing, etc) I'd look at the 13-inch M1 version. But if you're planning on some heavier use, or if you're a light user with cash to spend, then you won't go wrong with the base model 14-inch.

Thanks for reading this long-ish post about my experience. Proud to be a part of MacRumors.

 

[Quackers]

Like you I thought it was expensive.
However, about 8 months ago I (eventually) took delivery of my M1 Air. With the 8 cores, 16GB ram and 512GB storage upgrades I paid £1449.
Now don't get me wrong, the M1 MBA is absolutely perfect for me and my "workload" such as it is but I got to thinking about the price of the base 14".
It's the same specs as mine with regard to ram and storage and it costs £450 more.
On the plus side are all the other upgrades - screen, screen size, CPU and graphics to mention a few.
So all in all I don't think it's actually as expensive as I originally thought.

I still think it looks a bit boxy - a bit yesteryear - but it's got more bits to fit in there so that's just life.
I still want one but not for a while and I need to see the 16" in person before I make my final decision.

I won't be trading mine in with Apple for their paltry trade-in offer of £520 (originally) which has now dropped to £440!!!!
Are they joking? I'd rather keep it than give it them.

 

[jabbr]

as a web developer did you consider going for 32GB? do you run many containers / docker?
I've picked 16GB and it's working well so far, but plan on upgrading in 2-3 years when AS is at 3nm.