At this point you’ve seen or read lots of reviews and rather than do the exact same review everyone else is doing (95% of them are all doing the same benchmarks and tests) I wanted to add my thoughts into the mix. Who am I? I’m a computer technician who is also a professional photographer/videographer. I can build myself any windows desktop computer that I want but since 2016 I've chosen to use a Mac for both personal and business. I had a fully loaded 2016 MacBook Pro 15 inch model (2.9GHz/16GB/2TB/460 4GB) and I just recently upgraded to a 16 inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16GB/1TB.
The Body: I'm really not sure why Apple decided to make this laptop physically bigger in every way especially when the new CPUs run so cool and are so energy efficient it really seems like a step backwards. I’m confident the cooler in the previous 16” model would have been more than enough to cool the M1 cpus. I believe Apple wanted to future proof the design so if the M2 or M3 chips run hotter the larger body/cooler can accommodate them without the crazy throttling we saw with the Intel chips. I really loved the previous design both aesthetically and I miss the Touch Bar, yes I said it I missed the Touch Bar. Being a professional videographer and photographer I haven't used an SD card in 2 1/2 years now. Why Apple would put a SD card slot and not a CF Express slot in Pro product is ridiculous. At least give us both, the huge case can surely accommodate it. It just seems odd to me, and then they add a HDMI port? Really? I’ve been using a USBC to HDMI cable for years and I love it. I wish they gave us 4 thunderbolt ports like before. The track pad and keyboard are both amazing. The keyboard is definitely the major upgrade here, except I don’t like the black background at all. I've gotten used to it but I prefer the previous design because the contrast made the key separation excellent. Touch ID works amazing and feels faster than before.
Sound: It’s the best sound system I’ve ever heard in a laptop, period. I think it sounds better than most cheap speakers. The bass is fantastic along with the sound stage. They sound better than my 2016 model by a big margin. I also compared it to the built in speakers in my Samsung TV and they sound equally as good. Basically you can fill a room with sound and there’s not distortion at full volume. I wonder how it compares to a single home pod mini.
Display: The catch 22 of the entire product. The screen is excellent in every way except the lag times are beyond awful. Fortunately is doesn’t affect me all that much so I can live with it, but I can’t believe my 2016 model is better in this regard. I don’t mind the notch because so far it hasn’t gotten in the way of any of my professional or personal work. I don’t even notice it, unless I look for it. Compared to my 2016 model the screen is super bright and I have to use a lower brightness on Apple’s scale so I can edit my images the way others will see them. I don’t notice a difference with promotion compared to my 2016 model. As of now it’s just marketing, compared to my iPhone 13 Pro I could tell the difference the second I used it. I hope Apple can work some software magic and fix the display lag.
CPU/GPU/SSD: What can add that hasn’t already been said? This is the fastest, coldest, computer I ever used. My 2016 model run loud and hot in final cut pro, add a few advanced edits and the program wasn’t usable. It was sooo slow. It actually made me not want to shoot 4K video because I dreaded having it edit it. Now it’s super fast and I haven’t had any slow downs or issues. I’m looking forward to shoot a major project in Jan to see how it handles it. Photoshop run likes a dream, instant response. Before it would pause a lot, and I would have to wait for it to complete tasks, now its done before I can even react to the next thing. Adobe bridge runs great, except it’s a battery hog. I suspect because it’s running rosetta 2, rather than a native M1 code. Even web browsing feels completely different than my 2016 machine, At least twice as fast except the scrolling was smoother and less choppy on my older machine due to the display lag. The SSD is obviously super fast and matches the fastest windows desktop and you can feel it. I’ve never heard the fans once since I bought it in November. If I got close to my 2016 model I could hear the coil whine and at times in a quiet room it was really annoying. This laptop has no electrical noise (coil whine) which is really nice. I suspect Apple upgraded the motherboards to fix this or since the new laptop uses such little energy it’s so faint the human ear can’t hear it.
Battery: Battery life is excellent but you can’t use final cut, or adobe bridge for more than 4-5 hours max. I don’t want people to think you’ll get 21 hours of heavy use. Programs that use both the CPU and GPU really can drain it fast. I don’t remember exactly how many hours 2016 lasted when it was new under the same conditions because it’s been so long and the battery in my 2016 model was dying. I believe it was around 2-2.5 hours on heavy final cut editing or bridge use. When not using the laptop under full load it can last days, especially if you lower the brightness. Turning on low power mode adds even additional time and you can’t feel the difference in simple tasks. The 16” model is the way to go if you want the best battery life paired with a M1 Pro chip. It’s been 1 hour since I unplugged it at 75% charge and it’s still at 75%. This is while writing this review and playing apple music. WOW.
Defects/Issues: I have none here to report which is good news. Apple fixed the charging with the lid close while the unit is off issue. When I got it, it looked like it was scratched out of the box in multiple areas and I almost panicked. Fortunately they weren’t scratches and came out with some clean screen solution and a microfiber cloth. I think the hard packaging and that film leave marks from shipping. They come right out, so before you return it, try to clean them off. You can use alcohol if you don’t have clean screen solution. No memory leak or display discoloration issues.
No product is perfect but overall I love the laptop and I’m glad I traded in me old model rather than replacing the battery. I’m not one of those people who gives something a skewed review because I own it and think it’s the best thing ever made. But right now when it comes to laptops I believe this is the best one of the market period. The only major grip for me is the display lag that I hope Apple can use the magic of software to make it better.
The Body: I'm really not sure why Apple decided to make this laptop physically bigger in every way especially when the new CPUs run so cool and are so energy efficient it really seems like a step backwards. I’m confident the cooler in the previous 16” model would have been more than enough to cool the M1 cpus. I believe Apple wanted to future proof the design so if the M2 or M3 chips run hotter the larger body/cooler can accommodate them without the crazy throttling we saw with the Intel chips. I really loved the previous design both aesthetically and I miss the Touch Bar, yes I said it I missed the Touch Bar. Being a professional videographer and photographer I haven't used an SD card in 2 1/2 years now. Why Apple would put a SD card slot and not a CF Express slot in Pro product is ridiculous. At least give us both, the huge case can surely accommodate it. It just seems odd to me, and then they add a HDMI port? Really? I’ve been using a USBC to HDMI cable for years and I love it. I wish they gave us 4 thunderbolt ports like before. The track pad and keyboard are both amazing. The keyboard is definitely the major upgrade here, except I don’t like the black background at all. I've gotten used to it but I prefer the previous design because the contrast made the key separation excellent. Touch ID works amazing and feels faster than before.
Sound: It’s the best sound system I’ve ever heard in a laptop, period. I think it sounds better than most cheap speakers. The bass is fantastic along with the sound stage. They sound better than my 2016 model by a big margin. I also compared it to the built in speakers in my Samsung TV and they sound equally as good. Basically you can fill a room with sound and there’s not distortion at full volume. I wonder how it compares to a single home pod mini.
Display: The catch 22 of the entire product. The screen is excellent in every way except the lag times are beyond awful. Fortunately is doesn’t affect me all that much so I can live with it, but I can’t believe my 2016 model is better in this regard. I don’t mind the notch because so far it hasn’t gotten in the way of any of my professional or personal work. I don’t even notice it, unless I look for it. Compared to my 2016 model the screen is super bright and I have to use a lower brightness on Apple’s scale so I can edit my images the way others will see them. I don’t notice a difference with promotion compared to my 2016 model. As of now it’s just marketing, compared to my iPhone 13 Pro I could tell the difference the second I used it. I hope Apple can work some software magic and fix the display lag.
CPU/GPU/SSD: What can add that hasn’t already been said? This is the fastest, coldest, computer I ever used. My 2016 model run loud and hot in final cut pro, add a few advanced edits and the program wasn’t usable. It was sooo slow. It actually made me not want to shoot 4K video because I dreaded having it edit it. Now it’s super fast and I haven’t had any slow downs or issues. I’m looking forward to shoot a major project in Jan to see how it handles it. Photoshop run likes a dream, instant response. Before it would pause a lot, and I would have to wait for it to complete tasks, now its done before I can even react to the next thing. Adobe bridge runs great, except it’s a battery hog. I suspect because it’s running rosetta 2, rather than a native M1 code. Even web browsing feels completely different than my 2016 machine, At least twice as fast except the scrolling was smoother and less choppy on my older machine due to the display lag. The SSD is obviously super fast and matches the fastest windows desktop and you can feel it. I’ve never heard the fans once since I bought it in November. If I got close to my 2016 model I could hear the coil whine and at times in a quiet room it was really annoying. This laptop has no electrical noise (coil whine) which is really nice. I suspect Apple upgraded the motherboards to fix this or since the new laptop uses such little energy it’s so faint the human ear can’t hear it.
Battery: Battery life is excellent but you can’t use final cut, or adobe bridge for more than 4-5 hours max. I don’t want people to think you’ll get 21 hours of heavy use. Programs that use both the CPU and GPU really can drain it fast. I don’t remember exactly how many hours 2016 lasted when it was new under the same conditions because it’s been so long and the battery in my 2016 model was dying. I believe it was around 2-2.5 hours on heavy final cut editing or bridge use. When not using the laptop under full load it can last days, especially if you lower the brightness. Turning on low power mode adds even additional time and you can’t feel the difference in simple tasks. The 16” model is the way to go if you want the best battery life paired with a M1 Pro chip. It’s been 1 hour since I unplugged it at 75% charge and it’s still at 75%. This is while writing this review and playing apple music. WOW.
Defects/Issues: I have none here to report which is good news. Apple fixed the charging with the lid close while the unit is off issue. When I got it, it looked like it was scratched out of the box in multiple areas and I almost panicked. Fortunately they weren’t scratches and came out with some clean screen solution and a microfiber cloth. I think the hard packaging and that film leave marks from shipping. They come right out, so before you return it, try to clean them off. You can use alcohol if you don’t have clean screen solution. No memory leak or display discoloration issues.
No product is perfect but overall I love the laptop and I’m glad I traded in me old model rather than replacing the battery. I’m not one of those people who gives something a skewed review because I own it and think it’s the best thing ever made. But right now when it comes to laptops I believe this is the best one of the market period. The only major grip for me is the display lag that I hope Apple can use the magic of software to make it better.
