You surely haven't missed it: presented in October 2021, Apple's 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro M1s caused a sensation thanks to the announced power of their new Apple Silicon chips and some notable aesthetic attributes (controversial?) like that notch at the top of the screen. At the start of 2022, Masculin wanted to come back to these two heavyweights on the market and the elements that really justify their length ahead of the competition.
A timeless design
We do not hide from you that when the MBP 14 and 16 arrived at the editorial office, the feeling was a little mixed: “wait, they recycled the case of the MBP 2006 (unibody) or what? ". It is true that Apple had accustomed us for a decade to very slender frames but chose to return to a more square silhouette which, subjectively, is a little brick.
Obviously, the measurements of the two machines, respectively 1.55 and 1.68 cm thick, prove the opposite. Denser yes (1.6 kg and 2.1 kg), the two laptops remain very successful from a design point of view, reusing all the codes lent to MacBooks for years: solid aluminum chassis not subject to fingerprints, two colors (space gray and silver) and clean lines.
The two laptops remain very successful from a design point of view
Inside, we notice the black background of the keyboard, a rather questionable choice in terms of style which also tends to mark fingerprints. Here, we welcome the abandonment of the Touch Bar and the return to traditional function keys, but also and always the excellent precision of the keys and the trackpad, which is particularly wide.
The more observant will have noticed the arrival of Touch ID to unlock their session but also to use Apple Pay on certain sites
MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16: a top notch screen
To say that the notch (or notch) of the latest MacBook Pro 2021 has caused a lot of ink to flow sounds like a mild understatement. Unsightly or useless for some, invisible for others, this small black mark at the top of the screen did not receive the same welcome from the editorial staff of Masculin.
After the surprise, a little skepticism and a few purely functional questions, we very quickly forgot this aesthetic artifice to let ourselves go and admire the screen.
Apple always offers the best screen on a laptop PC.
There is no need to procrastinate, Apple always offers the best screen on a laptop PC. The Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED panel is particularly bright (supplement to 1000 nits) allowing HDR content to be displayed and the adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz offers more responsiveness – visible in scrolling in particular – while saving the battery. The colors, the details, the brightness, everything is there to improve the navigation experience and to achieve unanimity.
Silence, temperatures and autonomy, no more nuisances?
One of the advantages, if not THE most decisive in our eyes on these MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16, is their operating silence, even more amazing on the 16 inch. There are many fans inside, but in use, it is very difficult to hear them, to the point of being amazing for those who are used to old MacBooks (Pro) and other portable PCs (gamers) less efficient in comparison.
Imagine exporting several videos in Davinci Resolve (or Final Cut Pro) in a row and being able to continue a conversation without raising your voice...
This is already explained by the efficiency of the cooling system but above all by the very particular efficiency of the Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max chips which, thanks to their SoC architecture and multiple technical optimizations, heat up very little.
Another point that joins the efficiency of Apple Silicon chips, autonomy. Here again, Apple has been hitting hard since the release of its MacBook Air M1. The latest MacBook Pros are armed with a good capacity battery (70 Wh on the 14″ and 100 Wh on the 16″), ensuring them respectively 17 hours and 21 hours of video playback endurance. More speaking, the 16 inch is capable of holding a good 8 hours in video/photo editing. Amazing.
An expanding connection
Last material point that characterizes these MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16, the connectors. After its minimalist turn to the extreme adopted for several generations, it is reconciled with legendary ports such as the HDMI 2.0 output or the SDXC card reader, to which are added three Thunderbolt 4 ports as well as a MagSafe charging port. In addition to its practical aspect, the latter is the only way to take advantage of fast charging (0-50% in about 30 min).
Important to know, the two laptops now support several external screens: two with the M1 Pro chip and four with the M1 Max, and the jack will automatically adjust the power it delivers according to the impedance of the headphones. or speakers connected to it, a real benefit for enjoying a more dynamic and richer sound.
MacBook Pro 14 or 16 inches with M1 Max or M1 Pro, which one to choose?
After several months spent with these MacBook Pro M1s, it's hard not to be seduced. For all the reasons mentioned above, these ultrabooks are and will remain for 2022 the most successful and versatile laptops on the market.
Are you also convinced? Then comes the thorny moment of choosing your model and configuration, and that's where things get tough. Indeed, behind the apparent simplicity of the range there is a plethora of possibilities.
No less than 10 configurations are available inside the MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16: 8 or 10 cores for the CPU and 16, 24 or 32 cores for the GPU. In addition, depending on the M1 chip chosen, you can configure 16, 32 or 64 GB of unified RAM.
To try to make it simple, we recommend this:
The choice between 14 and 16 inches is mainly in the format of the screen and the general size. The fact that you can connect twice as many external screens can also weigh in the balance for the 16, as well as the extra autonomy and the small gain in performance.
Time is money, so capitalize on the fastest solution.
As for deciding between the M1 Pro and the M1 Max, tell yourself that the M1 Pro will be able to support absolutely all your work in a very short time, but that the M1 Max drives the point home in the field of video thanks to a additional encoding and offers twice the memory bandwidth of the M1 Pro. Therefore, if your daily life rhymes with hours spent in Final Cut Pro or Davinci Resolve, the M1 Max may be justified.
Finally, do not make RAM a determining criterion, even if you regularly work on photos and videos. In any case and for years to come, 32 GB will be more than enough for the majority of users.
Configure your MacBook Pro 14 / 16 M1A new era for MacBook Pros
Apple created a surprise last year with the MacBook Air M1, thereby arousing high expectations from more demanding users wishing to have more power. This is done with the new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Something to delight image professionals, whether photographers or videographers (Youtuber) but also all those waiting for a revised design.
As a bonus, these new MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 can boast of adopting the slogan of a famous tire brand “without control, power is nothing”. Chassis, screen, connectors, keyboard, autonomy, silence, there is no doubt that Apple demonstrates with its MacBook Pro 2021 a good mastery of what a laptop should be. So of course, they will (always) not be unanimous, but users ready to take the plunge will not regret it.
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 - M1 Pro 10c-16c / 16GB / 512GB
Best prices
These prices were updated on 01/29/2022 by All4affiliates. They are listed in ascending order and excluding delivery costs. Only the prices displayed at the merchants are authentic.Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 - M1 Pro 10c-16c / 16GB / 1TB
Best prices
These prices were updated on 01/29/2022 by All4affiliates. They are listed in ascending order and excluding delivery costs. Only the prices displayed at the merchants are authentic.Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 - M1 Max 10c-32c / 32GB / 1TB
Best prices
These prices were updated on 01/29/2022 by All4affiliates. They are listed in ascending order and excluding delivery costs. Only the prices displayed at the merchants are authentic.Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 - M1 Pro 8c-14c / 16GB / 512GB
Best prices
These prices were updated on 01/29/2022 by All4affiliates. They are listed in ascending order and excluding delivery costs. Only the prices displayed at the merchants are authentic.Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 - M1 Pro 10c-16c / 16GB / 1TB
Best prices
These prices were updated on 01/29/2022 by All4affiliates. They are listed in ascending order and excluding delivery costs. Only the prices displayed at the merchants are authentic.Subscribe to the Men's Newsletter
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