Is the baseline MacBook Pro 14-inch worth the investment? Is the M1 Pro chip really better than its previous Intel chip? How is battery life and fan noise? Is it that heavy? Does it have a better screen? And the elephant in the room, how is the screen notch?
Long story short: It's worth it, if you can justify the investment. And just to make things easier, yes, I am in an Apple ecosystem with the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, etc. This leads to my first criteria, why I think it's worth it and why it might be for you too.
First, the ecosystem. This MacBook easily connects with my iPhone to enable a personal hotspot whenever I want; I can take calls directly from my laptop or easily AirDrop files between devices. The iPad turns into a secondary display. My favourite feature of the ecosystem is the auto-switching AirPods that eliminate that need for syncing and re-syncing between devices. The downside is, of course, the cost. These experiences cost more than 140,000 baht, and that's a lot.
Next on the list of pros is speed. It's super fast compared to my 2015 MacBook Pro and faster, in some tasks, than my Ryzen 5 desktop PC. In fairness, Microsoft Windows is designed to operate in any specification -- CPU, RAM, GPU, storage. Hence, it's quite difficult to customise the software to draw on its full potential.
With Apple's own M1 Pro chip designed specifically for Mac, the optimisation is amazing. It was snappy when I launched apps, browsed through multiple Chrome tabs, typed this review, and more. It's also powerful, easily handling productivity apps like Final Cut Pro, skimming and playing through videos without losing frame-rate. Export time is shortened by more than half.
The downside is the compatibility confusion. While Apple M1-optimised apps run great, it still requires time and patience until the codes compiled for Intel chip apps are converted or re-written. The good news is most apps to date (December 2021) have been converted to universal (both Intel and Apple silicon) and the numbers are increasing. Some apps and plug-ins aren't yet fully supported. Prediction: all will be fully supported within 2022. So don't worry too much about it.
As for battery life and fan noise, I got around 10 hours of usage per charge which is OK for general use. I did some web browsing and video editing in Final Cut Pro, listened to Spotify, and made a few Zoom calls, which is pretty typical daily usage. The best part is, fan noise is virtually non-existent, even though it has an active cooling fan to reduce heat. It quietly kicked in when I exported video. Other than that, it was hard to notice it. This is an excellent upgrade from the Intel-based MacBooks.
As for the infamous screen notch. Before I dive into it, let me say the screen has increased from 13.3 inches to 14.2. It's still a non-touchscreen display, which Apple perhaps wants reserved for the iPad. It uses mini LED technology to create a darker black and brighter white screen for viewing HDR content, which once seen, looks as good as it is advertised. My biggest fear remains repair costs.
But yes, the screen has a notch and if you look at it you will notice it. However, as with the iPhone X and later designs, you will get used to it very easily since most of the things we do are mostly in the centre of the screen. I don't like it, but didn't hate either. There is also an issue with the menu bar for some apps not optimised for the notched MacBooks. They hide behind the notch.
The ports and MagSafe are back, which means less dongle to carry around. You can also charge the MacBook Pro with the bundled MagSafe cable or via USB-C cable. One less problem if you forget to pack all the accessories. It now supports Fast Charge as well.
So, is it worth it? For me, I think it is. Here are my reasons. I want to stay in the Apple ecosystem. My intention is to use it as long as I can (five years-plus), which disqualifies the MacBook Air with no active cooling fan. And I am not fond of the touch bar on the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro Baseline has amazing performance, even overkill for most daily tasks, and the screen is gorgeous. So if you're looking for a powerful Mac laptop with a great screen or you're a creative professional with a complex workflow (4K or 8K video editing), you should consider the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
If you're not in the Apple eco-system and want the MacBook, I suggest you research software compatability. Currently, users can't run Windows or Windows apps natively -- unlike previous Intel models via Boot Camp -- which limits usage for some. Take a serious look at your workflow before deciding.
To summarise, it's an amazing laptop and a workhorse for heavy users. But due to its high price tag, it's difficult to recommend to general users. Alternatively, the M1 MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro would be enough.
SPEC
- Apple M1 Pro chip with 8‑core CPU, 14‑core GPU and 16‑core Neural Engine
- 16GB unified memory
- 512GB SSD storage
- 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
- Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
