M1 MacBook Pro Air and Mac mini impressed loyal fans in 2020 and now the next-level Pro notebooks are here, the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. That means RAM up to 64GB, CPUs with up to 10-cores, GPUs with up to 32-cores, a 1080p webcam, Liquid Retina XDR Display with mini-LED backlighting, updated I/O array with HDMI, SD, and MagSafe returning etc...
14 and 16″ MacBook Pro vs earlier MacBooks – Hardware comparison
13″ MacBook Pro (2020) 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019) Processor M1 – 8-coreM1 Pro or M1 Max – 8 or 10-coreM1 Pro or M1 Max – 10-coreUp to Intel Core i9 – 8-core Storage Up to 2TBUp to 8TBUp to 8TBUp to 8TB RAM 8 or 16GB16 to 64GB16 to 64GB16 to 64GB Graphics 8-coreUp to 32-coreUp to 32-coreUp to AMD Radeon Pro 5600MNeural engine16-core16-core16-core FaceTime camera 720p1080p1080p720p Speakers Stereo speakers with high dynamic range6-speaker high-fidelity6-speaker high-fidelity6-speaker high-fidelity Mics Studio-quality 3-mic arrayStudio-quality 3-mic arrayStudio-quality 3-mic arrayStudio-quality 3-mic array
Apple says the M1 Pro offers 70% faster performance than the M1 and 2x faster GPU performance than the M1. And the M1 Pro has 200GB/s memory bandwidth. Also, the M1 Max offers 4x faster GPU performance than the M1 and comes with an incredible 400GB/s memory bandwidth. Both the M1 Pro and M1 Max feature up to 10-core CPUs made up of 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores (base model 14-inch with M1 Pro has an 8-core CPU). Both the M1 Pro and M1 Max feature media engines to offer hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW support. But that’s supercharged with the M1 Max with double the ProRes encode and decode engines and double the video encode engines.
New MacBook Pro vs old – Display comparison
The new MacBook Pro notebooks has Liquid Retina XDR Display. It features double the sustained brightness via mini-LED backlighting, ProMotion with up to 120Hz refresh rates, and an increased resolution/pixel per inch density, and greatly reduced bezels.
13″ MacBook Pro (2020) 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019) Actual screen size13.3″14.2″16.2″16″Resolution 2560 x 16003024 x 19643456 x 22343072 x 1920Aspect Ratio16:1016:10 + notch16:10 + notch16:10 PPI 227254254226 Nits (brightness) 5001000 sustained, up to 1600 peak1000 sustained, up to 1600 peak500 Retina display––Liquid Retina XDR display Pro-Motion (up to 120Hz) mini-LED backlit True Tone P3 wide color. Notably, the new MacBook Pros come with a notch at the top center of the display for the 1080p FaceTime camera, unlike the iPhone though, the notch doesn’t include Face ID hardware/support on the new MacBook Pro notebooks. All-in-all you’re getting much slimmer bezels around the whole perimeter.
New MacBook Pro vs old – I/O comparison
Another change with the new MacBook Pro notebook is the return of legacy I/O. Apple has included an HDMI port, SDXC card reader, and the return of MagSafe (3). Apple has also done away with the Touch Bar and with the compromise of more ports overall, there are 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C 4 ports instead of 4. Another big benefit with the M1 Pro and M1 Max is external display support. The M1 Pro supports up to 2 6K displays at 60Hz and the M1 Max offers support for 3 6K 60Hz displays plus 1 4K 60Hz display.
13″ MacBook Pro (2020) 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019) Magic Keyboard Touch ID Touch Bar USB-C/Thunderbolt ports 2334 HDMISDXC card reader MagSafe charging Bluetooth 5.05.05.05.0 Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax)Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax)Wi-Fi 6 (802.11.ax)Wi-Fi 5 (802.11.ac) External display support 1 external display with up to 6K resolution at 60HzUp to 2 external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz (M1 Pro) or Up to 3 external displays with up to 6K resolution and 1 external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz (M1 Max)Up to 2 external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz (M1 Pro) or Up to 3 external displays with up to 6K resolution and 1 external display with up to 4K resolution at 60Hz (M1 Max)Up to 2 displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz or up to 4 displays with 4K resolution at 60Hz
Size, weight, and finish
Minor weight gain feels very reasonable. Considering you’re getting larger screens, a whole lot more power, and more connectivity. Physical dimensions are quite close but again the new machines are a touch larger on the whole. As usual for the MacBook Pro lineup, available are silver and space gray.
13″ MacBook Pro (2020) 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019) Weight3 pounds (1.4 kg)3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)4.7 pounds (2.1 kg)4.3 pounds (2.0 kg) Thickness 0.61 inch (1.56 cm)0.61 inch (1.55 cm)0.66 inch (1.68 cm)0.64 inch (1.62 cm) Width 11.97 inches (30.31 cm)12.31 inches (31.26 cm)14.01 inches (35.57 cm)14.09 inches (35.79 cm) Depth 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)8.71 inches (22.12 cm)9.77 inches (24.81 cm)9.68 inches (24.59 cm) Display size 13.3 inches14.2 inches16.2 inches16 inches Finishes Silver or space gray Silver or space gray Silver or space gray Silver or space gray
Batteries
The new 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro machines offer best-in-class performance per watt, the 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro will have the longest life when it comes to wireless web use. However, as you can see below, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro runs circles around the 2019 Intel model with 10 hours longer video playback and 3 hours longer wireless web use.
13″ MacBook Pro (2020) 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019) Wireless web battery 17 hours11 hours14 hours11 hours Video playback 20 hours17 hours21 hours11 hours Included power adapter 61W USB-C67W or 96W USB-C + MagSafe140W USB-C + MagSafe96W USB-C Battery capacity. Another benefit with the new notebooks is fast charging that gives 50% battery in just 30 minutes. In most use cases, it looks like the new MacBook Pros should offer all-day battery life.
Prices
You’re getting a lot for the money from the jump price from the 13″ M1 MacBook Pro to the 14 or 16″. Also, when you look at the base price of the 16″ M1 Pro MacBook Pro is only $100 more than the 2019 Intel 16″ MacBook Pro.
Model/price 13″ MacBook Pro (2020) 14″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro (2021) 16″ MacBook Pro Intel (2019) 256 / 8GB$1,299–––512 / 8GB$1,499–––256 / 16GB$1,499–––512 / 16GB$1,699$1,999$2,499$2,3991TB / 16GB$1,899$2,499$2,699$2,7991TB / 32GB–$2,899$3,499$3,199 Custom builds Up to $2,299Up to $5,899Up to $6,099Up to $5,799
