"With the M1 chip, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is the most exciting Mac in years."
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M1 is incredibly fast
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Nice display, as always
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Fantastic battery life
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The speakers sound brilliant
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Top notch keyboard and trackpad
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Only two Thunderbolt ports
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Touch Bar is still frustrating
Only Apple would dare to sell a laptop based entirely on its processor in 2020. The main audience is not exactly chip heads, who make purchasing decisions based on core count and power per watt.
And yet Apple has managed to spread a lot of hype around its new M1 chip and the familiar old Macs that run on it.
The design of the new MacBook Pro 13-inch itself has not changed at all with the M1 version. It's identical to the Intel-based model that came out earlier this year. But the M1 processor promises something that a new paint job could never do. It's ready to transform the 13-inch MacBook Pro from another laptop into something new. Something clearly Apple. And yes, finally something better.
performance
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is one of the first of a new generation of Macs that includes the new MacBook Air and the new Mac mini. They all run on the same M1 chip, although performance is different between the three systems. The performance of the professional should be somewhere between air and mini. At least that's the idea.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro was already the most powerful laptop of its size. The adapted 25-watt Intel chip that Apple uses already contains more juice than the typical 13-inch laptop. You can still buy this Intel model, but it starts at $ 1,799. Don't bother about it. It has two additional Thunderbolt ports, but Apple's own 8-core 5-nm ARM processor blows Intel out of the water in every way.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is still very fast. The results published in benchmarks made me do a double take, regardless of whether it is Geekbench 5 or Cinebench R23. In terms of single-core performance, it is on par with the fastest Intel and AMD chips such as the Core i7-1165G7 in the Dell XPS 13. When it comes to multi-core performance, the M1 is awesome. With eight cores, it clearly outperforms the quad-core laptops against which it has a price. The only laptops with faster multi-core results in Geekbench 5 are large 45-watt laptops like the Dell XPS 17 or the Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel.
This also led to similar results in Cinebench R23. Single-core scores top the list, and multi-core scores are way ahead of the competition. But remember: the MacBook Air has the same M1 chip. Although there is no fan in a slightly thinner case, it is only 11% behind the MacBook Pro in this benchmark. There's only a $ 300 price difference between the Air and the Pro, but the difference in performance is smaller than it used to be.
Of course, these benchmarks have already been optimized for the M1. This does not apply to the vast majority of the apps available. However, this doesn't mean you won't necessarily notice the ones that aren't optimized, especially if your basic workflow consists of basic internet surfing and word processing.
The MacBook Pro isn't technically fanless, but I haven't heard the fans spin yet.
However, you will notice how this laptop is cooled. You'll notice it when you start a Zoom call and don't have to shout over the fan noise. Or maybe if you've hooked up a couple of 4K monitors and are multitasking without it getting warm at all. In contrast to the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro is technically not fanless – it has a fan that can rotate if necessary. But I've never heard it spin. Not even. This is a far cry from the MacBooks of the past.
Good luck running a game like Fortnite on an Intel MacBook. Not only does it run poorly because of the lame built-in graphics, it turns your MacBook into a portable space heater. Your palms are sweaty, the keyboard feels hot, and the fans spin like they're trying to prevent a meltdown.
With the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1, the experience couldn't be more different. First of all, it easily reaches 60 frames per second (fps) at medium settings. More importantly, it does this without any slight heating. Even $ 2,000 worth of gaming laptops can't do that.
Of course, there are restrictions when playing. While these are built-in graphics, they are a huge leap ahead of what AMD or Intel can offer. Like the iPad or iPhone, the M1's built-in graphics ultimately turn the 13-inch MacBook Pro into a decent gaming machine.
Take all of this with a grain of salt. The performance you can expect from the M1 MacBook Pro depends a lot on the applications you need. So let's turn to the big elephant in the room: app compatibility.
App support
As mentioned earlier, the M1 chip marks a dramatic departure from Intel and traditional x86 systems. Such a drastic turnaround makes app compatibility a major hurdle. Apple has not shy away from making great demands on its solutions, but you are right to be skeptical. Look no further than Microsoft's app disaster with the original Surface Pro X for an example of how badly this type of transition can be handled.
The short answer is, almost any app or software you might need will run on M1 Macs. That doesn't mean it's going to go super fast, of course, but it's a promise you can make to the bank. So far, development support has not been in the charts.
It's no surprise that the MacBook Pro is insanely fast with Apple's own apps natively compiled for this new architecture. If you're running Safari, GarageBand, or even Final Cut Pro, you'll find that the MacBook Pro offers professional-quality performance. Would you like to produce music or edit videos on the side? No problem. The 13-inch MacBook Pro offers you protection, especially if you stick to Apple software. From what we've seen, even the MacBook Air can handle these workflows with no problem.
However, if you are a creative professional or hobbyist, you probably already have the applications you choose to work with – and they may not all come from Apple. Since the M1 is an ARM-based processor, it cannot run software written for x86. These are most of the applications you can download from the Internet. There are a handful of key developers who have already optimized their apps for the M1. Microsoft, for example, has already introduced its office suite. The same goes for Google Chrome. For many people, this covers the majority of their daily use.
There are some holes, however. Adobe's Creative Suite is the main example. Native versions of Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom won't be available until 2021. They're coming, but for now the M1 needs an emulated version to run. But do not worry. Apple managed to make these apps work a lot better than you might think. Apple's solution is an app translation process called Rosetta 2 – and it's mind blowing how well it works.
Developers quickly update the software to be compatible with the M1.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro can export a video project to Premiere just as quickly as the average 13-inch x86-based laptop, including the Intel version of the MacBook Pro. That said, you can safely switch to the M1 MacBook Pro without worrying about performance in non-native apps.
Of course there will always be exceptions. For example, I tried downloading the Epic Games Launcher. It's extremely sluggish. Once you load a game, it's great – but the launcher and storefront itself are left behind. Legacy software tied to specific accessories or hardware might have similar problems.
It was also terribly slow coding video in Handbrake. It took five minutes and 28 seconds to complete a 4K video encoding for H.265. That is, until Handbrake released a new version (1.4) that was optimized for the M1. Now? This coding time is only two minutes and 38 seconds. That's 15% faster than the 10th generation Intel Core i5 MacBook Pro (13-inch) when performing the same coding task. It shows how quickly developers update software to ensure compliance.
Battery life
Of course, the advantages of the M1 processor go far beyond pure performance. The laptop starts up in a flash when you open the lid – and even connects quickly to external displays. The biggest quality of life improvement you will experience with it is battery life. The 13-inch MacBook Pro has never been a champion in battery life. It barely squeaked enough to be considered appropriate. But not with the M1.
This 13-inch MacBook Pro has the best battery life I've ever tested on a laptop, despite only having a 58-watt battery. The 13-inch MacBook Pro lasted well over 16 hours on a single charge when surfing the Internet lightly. That's a lot of screen-on time. It outperforms many of the best Windows laptops like the Dell XPS 13 or the HP Specter x360. On a lighter load like a local video loop, the MacBook Pro can last for more than 21 hours. Angry.
Nearly doubling battery life without changing battery size is a tremendous achievement.
The best part? Just because you see the low battery notification doesn't mean you are doomed. The 13-inch MacBook Pro can last for about an hour, especially if you turn the brightness down a bit.
ARM designed processors are known for their extreme efficiency. So I wasn't too surprised that the MacBook Pro excels in this area. Still, it's a tremendous feat to nearly double the battery life of previous models without changing the size of the battery.
design
A laptop is of course much more than just a processor. The display, keyboard, trackpad, speakers, port selection, portability, and battery life are all equally important. Not much has changed in that regard, but this is where the MacBook Pro still excels. Mainly.
The chassis is 0.61 inches thick and weighs exactly three pounds. When this design was first used in 2016, it broke new ground. Nowadays it is taken for granted. You can find thinner, lighter, and equally robust laptops like the Dell XPS 13, HP Specter x360, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, and Microsoft Surface Laptop 3.
Still, it's a very mature laptop with no hint of flex or bend – and that includes the lid.
There is room for improvement, however. All I want is a MacBook Pro with some modern looking bezels. Laptop designers have made great strides in this department, but Apple seemed content with leaving things as they are. To make matters worse, the 720p webcam in that fat bezel isn't terribly good anyway.
I expect all of that to change in 2021 with the introduction of a 14-inch MacBook Pro to replace this one. If you buy a MacBook Pro today, it won't help you much.
This particular MacBook Pro only has two USB-C / Thunderbolt ports, both on the left. These handle DisplayPort, charging and data transfers at up to 40 Gbit / s. Personally, for reasons of convenience, I prefer a charging port on both sides of the laptop, for example on the Dell XPS 13.
The four Thunderbolt ports of the Intel version of the MacBook Pro are really the only advantage over the M1 version.
Display and speaker
There was never much room for complaint on the MacBook Pro screen. The 2,560 x 1,600 "Retina" display is sharp, bright and color-accurate. With the plethora of 4K screens available in laptops, the MacBook Pro is a few pixels short in comparison. Not that you would notice, of course. Just don't be surprised if Apple goes to great lengths to surpass 5K in pixel count over the next year. It can even use mini LED technology!
One caveat: I couldn't get our colorimeter software to work. It's a good example of niche software that just refused to run on the M1. However, I have confirmed with Apple that this is an identical panel to the previous model, with a maximum brightness of 485 nits, a contrast of 1470: 1 and 91% AdobeRGB color space.
With the M1 chip, Apple can do the audio processing itself.
The 16:10 aspect ratio has been used by Apple for many years, but is now finally being adopted by companies like Dell and HP. Apple has been right all along.
Speakers are another area where Apple has always been ahead. No competitors even come close. Apple has taken this new model further and made some improvements to the speaker tuning. With the M1 chip, Apple can do the audio processing itself and thus tinker with the stereo spreading and the equalizer. This was previously done with the T2 chip, but tighter controls mean more options to adjust.
The result is fantastic audio quality, especially when listening to music. Unlike most laptops, it is actually a joy to listen to. The speakers get loud without crackling or distorting, and there's even a ton of bass. It's a wonder considering how small these speakers are, but Apple's added tech takes them to the next level.
Keyboard and touchpad
I'm not going to spend too much time complimenting Apple on their keyboard repair. Gone are the days of unreliable and inconvenient butterfly keyboards. Apple's Magic Keyboard, which uses a more conventional scissor switch, was introduced in the 13-inch MacBook Pro earlier this year. It's still here and it's still awesome.
The same applies to the trackpad, which is particularly large and responsive. Force Touch technology means there is no physical mechanism under the glass – just a highly sensitive series of motors that simulate the sensation of movement.
In the meantime, I will continue to lament the missed opportunity the Touch Bar offers. I almost never use it. And when I do this e.g. B. to adjust the volume or the screen brightness, this is annoying. I just hope Apple now has improved tools for better implementation in the future, but at the moment it doesn't matter much.
Our opinion
The $ 1,299 MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 is a fresh start for the Mac. The physical design will eventually catch up, but right now we have the start of a season for the Mac where it will be difficult to compete with.
Are there alternatives?
The closest competitor is the Dell XPS 13. I prefer the slim design of the Dell laptop as well as the option for a 4K model. However, the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 is now a more powerful laptop and outperforms battery life.
If you don't need the added power of the Pro, then the MacBook Air should be considered. It uses a slightly underperforming version of the M1, but it only starts at $ 999 (or $ 899 with student discounts).
How long it will take?
The MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 is based on Apple's new system architecture and is a safe purchase. It will be supported for many years. That being said, a major redesign of the MacBook Pro is slated to hit the market in 2021, though it may be a while before we hear more.
All Apple MacBooks come with a standard one-year warranty. Of course, you can get Apple's great AppleCare + service for up to three years, although it comes at an additional cost.
Should you buy it?
Absolutely. More than any other MacBook Pro in the past few years, Apple has finally created one that has an undeniable advantage over its competitors.
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