Apple upgrades 14-inch MacBook Pro with 24hr battery life and AI smarts, and we've tested it before release

Ahead of the launch, GB News took delivery of an upgraded 14-inch MacBook Pro to check-out the performance on this new M4-powered notebook firsthand. Here's a rundown of everything new in the latest MacBook Pro, which starts from £1,599, and whether it's time to consider an upgrade...

If you missed the memo, Apple Intelligence is scheduled to launch in the UK sometime in December. This bundle of Artificial Intelligence (AI) features includes the ability to proofread your emails, adjust the tone of documents, summarise lengthy PDFs and webpages into a couple of succinct bullet points, transcribe voice memos in real-time, and generate never-before-seen emoji and illustrations from a written prompt.

Apple Intelligence is a free upgrade that's coming to the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max, upgraded iPad mini, recent iPad Pro models, and any Mac with Apple Silicon running macOS Sequoia. Ahead of the launch, Apple has refreshed (almost) its entire Mac lineup with faster, more efficient M4 chipsets that are "built for Apple Intelligence". We'll have plenty more details on Apple Intelligence when it launches in the UK, so stay tuned.

Aside from optimisations for its new AI smarts, the new MacBook Pro arrives with a new 12MP camera with Centre Stage, a brighter display with optional nano-texture glass to stop unwanted glare from sunlight, future-proofed Thunderbolt 5 ports, and up to 24 hours of battery life between charges — the longest ever in a Mac.

It's a pretty compelling list of upgrades, especially since Apple only refreshed its MacBook Pro in October last year. The new MacBook Pro lineup starts in five main configurations:

• 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 | Starts from £1,599 with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage
  
• 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro | Starts from £1,999 with 24GB RAM and 512GB storage
• 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Max | Starts from £3,199 with 36GB RAM and 1TB storage
• 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro | Starts from £2,499 with 24GB RAM and 512GB storage
• 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Max | Starts from £3,499 with 36GB RAM and 1TB storage

Just like it's done with the MacBook Air lineup, Apple is offering 16GB of RAM as standard across its MacBook Pro lineup — an upgrade that would've cost you an extra £200 at checkout on any of its predecessors.

That extra unified memory is sure to help with complex Apple Intelligence models, which the US company is keen to run on-device as much as possible in a bid to maintain its strict stance on privacy.

Even if you never take advantage of the incoming Apple Intelligence features, that extra RAM will be handy with anything you plan to do on this MacBook Pro.

GBN took delivery of the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 and 16GB of RAM, we regularly had 39 tabs open in the (notoriously resource-hungry) Google Chrome browser and didn't spot a stutter from the MacBook Pro. That was coupled with Pixelmater Pro, 1Password, Outlook, iMessage, WhatsApp, and Music always open in the background.

This £1,599 machine didn't seem to break a sweat when jumping between applications and tabs throughout the day — making video calls, running AI transcription in the background, switching to a new playlist, answering Microsoft Teams messages, and more. It's a workflow that's broken many a laptop, so the performance from the MacBook Pro is admirable.

It's worth noting that this time around, you're not only saving £200 with the free upgrade to 16GB as standard across the refreshed MacBook Pro lineup, but Apple has also dropped prices in the UK. The 14-inch MacBook Pro that launched in October 2023 started from £1,699.

That's a generous £100 price cut for the entry-level MacBook Pro ...or £300 if you were always planning on upgrading to 16GB of RAM. If you're a student, Apple Store education pricing starts at £1,499 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, rising to £2,299 for the 16-inch variant.

And for the first time, Apple has made its sleek Space Black finish available across all models — after reserving this darker shade for the pricier M3 Pro and M3 Max models last time around. The traditional Silver is still available too.

With the M4 system-on-a-chip, Apple is touting serious performance improvements.

For the first time, the base M4 chipset arrives with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. It also supports up to 32GB of RAM, compared with a ceiling of 24GB on the earlier M3 models.

The M4 Pro steps-up to a 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 dedicated efficiency cores — found across the M4 lineup and the reason for the dramatic increase in battery life, alongside up to a 20-core GPU. Finally, at the top end, Apple's beefy M4 Max chipset offers up to a 16-core CPU and massive 40-core GPU, delivering up to 3.5x faster performance compared to the M1 Max, according to tests conducted by the Californian firm.

Memory bandwidth — that's the rate data can be read by the CPU to crunch through tasks — has seen a significant boost this time around. While the base M4 chipset tops-out at 120GB/s, compared with 100GB/s for the M3, the flagship M4 Max models reaches 546GB/s. That's roughly double what we've seen from recent Windows AI PCs.

Apple says its new M4-powered MacBook Pro models can endure up to 24-hours of usage between charges. In our time with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, we were comfortably able to get around 12-hours — albeit with the screen brightness cranked-up, the aforementioned onslaught of 39x Google Chrome tabs, and Energy Saver mode disabled.

That was more than enough to endure a busy day in the office — racing between meeting rooms without doing anything to conserve power, all while not even thinking about packing a charger. With some optimisation, it's easy to see how this MacBook Pro could last the longest long-haul flights without a plug.

It's also worth noting that we've only had the MacBook Pro for a week or so. During that time, it will be indexing data and performing a number of background tasks, something that can also impact battery life when updating to a new version of iOS.

When it is time to recharge the MacBook Pro, it supports fast-charging up to 50% in around 30 minutes. If you're forgetful and need a quick battery life boost before you dash out of the door, this upgrade is a real lifesaver.

While the nifty new M4 chipset is behind some of this incredible efficiency, it's worth noting that Apple has squeezed a lot of battery into this 14-inch notebook too. Compared to the trusty 13-inch MacBook Air (M3) that usually has pride of place in our backpack, the 14-inch MacBook Pro (M4) felt noticeably heavier (1.55kg vs 1.24kg).

The new MacBook Pro retains its pretty comprehensive connectivity options, including an HDMI port supporting up to 8K resolution, an SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 charging port, and a 3.5mm audio port. If you plump for a machine with an M4 chipset, you'll get 3x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, but those equipped with an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip feature 3x Thunderbolt 5 ports — more than doubling transfer speeds to 120 Gb/s.

If you're planning on using your new MacBook Pro to edit mammoth video and photo files, this ludicrous transfer speed is probably worth the extra investment since it means you'll be able to match — or occasionally beat — the speed of many internal SSDs on the market today.

For wireless connectivity, the latest MacBook Pro models sport Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

The MacBook Pro remains the only laptop in the lineup with a ProMotion screen — like those found on the Pro-level iPhone and iPad — with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz for buttery-smooth scrolling and system animations. This mini-LED display also now supports up to 1,000nits of brightness for SDR content when viewed outdoors, compared to a peak of 600nits last time around. The 1,600nits peak brightness for HDR content remains unchanged.

That should be more than enough for photographers and videographers to work anywhere on this machine. Apple offers an optional nano-texture glass designed to reduce glare and distraction from reflections for an extra £150 at checkout. This glass has an ever-so slightly frosted look when not in-use, but doesn't hinder the viewing experience when it's on and the brightness is cranked-up to a normal level. It does a solid job of cutting out blinding glare when working outside on the MacBook Pro or in the window seat of your favourite coffee shop.

Rounding out the new additions, Apple has added support for its nifty Centre Stage feature to the new 12MP camera. If you own a recent iPad, you'll be familiar with this feature, which automatically keeps you centred in the frame at all-time during video calls. As you move around, the camera appears to pan and move around — like you've got a camera operator working behind-the-scenes to ensure your Zoom calls look impeccable.

The new camera also supports Desk View, which shows your face at the same time as an overhead view of your desk. It's ideal for tutorials for friends and family on FaceTime, but could also be a boon for content creators.

However, do not rush to upgrade your MacBook for this feature alone, since if you've got an iPhone 11 or later, excluding iPhone SE, you can buy a mount and wirelessly use its camera to enable Desk View on an older Mac.

Coupled with the clever Portrait Lighting effects — like those built into the iPhone camera — and studio-quality microphones, we found the MacBook Pro to be an incredible machine for video calls. And the six-speaker sound system, which supports Spatial Audio, ensures those on the other end of the line sound amazing too.

Some other thoughts from our time with the 14-inch MacBook Pro:

• The Spatial Audio speakers built into this laptop are immense — we'd happily listen to songs, podcasts, and our latest binge-watch on Netflix through the six-speaker system without headphones or an external speaker
• The keyboard on the refreshed MacBook Pro lineup is solid, with a nice amount of travel and satisfying thunk when hammering out an email at speed
• Apple's trackpads remain unmatched in the industry, and the expansive glass surface fitted to the 14-inch MacBook Pro that we tested is no exception

Verdict

While the MacBook Air, which now starts from £999 and will support Apple Intelligence when it arrives, remains the best laptop for the vast majority of people, those looking for more processing power, extra battery life, and the best display technology will not be disappointed with this latest refresh from Apple.

Apple has fitted its MacBook Pro models with 16GB of RAM as standard — saving you £200 in upgrade fees compared with last year. But that's not all, with the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro now starting from £1,599 — a £100 price cut on the M3-powered variant launched in 2023. Apple is now offering the new Space Black colourway across all models too.

Impressive gains in battery life, more processing power, a smaller price tag? It's a winning formula for an incredible new generation of MacBook Pro laptops. If you've been holding off upgrading for a few years and want the ultimate portable Mac, there's never been a better time.

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