MacBook Pro comparison: 14- vs 16-inch MacBook Pro

As of November 2024, Apple sells two MacBook Pro models: a 14-inch model with either the M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max, and a 16-inch model with either the M4 Pro or M4 Max. The company used to sell a 13-inch MacBook Pro but this model was discontinued.

The M4 chip in the 14-inch MacBook offers adequate power for most users, but the M4 Pro and M4 Max processors are superior and rather incredible. However, the MacBook Pro is more than just a killer processor. It’s full of great features like a ProMotion HDR display, HDMI output and MagSafe. If you’re having trouble deciding which one to get, here’s how they compare.

For more advice about choosing the Mac laptop for you read: MacBook buying guide: Which Mac laptop is best? and MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Specs compared

We’ll discuss some of the more salient differences point-by-point, but first here are all the most important specs at a glance.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Price

The first thing you’ll notice is the price difference between the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 and the 14-inch and 16-inch models with M4 Pro. You have to pay an extra $400/£400, but that price does include more than a CPU upgrade–you get more GPU cores, and more memory. The M4 Pro MacBook Pro models also offer more memory customization options–the M4 Pro has a maximum limit of 48GB, while the M4’s limit is 32GB.

The price gap between the M4 Pro and Max laptops is similar. For example, the high-end 14-inch M4 Pro model is $2,399, and to upgrade that to an M4 Max adds $600/£600. The starting price for a 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro is $3,499/£3,499, which is $300/£300 more than the top-end 14-inch M4 Max MacBook Pro standard configuration.

To summarize, the M4 Pro models are more expensive than the M4 models, but they’re more capable because they have more CPU and GPU cores and can have more memory. Upgrading from M4 Pro to M4 Max is a good price/performance deal–so much so that you might forego an M4 Pro altogether and go with the M4 Max.

14-inch MacBook Pro, M4 (2024)

• M4, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD: $1,599/£1,599
• M4, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 1TB SSD: $1,799/£1,799
• M4, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 24GB unified memory, 1TB SSD: $1,999/£1,999

14-inch MacBook Pro, M4 Pro/M4 Max (2024)

• M4 Pro, 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24GB unified memory, 512GB SSD: $1,999/£1,999
• M4 Pro, 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 24GB unified memory, 1TB SSD: $2,399/£2,399
• M4 Max, 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB unified memory, 1TB SSD: $3,199/£3,199

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M4 Pro)

14-inch MacBook Pro (M4 Max)

16-inch MacBook Pro, M4 Pro/M4 Max (2024)

• M4 Pro, 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 24GB unified memory, 512GB SSD: $2,499 / £2,499
• M4 Pro, 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 48GB unified memory, 512GB SSD: $2,899 / £2,899
• M4 Max, 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB unified memory, 1TB SSD: $3,499 / £3,499
• M4 Max, 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 48GB unified memory, 1TB SSD: $3,999 / £4,099

Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro (M4 Max)

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Performance

The new M4 has an 10-core CPU (4 performance, 6 efficiency cores) and according to Apple, is 3.4 times faster than the M1.

For more money, you can step up from the M4 to an 12-core M4 Pro chip, which offers a 52 percent increase, or to a 14-core M4 Pro.  However, because of the Pro’s core configuration, it might be a better investment to step up to a 14-core M4 Max.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro is available with the M4, M4 Pro, or M4 Max chips; the 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with either a M4 Pro or M4 Max chip. The M4 Pro and Max are available with different CPU and GPU core options, and they also have more memory configurations available.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Display quality and screen size

The 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro have mini-LED displays with slim bezels. Screen sizes are actually 14.2 inches and 16.2 inches measured diagonally.

The screens offer good energy efficiency, contrast, and brightness. The brightness with SDR content has been boosted from 500 to 600 nits compared to the early 2023 14- and 16-inch models. With HDR content the new displays can go up to 1,000 nits sustained and 1,600 nits peak. That’s incredible HDR performance that beats nearly any other laptop display on the market.

ProMotion, when it arrived with the 2021 MacBook Pro models was a game-changer, bringing 120Hz high refresh rates to the MacBook Pro, while also allowing for dynamic variable refresh rates down to 24Hz, which is not only great for movie-watching, it’s a big benefit to battery life.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Speakers, mics, and headphones

The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro have a six-speaker sound system that promises high fidelity in addition to support for Spatial Audio. All the MacBook Pros have a beamforming three-mic array, but the 14-inch and 16-inch models have improved sensitivity and a lower noise floor, so recordings should sound better.

There’s a headphone jack on all the MacBook Pros, and it supports high-impedance headphones. That’s great for studio headphones, which need more power to drive them.

The 2023 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro’s HDMI port supports multichannel audio output.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Webcam (and the notch)

The MacBook Pros have a 12MP Canter stage webcam with Desk View support. That’s an upgrade from the 1080p camera used in the previous MacBook Pro models.

The webcam is housed in a pretty significant-sized notch at the top of the display, which first made an appearance on the 2021 MacBook Pro models. Despite looking very much like that on the iPhone, it’s not a TrueDepth sensor. There’s no Face ID or Animoji or anything like that. The notch doesn’t actually cut into the main display area, though. The area beneath the notch is a 16×10 display, just like all prior MacBooks. The display area on either side of the notch extends upward from there, adding screen area on top of the 16×10 rectangle. The menu bar is located in that area, effectively giving you more vertical space for all your apps. Developers can choose to use that extra screen space if they want to.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Connectivity and expansion

Years ago, Apple got rid of our beloved MagSafe charging connector, opting instead to take up one of the few Thunderbolt ports for charging. And they got rid of the SD card slot and HDMI port, too.

When Apple updated the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models in 2021, Apple gave us one additional Thunderbolt port, and it brought back the HDMI port, SDXC card slot, and MagSafe connector. Somewhat confusingly, the company also uses MagSafe as the brand for the iPhone’s magnetic charging and accessory attachment technology, which is sort of a different thing but also involves magnetic charging.

In the M4 MacBook Pro, Apple now offers three Thunderbolt/USB-C ports; the M3 model it repalces had only two ports. The M4 MacBook Pro’s ports use the Thunderbolt 4 specificaion, while the M4 Pro and Max laptops use Thunderbolt 5, which offers more bandwidth and faster performance. Most users won’t notice the difference between Thunderbolt 4 and 5 unless they are using Thunderbolt 5 devices and are performaning very large data transfers. Thunderbolt 5 also supports higher wattages for charging and running devices.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Touch Bar

The 13-inch MacBook Pro had a Touch Bar. Apple dumped that laptop with the introduction of the M3 series in the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro, which also meant that it dumped the Touch Bar completely. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t have a Touch Bar, they have a full-height row of Function keys with a Touch ID sensor at the right. Both systems have a Touch ID button in the upper right of the keyboard like the iMac’s Magic Keyboard with Touch ID.

14-inch vs 16-inch MacBook Pro: Battery life

The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros have really excellent battery life specs. The 72.4Wh battery in the 14-inch M4 model will keep it going for 16 hours; the same battery in the 14-inch M4 Pro and Max laptops will last about 13 to 14 hours. The 16-inch model gets 21 to 24 hours of video playback out of its 100Wh battery.

The M4 and M4 Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro come with a 70W power adapter, and both also offer an option for a 96W adapter. The 96W model is necessary for fast charging and comes standard with some configurations, otherwise, it’s a $20 upgrade. The 16-inch model comes with a 140W power adapter in all configurations.

Verdict

The 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro is the absolute pinnacle of the portable Mac. We recommend getting as much RAM and storage as you can afford. The sweet spot for most people will be the 12-core CPU/16-core GPU M4 Pro with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but we’re confident that you’ll be happy with any of the configurations Apple offers. 

If you’re looking for a 13-inch M3 MacBook Pro, you won’t find it. Apple replaced it with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which has a different design, no Touch Bar, a better display, and a higher price. Overall, the M4 MacBook Pro is a better laptop, but if you love the Touch Bar, you either have to accept the new keyboard, stick with your Touch Bar laptop, or find a 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro from a third-party seller or Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store. Alternatively, the 13-inch MacBook Pro might be the best option for you, see our comparison of the MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air.

If you are on a budget and the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro looks attractive, you won’t be disappointed. It’s a much better deal than the M3 MAcBook Pro it replaced.

For more buying advice read our Best Mac guide. 

Source : Macworld