Apple refreshes MacBook Pros with M4 Pro, M4 Max, and up to 24 hour battery life

MacBook Pro 2024
(Image credit: Apple)

Apple's MacBook Pro lineup is getting a refresh with its latest M4 processors. Updates to the entry-level 14-inch laptop, along with the standard 14-inch and 16-inch machines, include the entire M4 lineup (so far), from M4 on the low end to M4 Pro and M4 Max on the top machines.

The M4 Pro and M4 Max laptops will be Apple's first with Thunderbolt 5, while each of the model are getting 12MP Center Stage Cameras. In some configurations (including a 16-inch M4 Pro and a 14-inch M4), Apple claims it reached 24 hours of battery life — quite literally all day. The 14-inch system with M4 now starts at 16GB of RAM standard, like the iMac and Mac Mini. This will allow for higher performance with Apple Intelligence, which launched earlier this week with macOS Sequoia 15.1.

MacBook Pro 2024

(Image credit: Apple)

The new models have optional nano-texture displays, similar to the iMac, that cost an extra $150. The display is set to get quite bright, showing SDR content at up to 1,000 nits and HDR at up to 1,600 nits of brightness. The Center Stage cameras keep you centered if you move around while on video calls. It also works with Apple's Desk View.

The laptops come on the heels of a refreshed iMac and a redesigned Mac Mini, bringing the M4 series to the Mac for the first time (it launched earlier in the iPad Pro).

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 starts at $1,599 with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. It has Thunderbolt 4 ports, rather than the Thunderbolt 5 ports in the M4 Pro and Max options. Bumping up to 24GB and 32GB of RAM costs an extra $200, while moving up to 1TB is $200 and 2TB is a very hefty $600.

MacBook Pro 2024

(Image credit: Apple)

The M4 Pro 14-incher starts at $1,999 with a 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 25GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, but can be boosted to a 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, and 1TB of storage for $2,399. M4 Max options start at $3,199, including a 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB of RAM and 1TB SSD for $3,199.

The 16-inch laptop starts with an M4 Pro (14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $2,499 and goes up to the top-end M4 Max (16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 48GB of RAM, 1TB SSD) for $3,999.

All of these laptops are available for pre-order now and will ship on November 8.

MacBook Airs get more starting RAM

While the M2 and M3 MacBook Air aren't seeing an upgrade to M4 just yet, Apple is boosting the base memory to 16GB. Starting prices aren't changing, with the M2 unit beginning at $999.

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Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

  • Giroro
    I don't know who is simultaneously both rich enough and dumb enough to spend $200 per every 256GB of storage, but it's definitely not me.
    I know it's just apple doing the exact same jaw-droppingly extreme price gouging on SSD pricing they've been doing forever... but this time it's just making me sick.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    Some days ago 200 us on ebay gives 4tb of enterprise storage... or better saying, your life time of writes non stop.
    Reply
  • newtechldtech
    Giroro said:
    I don't know who is simultaneously both rich enough and dumb enough to spend $200 per every 256GB of storage, but it's definitely not me.
    I know it's just apple doing the exact same jaw-droppingly extreme price gouging on SSD pricing they've been doing forever... but this time it's just making me sick.
    Most People I know use thunderbolt cases with standard NVME SSD with their macbooks , t is not a big deal. They however hate paying alot to upgrade the Memory.
    Reply
  • Notton
    did it achieve longer battery life with a larger battery or from greater efficiency?
    Reply
  • JamesJones44
    Notton said:
    did it achieve longer battery life with a larger battery or from greater efficiency?
    Looks like they increased the battery size from 70 Wh to 72.4 on the 14 inch models. The 16 inch models still show the same battery capacity as the M3 MBPs.

    For the 16 inch it looks like efficiency gains. The 14 inch is a bit more of a mixed bag given it gets the same extra 2 hours with a slightly bigger battery. This is assuming Apple's spec pages are accurate.

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/117735
    https://support.apple.com/en-us/117737
    https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    Giroro said:
    I don't know who is simultaneously both rich enough and dumb enough to spend $200 per every 256GB of storage, but it's definitely not me.
    I know it's just apple doing the exact same jaw-droppingly extreme price gouging on SSD pricing they've been doing forever... but this time it's just making me sick.
    Pretty much anyone who buys a mobile phone as prices are typically $100/128GB as it's a standard gouging practice.
    Reply