The introduction of the Apple M1 processor last year was a breakthrough that transformed the performance and battery life of many of the most popular Macs. Now Apple has unveiled the new M1 Pro and M1 Max bringing game-changing upgrades to their pro laptops.
We all want the ability to work as efficiently as we can and with the CPU in M1 Pro and M1 Max delivering up to 70 percent faster CPU performance than Apple’s M1 and the GPU in M1 Pro up to 2 x faster you are far less likely to be slowed down by your machine. Meanwhile the new M1 Max goes one better and is up to an incredible 4 x faster than M1!
M1 Pro and M1 Max introduce a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture to pro systems for the first time.
These chips are by far the most powerful chips Apple has ever built.
They feature fast unified memory, industry-leading performance per watt, and incredible power efficiency, along with increased memory bandwidth and capacity. M1 Pro offers up to 200GB/s of memory bandwidth with support for up to 32GB of unified memory. M1 Max delivers up to 400GB/s of memory bandwidth — 2x that of M1 Pro and nearly 6x that of M1 — and support for up to 64GB of unified memory. That’s 4x the amount of memory of the latest released PC laptops. Meaning graphic and processor-intensive workflows that seemed unimaginable on a laptop previously are now possible.
In addition to this, enhanced media engines with dedicated ProRes accelerators are included specifically for pro video processing. All this on the beautifully vibrant, Extreme Dynamic Range, Liquid Retina XDR display. The best display ever on a notebook.
The M1 Pro and M1 Max boast incredible battery life (up to 21hrs on the 16 inch model) and can deliver the same level of performance whether plugged in or using the battery. With such a powerful battery one would expect things could get a little heated during use however this machine actually keeps its cool very well, meaning if you need to put it on your lap – as the name laptop would imply – you don’t risk scorching your legs.
The 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros see the re-introduction of some of the ports which pro-users have been missing on recent MacBook Pros. With three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, an HDMI port and an SDXC card slot. There is also the return of Mag Safe charging and the reintroduction of physical function keys instead of the Touch Bar, whilst retaining Touch ID.
These MacBook Pros are a heftier design, without the tapered design that made previous MacBook Pros appear slimmer than they really were. So they can appear to be a little on the chunkier side compared to their recent predecessors. And it seems that like many of us, they do appear to have gained a few covid kilos – nothing too drastic though only about 200gm. This added weight is barely noticeable really and very easy to overlook with all the M1 Pro and M1 Max have to offer. The M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros represent another huge step forward by Apple.
Interested in taking that step and upgrading to the new M1 Pro or M1 Max MacBook Pro? Both are available in a 14 & 16 inch models and can be ordered through Mac Aid, your authorised Apple Reseller today! Call us to find out more about which model would best suit your needs.
