The base M4 MacBook Pro is the only computer most of us will ever need

When Apple launched the smaller Mac Mini late last year, most of my fellow tech press and tech enthusiasts fell in love with the machine. “It's so cute,” a former Input Mag reviewer told me. Another reporter tweeted: “It fits my little desk perfectly.”

But I, perhaps a contrarian at heart, wondered aloud on Twitter: “Why do we need a Mini?”

In my opinion, it doesn't make much sense to have a dedicated Apple desktop computer these days, since Apple's entire line of computers (both laptops and desktops) run on the same chip. So why buy a Mac Mini (or iMac or Mac Studio) that's essentially tethered to a desk and a wall outlet when you can buy a portable MacBook that you can move freely anywhere? Even if you almost never use your computer outside, the flexibility you have over a desktop computer to move your MacBook around your home and even use it during a power outage is an advantage.

Even a few years ago, one might have thought that the bigger the case on a desktop computer, the better it would dissipate heat, but as Apple silicon continues to push boundaries and set incredible high-performance standards, the reality is that MacBooks can perform 99% performance.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying: Instead of having a desktop and a laptop, you can have just one laptop. When it's at home, plug it into a larger monitor and maybe pair it with a mechanical keyboard and mouse. If you need to work on the go, just unplug and take your MacBook with you.

Of all the Apple computers out there, I think the recently released M4 Macbook Pro, especially the 14-inch model, is the best overall choice in terms of price, performance, and usability.

Note: M4 MacBook Pro is available in 14-inch and 16-inch models; this review is mainly for the 14-inch machine

No more embarrassing dick

The previous generation's 14-inch base model MacBook Pro was in a weird position: It was only slightly more powerful than the cheaper, lighter MacBook Air, but because it had one less MacBook Pro, it was decidedly less powerful than the larger 16-inch Pro machine. ports, a weak CPU, and a measly 8GB of RAM. That makes it the awkward middle child—neither the most capable nor the most diplomatic.

This year, Apple finally made 14-inch phones on par with 16-inch phones. First off, the 14-inch port selection is now identical to the 16-inch, no longer missing a port. Secondly, the base RAM is now 16GB, and the base CPU is also 10 cores instead of 8 cores like before. This 14-inch model finally feels like a proper Pro machine.

The external hardware is almost identical to previous MacBooks—the typical boxy aluminum unibody with a notch for the screen. However, the display comes with an optional upgrade in the form of an anti-reflective matte coating. It does cost an extra $150, but I think most Apple fans will be willing to spend that money because it greatly improves the look of the screen in many situations, such as outdoors or next to a window. The screen is not only less likely to reflect light, but also less likely to be stained by fingerprints and smudges.

The keyboard and trackpad are as good as ever. I have to preface this by saying that this is just my personal preference, but I find the MacBook's trackpad to be much more precise and less prone to accidental clicks than almost any Windows machine I've tested. Keep in mind that I'm not a typical Apple fan, and I'm not all-in on the company's products — I prefer using an Android phone to an iPhone. Therefore, I don't think I have a brand loyalty bias in my preference for MacBook keyboards and trackpads.

M4 silicon

The current MacBook product line can be powered by M4, M4 Pro or M4 Max series Apple chips. I chose the base M4 chip because I've tested the M2 MacBook Air and M3 Max MacBook Pro in the past, so I wanted to see how the base Apple chip would perform in a “Pro” computer.

First some specs: The M4 chip is about 20% faster overall compared to the M3 chip, and in benchmarking applications the machine scores almost 20% better than the M3 model. But the advantage of M4 is that its multi-core processing efficiency is higher. In the Cinebench multi-core application, the score is 50% higher than the previous generation. It's worth mentioning that I configured my MacBook with 32GB of memory (the base model comes with 16GB).

What do these performance scores or specs mean in the real world? It's basically the most efficient “powerful” processor available in a portable computer. I edited two videos using Final Cut Pro on this machine: a 16-minute 4K video with at least two layers and multiple effects, and a simpler 90-second vertical short video. The fan never turned on once during my editing or rendering. Even with multiple 4K archive tracks on the timeline, I was able to browse the timeline without any lag.

When exported, the 16-minute video took just 5 minutes and 32 seconds, which isn't quite as good as the four minutes or so it took on my M3 Max machine, but much better than previous M3 or M2 chips. The 90-second clip export process took less than 10 seconds.

I also played NBA 2K25 on a MacBook Pro – at which point I finally heard the fan whirring, but other than that, performance was smooth and the frame rate was solid.

If you're just using your MacBook for office productivity tasks like writing emails, making video calls, and viewing spreadsheets and PDF documents, then the machine can certainly handle it all without breaking a sweat. A dozen Safari tabs, plus Spotify running in the background, and many more peripheral apps, all load instantly.

In fact, if all you use your laptop for is office productivity work, and you don't edit videos or work with graphics, you don't need a Pro machine at all, just get a MacBook Air.

Usually Siri is more useful

This MacBook also comes with the latest version of MacOS, as well as a new version of Siri, which is part of Apple Intelligence. I've found Apple Intelligence to be hit or miss, with some features being useful and others being decidedly inferior to the Google alternative. What I like best here is the new Siri, which now accepts text queries (or voice commands like before). I often work out of coffee shops, and I prefer interacting with Siri silently by typing rather than needing to speak, so this new Siri is very useful. Siri can also connect to ChatGPT for more complex queries, but I found it was sometimes too complex for its own good. For example, if I ask Siri “What type of cheese is in Philly Cheesesteak?” Siri will ask me if I want it to search the web or use ChatGPT before it proceeds to answer my query.

I feel that for such a simple question, Siri should answer it in whatever way it needs to, rather than asking me to choose an option. (Answer: Provolone, American cheese, or Cheez Whiz.) Also, do we really need a large linguistic AI model to figure out which cheese is used in a Philly cheesesteak?

The only computer most of us need

The webcam has also been improved and the speakers are still the best in class, so this is a great machine for video calling. With the ability to output to two external 4K monitors, and long battery life (16+ hours for office type work, 5-6 hours if doing intensive video editing work), I feel like this is the only computer most people will use need. Why would you need to buy a dedicated desktop computer, or even a secondary computer, if you can plug this laptop into a larger monitor at home, then unplug it and take it outside to work on the go?

Of course, if you're a legitimate creative professional editing 8K footage and creating 3D animations, the more powerful M4 Pro and Max chips are available (although the M4 can still handle these tasks, just not as fast). But for most people who use laptops to type or read text in documents, this laptop can do it all.

Before purchasing this machine, my computer setup consisted of a powerful but bulky 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro (plugged into a monitor) at home and a 13-inch M2 MacBook Air on the road. But the 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro kind of makes those two machines redundant, because it provides enough power to be my primary work machine, and the 14-inch version is portable enough that I can carry it in my backpack for a whole day. Hell, no need to worry. I still need a month to think about this, but I'd love to sell my 16″ Pro and 13″ Air and just use the 14″ M4 MacBook Pro for everything.