Computerworld reviews Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro: ‘A huge leap’

In late October, Apple released the completely reimagined 16-inch MacBook Pro powered by the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max — the first pro chips designed for the Mac. Computerworld’s Jonny Evans has spent a week using one and find it to be “a huge leap.”

MacBook Pro delivers groundbreaking processing, graphics, and machine learning (ML) performance whether running on battery or plugged in, as well as amazing battery life — enabling workflows previously unimaginable on a notebook. The new MacBook Pro also features a stunning Liquid Retina XDR display, a wide range of ports for advanced connectivity, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and the best audio system in a notebook. Combined with macOS Monterey, which is engineered down to its core to take full advantage of M1 Pro and M1 Max, the user experience is simply unrivaled. Shattering the limits of what a notebook can do, MacBook Pro is designed for developers, photographers, filmmakers, 3D artists, scientists, music producers, and anyone who wants the world’s best notebook.

Jonny Evans for Computerworld:

I’ve been working with the mid-range 16-in. model equipped with an M1 Pro chip that has a 10-core CPU, 16 GPU cores, and 16GB of unified memory.

Cast your mind back to the late 2019 MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9-9980HK chip; it yielded Geekbench scores of 1,087 (single-core) and 6,823 (multi-core). Then recall the M1-based 13-in. MacBook Pro from last year; it achieved 1,706 (single-core) and 7,385 (multi-core) scores. (The M1-based MacBook Air hit similar numbers.)

I couldn’t quite believe the data I generated with Geekbench testing on this MacBook Pro: On average across five tests, the new Mac hit 1,755 (single-core) and 12,547 (multi-core). That’s as good as a late 2017 iMac Pro or an entry-level late 2019 Mac Pro — in a system you can carry under one arm…

If you need this kind of power (or the expansive 16-in. display), the MacBook Pro is a definite must. This model combines all that made its predecessor great, addresses all the criticisms people had, and underpins everything with a chip that performs like no other… While I would like for the Apple logo on the lid to light up, I consider this MacBook Pro to be a triumph at every level, from the years of work on the internal processor to the OS and display. Such compromises as do exist (like that notch), really only serve to show how far Apple has knocked this particular ball out the ball park.

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