Apple Unveils MacBook Pro: M4 Max Chip, Thunderbolt 5 And ‘Best-Ever’ Battery Life

The new MacBook Pro has just been announced by Apple. It comes with a choice of three different processors, all from the M4 family. The laptops look the same as before—apart from a new nanotexture option for the display—but there are big changes under the hood.

It’s been a busy week for the Mac with a new iMac and Mac mini and upgraded M4 Pro processor already unveiled. The MacBook Pro comes in two colors, space black and silver—even the entry-level model with M4 chip comes in space black for the first time: full details here.

As well as the M4 and M4 processors already announced, the MacBook Pro can be configured with the M4 Max chip which Apple has just unveiled. Like the M4 Pro, Apple describes M4 Max as second-generation 3-nanometer technology with fast performance.

Unlike M4, the M4 Pro and M4 Max processors mean that Apple can put Thunderbolt 5 on the MacBook Pro for the first time, something it’s also introduced for the latest Mac mini for some models.

There’s another hardware change, though you would be unlikely to spot the difference: a new 12-megapixel Center Stage camera is mounted in the display. This not only improves video calls by keeping you front-and-center even if you move about, but also supports Desk View, a new feature Apple has just announced for the new iMac, too. It means you can show people on your video call what’s on your desk (please remember to scoot away the snack crumbs first).

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And all MacBook Pro models, whichever M4 chip they have on board, now come with three USB-C sockets, two on the left edge, one on the right.

The new models have strong battery life with Apple claiming up to 24 hours of life between charges, which it says is the longest-ever on a Mac.

The big change in performance is down to the new processors which are up to 30.8 x faster for video processing performance compared to a MacBook Pro with an Intel chip, for instance. If you have a MacBook Pro with M1 Max, this chip is still 1.6x faster on the same metric. All the new MacBook Pro models come with 16GB RAM as minimum, double that of some models.

Across the board, there are no price increases, with prices from $1,599 (£1,599 in the U.K.).

The new models are available to order now and go on sale on Nov. 8.