1. You are a professional

Apple is positioning its new laptops as a “superpower for professionals.” And for once that’s true. These are probably the first MacBook Pro laptops in recent years that can actually be called exactly professional. What I mean in this case is that the average average user would not appreciate the, shall we say, “gimmick”.

Laptops are designed to work in Logic Pro, Vectorworks, Final Cut Pro, Maxon Cinema 4D, TetrUSS and other specialized software, designed to process graphics, video, sound, conducting mathematical modeling.

For example, as a journalist who works mostly with text and only occasionally can edit photo-video, I absolutely do not need a new MacBook Pro. Of course, I’ll love the screen and battery life, but, in fact, it’s like buying a dump truck and carrying potatoes and dill from the “Pyaterochka” in it.

Looked at the reviews of colleagues and realized that not everyone understands this point. Many people in the reviews look at the new MacBooks as ordinary consumer laptops. Suffice it to pay attention to the section about battery life. Journalists say that here I had a browser, Telegram, email open, here we run a video at 150 nits of screen brightness in a circle. We got so many hours of work. These are scenarios that have nothing to do with the new macbooks. Here’s Paul Machliss, who worked as an editor on Baby Driver. In the film, the soundtrack directly complements what’s going on in the frame, so you had to edit immediately while filming. This is the script for the new “macbook” work, not the mail and telegraph check.

2. You move around a lot and don’t work in an office

The new MacBook Pro M1 Max is a combination of performance, bright screen, and good battery life. In essence, we’re looking at what’s called a mobile workstation, in a compact package. Other manufacturers also have such laptops. For example, here is the ZBook Fury 17 G7 from HP with a 17″ screen (which, by the way, can also shine 1000 nit). Compared to the ZBook Fury 17 G7, the advantage of the MacBook Pro 16 M1 Max is that it’s more stylish and compact and has excellent battery life. On HP’s side is the ability to disassemble the ZBook even without a screwdriver and replace or upgrade any unit.

Mobile workstations are the most expensive laptops on the market. They can easily cost 400 or 600 thousand rubles. If it is a mobile workstation that you need, and it is macOS, then the choice is obvious.

3. You are immersed in the Apple ecosystem

Probably over time, the level of optimization of applications will change, but for now the new “macBooks” are honed to work in Apple applications. For example, Apple says the MacBook Pro M1 Max can hold up to 20 streams of 4K video and up to 7 streams of 8K video. And it adds: in ProRes format. That’s an important clarification. For example, the MacBook Pro M1 Max lost to the Lenovo ThinkPad P15 on a Core i9-11950H with RTX A5000 GPU graphics in a test rendering a 4-minute 8K project in Adobe Premiere Pro. Lenovo did it in 14 minutes and the MacBook Pro did it in 21 minutes. The reason is that Adobe does not support the ProRes codec. There is even a separate explanation on Adobe’s website about this.

However, if you work in Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, DaVinci and other supported programs, you will get a performance boost.

Accordingly, before buying, look at what you’re working with and check compatibility. Just in case. You can’t save money, because the Lenovo ThinkPad P15 from the example above costs about the same as the MacBook Pro M1 Max.

4. 1,000-nit super screen (again, for professionals)

Most of today’s mid-priced smartphones have a screen brightness of 700-800 nits. The top flagships have a screen brightness of 1000 nits. Such brightness gives the opportunity to work comfortably on a smartphone even under the brightest sun – and reading, and viewing photos.

In laptops 1000-nits screens are quite a rarity. The reasons are simple. Firstly, they are expensive panels, and secondly, they only drain the battery. Usually, such bright screens were used in specialized laptops. For example, I had such a Dell in my 2019 review.

Apple, on the other hand, went even further. It gave not only a super-bright, but also a high-precision screen with a wide color gamut. Not for nothing in the company’s promotional materials was this photo. The photographer pictured is really the laptop’s target audience. Shooting can take place in different conditions, and he needs to see the image exactly as it is.

The average user does not need such a bright screen. When working with office lighting, even a 600-nit screen “eats up” the eyes. Ideally, when the laptop has a brightness of 400-500 nits and a good matte anti-glare coating.

Although, of course, it is clear that watching movies on the new MacBook will be very good.

I didn’t say anything about ProMotion technology with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. That’s simply because of marketing. Slightly smoother menu spins don’t make the weather.

5. Good ponce is expensive.

Despite the fact that the laptops are designed for professionals, it’s obvious that just wealthy people and those who want to seem like cool “pros” will also buy them.

A screen with a cutout will show from afar that this is the latest model macbook. The matte black keyboard and the chic ultra-high-res screen hint at the same.

No discounts here. The notebook looks stylish and expensive. You put it on the table in a café, and everyone will understand that it is a top-topper.

At the same time, because Apple is a super-popular company, and all of its products cause a stir, the price of the new macbooks amazed everyone. I can tell at least from my acquaintances, who ask, “Why are these Macbooks so insanely expensive?” Accordingly, seeing the cutout on the screen and identifying the new model, people will also understand that the owner is a man of wealth and success. It’s not like taking an iPhone on credit.

6. Battery life

Long battery life, coupled with a large screen, may encourage the purchase of a certain category of users who like to work in comfort. To some extent, this applies to me as well. Ever since 16-inch laptops started weighing less than two pounds, I don’t think it makes sense to skimp on 13- or 14-inch screens.

You open the 16-inch screen and work comfortably. Apple also gives you a phenomenal battery life – up to 14 hours on the Internet. And Apple usually does not lie about such things. Another positive point is that the charging adapter is much smaller than the typical bricks in Windows-books.

7. Performance from the ground up.

ARM processors are the future. Almost their main feature is excellent energy efficiency.

In #3 we looked at an example when a Lenovo notebook outperformed a MacBook Pro. However, it should be taken into account that Lenovo was connected to the socket with a 230 watt adapter. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, can perform all of its tasks without being plugged into an outlet, but, of course, it will eat the battery in 2 to 2.5 hours.

8. Ports and MagSafe

The lack of a proper variety of ports, especially when one of them also has to be given away for charging, is a sad thing for a professional tool. Accordingly, the new MacBook solves this problem. Now there’s everything, including an SD card slot and an HDMI port (not 2.1, but what can you do). Apple suggests connecting up to three Pro Display XDR monitors and a 4K TV to the new notebook, plugging in some good “heavy” headphones and pouring photos through the SD slot.

9. Pleasant trivia.

Macbooks finally have a decent webcam. Very cool that there is no more bow-tie keyboard. I want to celebrate the return of MagSafe. Thank you for removing the TouchBar.

And, of course, the ARM chipset is delightful because it is almost silent and does not cool down.

Can not fail to please and the new sound. Here, by the way, I note that Apple is not unique. In large laptops and Windows manufacturers have advanced very well. Models from Lenovo and ASUS also sound powerful and juicy. Of course, we should have a good listen to the MacBook Pro M1 Max live – in games, movies, music playback, but so far this year the leader of my top is the ASUS “zephyrus” G15. However, his sound surprised journalists in all publications. I remembered about ASUS, because when I read the description on the website of Apple, I realized that I had already read about it on the ASUS site. Both laptops use a system of 6 Dolby Atmos speakers.

10. Motivation

This, of course, is all speculative, but often good things cause additional motivation. A cool SUV will make you go to the countryside, a well-designed book will entice you to read it, a good-quality and beautiful gym will motivate you to go there more often. Of course, if there is no desire, then nothing will help. But the new MacBooks can serve as a motivator to work harder and better.