The new 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro chip is, to put it simply, the most ambitious laptop Apple has released in a long timeIt arrives to surpass the MacBook Air and Mac mini in raw power, positioning itself as the true brand flagship For those who need a professional team capable of everything: 4K and 8K video editing, development, design, intensive office work and even gaming.
In this Spanish review of the MacBook Pro, we're going to break it down in detail. its design, screen, sound, keyboard, internal hardware, battery life, temperature, and performanceWe haven't left anything out: you'll see its strengths, its weaknesses, and what type of user makes sense for spending the fortune Apple is asking for this machine.
Unboxing and first impressions
The experience begins with unboxing, and as expected, Apple has taken care of every last detail. The package first arrives in an outer protective rigid cardboard boxIt's understated yet very robust, preventing damage during transport. Inside, we find the classic white hard cardboard box with a case-style opening, typical of the brand's high-end products.
Upon opening it, the MacBook Pro M4 Pro appears wrapped in a paper sleeve that protects the aluminumAnd between the screen and the keyboard there's another sheet of paper to prevent marks. The interior is organized using cardboard molds—no unnecessary plastic—in keeping with Apple's more eco-friendly approach.
The contents of the box are simple but complete: the MacBook Pro M4 Pro itself, a 140W power adapter, a braided USB-C to MagSafe 3 charging cableIn addition to the usual documentation and Apple stickers, there are no surprises, but there is a feeling of being in the presence of a very well-designed product.
Design and build quality
The 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro follows the design language which we already saw in previous models, but scaled up. The chassis is made entirely of High-quality aluminum, both in the lid and the base and interior, with a very elegant gray finish that hides fingerprints quite well.
On the lid we find a completely smooth surface with the Apple logo in mirror finish without lightingIt's understated and instantly recognizable. The edges are flat, with gently rounded corners and a slight curved bevel that improves grip when holding the laptop with one hand.
The hinge area is very well integrated into the body, so that when the screen is opened, the bezels are reduced to a minimum. The opening allows for a good rearward anglemaintaining a firm and secure structure. Another interesting detail is that the hot air exhaust grille is located on the lower rear edge, so the airflow doesn't hit the screen directly.
On the sides, in addition to the ports (which we'll look at in detail later), there are discreet vents that are almost hidden when the laptop is lying flat on a table. The front is completely smooth, without the typical central cutout found on other laptops, except for a small indentation to facilitate opening the lid.
The lower base is also made of aluminum and is secured by Torx-type screws located on the edgesIt has four round legs with a smooth finish, providing sufficient support but without very soft rubber, which facilitates smooth sliding on the table, although it sacrifices some non-slip grip.
Despite its thinness, the feeling of robustness is very high. The lid barely flexes even when torque is appliedAnd the whole team conveys solidity, something fundamental in a laptop that borders on the highest range of the market and that, moreover, intends to last for many years.
Opening the MacBook Pro reveals a screen with a notch at the top, housing the camera and microphone system, and very narrow bezels: approximately 5 mm on the sides and top areaand about 13 mm at the bottom. The rounded corners of the screen give a very pleasant feel and are consistent with the overall aesthetic.
At the bottom of the interior, the keyboard occupies the upper section almost from side to side, flanked by side grilles for the speakers, and below it sits a huge 130 x 80 mm haptic touchpad that takes up virtually all the available space. the entire available surface in front of the keyboard.
Next-generation connectivity and ports
One of the most outstanding aspects of the MacBook Pro M4 Pro is its commitment to next-generation connectivityApple doesn't just maintain what already worked well, but it makes the complete leap to Thunderbolt 5, positioning this laptop ahead of most Windows alternatives in this area.
On the right side we find a full-size SDXC card reader, a USB-C Thunderbolt 5 port and an HDMIThis combination covers the needs of content creators (SDXC), as well as those of direct connection to monitors and televisions (HDMI), in addition to offering a high-speed port for data and video.
On the left side is the dedicated MagSafe 3 charging port, flanked by two additional Thunderbolt 5 ports and a 3,5 mm minijack audio connector Compatible with high-impedance headphones. In total, the device offers three Thunderbolt 5 ports, something very few laptops can currently boast.
Thunderbolt 5 provides up to 120 Gbps bandwidth in its most advanced modesIt is backward compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and USB4, and supports DisplayPort video output with resolutions up to 6K at 60 Hz or 4K at 144 Hz, plus theoretical Power Delivery charging of up to 240 W (in this case, the included charger is 140 W, more than enough for the device).
The MagSafe 3 port continues to be one of the defining features of MacBooks: elongated, magnetic connector with status LED and durable braided cableIt allows for quick disconnection in case of an accidental cable pull, freeing up a Thunderbolt port for other uses. This is a feature many users still appreciate compared to charging solely via USB-C.
In terms of wireless connectivity, the laptop incorporates Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. This guarantees a fast and stable connection with modern routers, although here we find a small drawback: Apple has not yet made the leap to Wi-Fi 7 in this model, something that is speculated about in reports on future modelsThere are also no USB-A ports, so anyone with older peripherals will need adapters.
Liquid Retina XDR display and sound quality
The screen is, without exaggeration, one of the main reasons to buy this device. Apple has kept its panel. Liquid Retina XDR with Mini LED technologywhich competes head-to-head with the best OLED screens on the market today, offering deep blacks and spectacular brightness, with less risk of image retention or burn-in, and the potential switch to OLED is outlined in reports on OLED displays.
We are looking at a 16,2-inch panel with a resolution of 3456 x 2234 pixels, which translates to a density of about 254 pixels per inch, well above many 16-inch laptopsThe result is very clear text and an excellent level of detail in both multimedia content and professional work.
One of its strengths is the contrast, which reaches 1.000.000:1 effectively, matching the performance of an OLED in most scenarios. Typical brightness is around 600 nits in normal use, more than enough for brightly lit interiors, but it can go up to 1.000 nits in sustained HDR content and reach peaks of 1.600 nits, ideal for very bright scenes or demanding outdoor work.
The screen covers the P3 color space with 10-bit depth, and adds the already well-known True Tone technology, which It automatically adjusts the color temperature according to the environment. to offer a more restful viewing experience. It also includes an excellent anti-glare coating and a nano-textured finish option in certain configurations, designed for environments with a lot of direct sunlight.
The refresh rate reaches 120 Hz with ProMotion, with adaptive refresh rate that drops to around 48 Hz depending on the content. This makes everything look incredibly smooth, from scrolling in Safari to editing video on the timeline. It's one of those things that, once you get used to it, is hard to give up.
In terms of sound, Apple is once again a step ahead of most laptops. The MacBook Pro M4 Pro integrates a six-speaker system with force-canceling woofers, a technique that reduces internal vibrations and improves bass response without artificially fattening the sound.
The result is audio with high volume, good clarity even at near maximum volumes, and surprisingly present bass for such a thin chassis. It is perfectly suitable for watching series, movies, listening to music or editing audio without the need for external speakersunless you're very demanding.
In addition, the device supports Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, which are especially effective when paired with the latest generation AirPods. The 3,5 mm headphone jack supports High-impedance headphones and multi-channel sound via HDMIwhich makes it a solid option for more serious sound work as well.
Screen calibration and color fidelity
Beyond the raw figures, it's important to know how the screen performs in real-world colorimetry. In tests conducted with an X-Rite colorimeter and software such as DisplayCAL and HCFR, True Tone was disabled to obtain accurate measurements, focused on the fidelity of the serial panel.
At maximum brightness in SDR use, the screen stays around 600 nits without resorting to HDR modesMaintaining extremely deep blacks, with almost imperceptible levels of light in the darkest areas. The measured contrast ratio approaches 1:1 for black, practically the closest thing to an OLED, but with the advantages of Mini LED.
The color temperature (around 6500 K) is very close to the standard, with a Properly calibrated gamma and outstanding brightness uniformity across the entire surface. There are no noticeably darker or lighter areas, which is key for professional photo or video editing.
In the sRGB color space, the screen achieves approximately 98% coverage with a Average Delta E close to 0,8This is an excellent value considered virtually perfect in terms of human perception. For most users, this means that color reproduction on the web, in office applications, and in most other applications will be very accurate without the need for additional calibration.
When working with the DCI-P3 color space, which is geared more towards film and professional content creation, coverage is around 72-73% with a Average Delta E below 2...still within acceptable limits for serious work. If greater precision is needed in a specific workflow, macOS allows you to choose from multiple pre-configured color profiles to adjust the behavior to different standards.
With this starting point and macOS's advanced profiling options, External panel calibration is not strictly necessary for most professional uses.Except in environments where critical color management is required, the factory settings are at a very high level.
Keyboard, trackpad and webcam
The keyboard remains one of the biggest selling points for those who spend many hours typing. Apple assembles its Magic Keyboard in Spanish ISO layout, with all the keys correctly labeled in Spanish and a very polished typing feel.
The keys are island-style, slightly concave, with a short but very well-damped travel at the end. The mechanism offers a silent, firm, and non-sinking pulse in the center of the keyboard, something that is found on many competing laptops. The top row of function keys offers dual actions and integrates the power button with Touch ID for fingerprint unlocking.
The backlighting is white, homogeneous, and with automatic brightness adjustment according to ambient lightThis eliminates the need for constant adjustments. It's a keyboard clearly designed for high-quality, frequent typing, perfect for programmers, writers, or anyone who spends all day typing.
The trackpad, meanwhile, is the familiar, large Force Touch. There's no physical button as such: everything is haptic, so the "click" is simulated but very convincing and consistent across the entire surface. It detects different pressure levels, enabling features such as "strong click" and advanced gestures.
This translates into precise cursor control, excellent multi-touch gesture recognition, and behavior that, to this day, Few Windows laptop trackpads can matchIn terms of daily productivity, it makes a huge difference in comfort.
At the top of the screen, housed in the notch, is a 12 MP webcam with 1080p video recording, accompanied by a very good quality microphone system. The camera offers Sharp image, good dynamic range, and auto-framing functions using FaceTime, centering the user's face and adjusting to movements.
However, despite the notch, Apple still hasn't included Face ID in this laptop, which some will consider a missed opportunity. Where it does shine is in the captured audio: a set of three microphones with beamforming technology It isolates the voice and reduces background noise, ideal for professional video calls, live streams, or podcast recording without an urgent need for an external microphone.
Internal hardware and configuration of the M4 Pro
Inside the MacBook Pro M4 Pro, we find a very refined design, as is typical of Apple, although with its own limitations. The battery is organized in Replaceable modules, a positive feature for possible future maintenanceHowever, the rest of the key components are soldered: RAM, CPU, GPU and SSD use proprietary design with no possibility of later expansion.
The heart of the device is the Apple M4 Pro chip, based on ARMv9.2-A architecture and manufactured in TSMC N3E 3nm process, one of the most advanced on the market. This SoC integrates a 14-core CPU, divided into 10 high-performance cores (P-core) and 4 high-efficiency cores (E-core), along with a 16-core Neural Engine for artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks, and its differences with the upcoming M5 chips They are analyzed in detail in other articles.
The graphics component is integrated into the chip itself, with 20 GPU cores supporting hardware ray tracing and a very powerful multimedia engine, capable of encoding and decoding formats such as ProRes, AV1, H.265, and HEVC with dedicated acceleration. This translates into significantly reduced rendering times in video editing tools and lower CPU usage when playing high-resolution content.
The tested unit has 24 GB of unified LPDDR5X memory at 8533 MT/s, soldered into the same package as the SoC, providing huge bandwidth and very low latencyThis memory is shared between the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine, and can be expanded to 48 GB in higher configurations of the M4 Pro, although always configured at the time of purchase.
Regarding storage, the base configuration starts at 512 GB, and in this case, a 1 TB SSD has been chosen. This SSD uses proprietary interface and a format similar to M.2 2230However, it's not interchangeable with standard off-the-shelf drives. Performance, though, is very high, with read and write speeds that rival the best current NVMe drives.
Cooling is handled by a system with two turbine-type fans and a copper heatpipe which is based on a central cold plate above the SoC. A passive design, like in the MacBook Air, has not been chosen; here, the priority has been the ability to sustain high performance for extended periods without overly aggressive performance cuts.
Autonomy and charging system
Apple states for this model up to 24 hours of streaming video playback and about 17 hours of web browsingThanks to a 100 Wh battery, one of the maximum capacities allowed by regulations for laptops.
In real-world tests with YouTube playback, screen brightness around 45%, and sound enabled, observed battery consumption was around 10% every 3 hours and 45 minutes, projecting a battery life close to 37,5 hours of continuous light useThat's a spectacular figure and far exceeds that of almost any high-performance Windows laptop.
At the other extreme, subjecting the CPU to constant stress with Cinebench R23, the battery drains much faster and the battery life is around one hour. This makes it clear that, when the M4 Pro is pushed to its limits, it consumes as many resources as other powerful CPUs.But the big difference is how it performs in light and mixed tasks, where efficiency is outstanding.
Charging is primarily done via MagSafe 3, with a compact 140W power adapter included in the box. The charger plugs directly into a wall outlet. without the need for huge intermediate bricks or additional cablesThis is appreciated when transporting the set. It can also be charged via the Thunderbolt 5 ports, although ideally, to free up ports, MagSafe should be used.
The best part is that the M4 Pro chip keeps The same performance whether plugged in or on batteryThis is something very few high-end Windows laptops achieve. In those laptops, battery mode typically cuts performance by more than 50% to control temperatures and power consumption, while this MacBook utilizes almost its full potential even when not plugged in.
Performance: benchmarks, gaming, and professional use
In synthetic benchmarks, the M4 Pro proves to be on par with the best of current Intel and AMD processors. In Cinebench R23, its multicore performance approaches to an Intel Core i9-14900HX, one of the most powerful processors in the laptop worldalso outperforming the latest generation Intel Ultra 9 chips in various metrics.
In Cinebench 2024, the differences widen: the M4 Pro It outperforms the Intel Ultra 9 185H by around 50% in multi-core performance. and it outperforms the Ultra 9 288V in single-core performance by nearly 40%. For tasks such as compiling large projects, rendering 3D scenes, or exporting complex videos, this translates into significant time savings.
Compared to previous generations of Apple, the leap from the M3 chip in the MacBook Air is considerable, especially in multi-core performance. The M4 Pro is clearly in a different league., geared towards professional users and content creators who need more power for continuous work; expectations regarding the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips They are already pointing towards further development.
In terms of graphics, the M4 Pro's integrated GPU is one of the best seen so far in a laptop without a dedicated graphics card. It even surpasses... the Radeon 890M integrated into some Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 In several tests, and in games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it can reach around 88 FPS on high quality at 1080p, which is not bad at all for an integrated GPU.
Obviously, macOS still doesn't offer the same game catalog as Windows, and support for native titles or via compatibility layers is more limited, but in terms of pure graphics power, This MacBook Pro borders on the territory of some mid-range gaming laptops with dedicated input graphics.
Regarding the performance of the memory and SSD, the specific tests show Very high speeds for both reading and writingwith significantly reduced application and project load times. The combination of fast unified memory and a high-speed SSD makes the overall experience extremely smooth, even with many processes open.
Battery performance and temperatures
As already mentioned, one of the most impressive aspects of the M4 Pro is that performance remains virtually identical whether the laptop is plugged in or running on battery power alone. The Cinebench scores in both scenarios are virtually identical., something very unusual in the traditional PC world.
To control temperatures, stress tests were performed using Cinebench R23 for one hour, monitoring with specific tools in a room with an ambient temperature of approximately 25°C. At idle, the CPU temperature is around 40-45 ºC, while under maximum load it can reach peaks close to 103 ºC, remaining mostly around 90-95 ºC.
In games and graphically intensive tasks, the GPU fluctuates between about 70-75 ºC, with peaks around 100 ºC in extreme situations. These are high figures, but within expectations for such a powerful chip in a relatively thin chassis, and similar to those we see in high-end Windows Max-Q laptops.
The noise from the fans, measured from a distance, remains around 30 dBA at rest, 40 dBA under medium load and about 43 dBA at maximum loadIt's audible when pushed, but much more subdued than on most gaming or high-performance laptops with dedicated graphics cards, where the noise can become annoying.
In real-world use, it's noticeable that the keyboard barely heats up compared to many rivals, concentrating most of the heat in the upper part of the chassis, near the hinge. It is a well-managed behavior that allows for long sessions of intense work without discomfort..
Overall, the MacBook Pro M4 Pro positions itself as an extremely powerful machine, with outstanding battery life for light and mixed use, consistently high performance, and a relatively quiet cooling system. The major drawback remains the price of the higher configurations and the lack of certain features like USB-A ports or Wi-Fi 7, but in terms of design, display, sound, battery life, and power, it continues to be the benchmark in the professional laptop segment.
