Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021) Review: A Powerful Upgrade

A Warm Reception for the Return of MagSafe

The response from TechCrunch staff was immediate and, as far as I can tell, unanimous. It’s difficult to recall a time when so many colleagues expressed genuine excitement for a single new feature. MagSafe has made its comeback. Not the iPhone version – though that too possesses a certain appeal – but the original, laptop-focused iteration. This is the version Apple discontinued in 2017 with the introduction of the all-USB-C/Thunderbolt MacBook.

It’s admittedly unusual to begin a detailed review of a professional laptop by focusing on this. MagSafe isn’t the most significant addition to the 2021 MacBook Pro. That distinction almost certainly belongs to the new M1 Pro and Max chips. However, the proprietary connector serves as a telling microcosm. It’s a crowd-pleaser for long-time users who have remained loyal to the line through periods of plentiful ports and subsequent scarcity.

Revisiting Familiar Features

The new model isn’t a “kitchen-sink” laptop – Apple doesn’t typically pursue such designs. Nevertheless, alongside the new features, the company is reinstating several beloved elements that many in the community likely feared were lost forever. As the MacBook has evolved, certain features have been added and removed. Apple famously termed this “courage” when it eliminated the headphone jack in 2016.

That instance, among others, demonstrated Apple’s ability to anticipate trends. However, courage doesn’t always yield the expected results. We, as consumers, simultaneously demand innovation and express dissatisfaction with change. We are a difficult audience to please. Sometimes, as with the headphone jack and disk drive, mainstream adoption eventually catches up, rendering the features less essential. Other times, the manufacturer acts prematurely. The transition from USB-A to USB-C was a clear sign of progress, but the loss of MagSafe was keenly felt.

Fortunately, the connector is back – and improved. It’s accompanied by an SD card slot (supporting the SD 4.0 standard, UHS-I and UHS-II SDXC cards), an HDMI port, and a row of function keys (replacing the often-criticized Touch Bar). These features are largely absent from the current Mac lineup, with last year’s 13-inch MacBook Pro being the final holdout. There are three USB-C ports onboard – a reduction from the four found on the 13-inch model. While losing ports is never ideal, many will likely view the return of HDMI and MagSafe as a worthwhile trade-off.

Targeting Creative Professionals

Apple has made a concerted effort to win back creative professionals, who have historically been central to its computer lineup. In many ways, the new Pro models represent the purest expression of this goal. They are powerful, substantial machines that look toward the future of the Mac while also reviving popular features from the past.

In retrospect, last year’s 13-inch MacBook Pro may be remembered as a unique experiment, akin to the 2016 MacBook. The device remains in the lineup as a 13-inch counterpart to the newly announced 14- and 16-inch models. It occupies a strange position. The truth is that the 13-inch MacBook shares more DNA with the Air it was introduced alongside – perhaps a “MacBook Pro Lite” or “MacBook Air+.” The distinction between the two models was never as pronounced as expected, and the arrival of this year’s Pro models has only highlighted the gap.

The Power of Apple Silicon

At the heart of these products lies Apple’s latest silicon. We anticipated a new chip leading up to this month’s Unleashed event, but Apple surprised us by unveiling two: the M1 Pro and M1 Max. Both are essentially enhanced versions of the M1 (built on the same 5nm architecture). For most users in most scenarios, the differences between the two variants will be negligible. Indeed, for many users, the original M1 will suffice. However, Apple’s target demographic isn’t “most users.” It’s the creative class – individuals who regularly push their systems to the limit with tasks like 3D rendering, 8K video editing, and other activities that were nearly impossible on a laptop a decade ago.

Here’s a quick overview:

• M1: 16 billion transistors, 8 CPU cores, 7/8 GPU cores, 68.25 GBps memory bandwidth, 16GB max memory
• M1 Pro: 33.7 billion transistors, 8/10 CPU cores, 14/16 GPU cores, 200 GBps memory bandwidth, 32GB max memory
• M1 Max: 57 billion transistors, 10 CPU cores, 24/32 GPU cores, 400 GBps memory bandwidth, 64GB max memory

Following the unveiling of the Pro and Max chips, the immediate question was how Apple would allocate them. Ultimately, I believe the company made the right decision, offering the Max as an upgrade for both systems at an additional $200. These costs add up quickly, of course, but that’s typical for Apple.com purchases. The test unit provided by Apple featured the M1 Max with a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 64GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage.

Memory options range from 16 to 64GB (the latter only available with the Max), and storage options span from 512GB to 8TB. This particular configuration costs $4,100. Upgrading to 8TB of storage increases the price to $5,899 (the 16-inch model can exceed $6,000). That represents a $3,900 premium over the $1,999 entry price.

Performance Benchmarks

The benchmark results demonstrate the significant performance gains. GeekBench’s single-core test showed a modest improvement, from 1711 on the 2020 MacBook Pro to 1781. However, the multi-core score saw a substantial jump, from 7549 to 12674.

The GFXBench Metal graphics test further highlights the new GPU’s capabilities, increasing from 3490 frames (at 54.3 fps) to 7717.5 in the Aztec demo, and from 4981 frames (77.4 fps) to 17981 (279.6 fps) in the offscreen version. While the system still trails some Nvidia GPUs in the former test, it impressively outperforms them in the latter. Notably, Apple achieves these performance levels with significantly lower power consumption than much of the competition.

Design and Features

The claim that the system doesn’t get hot is an overstatement – the bottom of the aluminum case does become warm. However, it’s true that you need to push this system hard to activate the fans. Battery life is also impressive. I was able to achieve 17 hours and 29 minutes of Apple TV+ playback on a single charge (the new Velvet Underground documentary is excellent, and I watched it extensively). The reintroduction of MagSafe also enables fast charging, bringing the system from zero to 50% battery in just half an hour (with the 96 or 140W power adapter). The system can also be charged via one of the three USB-C ports, though not as quickly, reaching 100W.

The MagSafe plug features a new braided cable but otherwise functions similarly to the familiar, quick-detaching connector we all know and largely appreciate.

The MacBook also receives a design update to complement its new internals. The 16-inch model is thicker and heavier than its predecessor, increasing from 4.3 to 4.7 pounds and from 0.64 to 0.66 inches thick. The 14-inch model weighs 3.5 pounds compared to the 13-inch model’s three pounds, while maintaining the same thickness.

For someone accustomed to carrying the 2020 Air, this is a noticeable difference. While I speculate about the future of the 13-inch MacBook (at least in its current form), it’s unlikely that the thinner, lighter Air will be discontinued.

Display and Camera Improvements

The 14.2-inch display is large and bright, with a resolution of 3024 x 1964 at 254 ppi, compared to the 13-inch model’s 227 ppi. Brightness has increased from 500 nits to 1,000 nits sustained, with peaks of 1,600 nits. This is achieved through a mini-LED array and a 120Hz refresh rate that adapts to the task using ProMotion technology. The underlying technology is similar to that found in the latest iPad Pro – and, to date, a limited number of laptops.

In this era of remote work, the FaceTime camera also receives an upgrade, following the lead of this year’s new iMac with a 1080p camera. This is a significant improvement over the 720p cameras in last year’s Pro and Air models, which relied on computational photography and improvements from the M1 to enhance white balance and reduce image noise. As shown above, it’s a dramatic improvement over the camera on the recent Air.

The bezels have been reduced by 24% compared to previous models. It’s not quite an edge-to-edge display, but it’s getting closer. This change introduced, perhaps, the most controversial addition: the notch. For a thoughtful assessment of the notch, refer to Devin’s article. I’m largely indifferent to it, meaning that a truly full screen would be preferable, but I also understand the rationale behind its inclusion. Apple has maintained this design element on the iPhone since the introduction of the iPhone X four years ago.

As the company noted during the event, “it’s a really smart way to give you more space for your content, and when you’re in full-screen mode, you have that 16:10 window, and it looks great. It’s seamless.” I will admit that it will take some adjustment.

Other mobile companies have explored pinholes and, in some cases, under-screen cameras. The latter has generally resulted in compromised image quality, which is unacceptable for a webcam in the age of Zoom calls. The inclusion of the notch effectively provides additional screen real estate where the bezel would otherwise be. In most cases, a dark background can mask it, or letterboxing can be used during full-screen video playback.

However, it can be distracting in full-screen mode, particularly in applications with complex menu systems. The menu bar automatically wraps around the notch. Developers don’t need to make any changes; the menu items simply move down to avoid being obscured. This was the case with Audacity, which hasn’t yet been updated for Apple silicon or the new notch. The pointer effectively passes under the notch when scrolling.

If you require more than a 14-inch display, the Pro chip can support two Pro Display XDRs. With the Max, you can connect three Pro Display XDRs and a 4K TV. The reintroduced HDMI port supports 4K60 and HDR video.

Keyboard and Touch Bar

The keyboard has been a point of contention for the MacBook line in recent years. Fortunately, the company returned to a reliable mechanism last year, after addressing issues with stuck keys and offering a keyboard replacement program. The current keyboard tends toward the softer side, but it’s a vast improvement over the problematic designs of a few years ago.

Whether the Touch Bar was a “rocky misstep” is a matter of opinion, but it appears to have fallen short of Apple’s expectations. The idea of a thin touch display above the keys was intriguing, but few people regularly interacted with it. It was one of those features you wanted to like, but it never offered enough compelling reasons to justify its existence. Therefore, I’m not disappointed to see it go.

It’s too early to completely mourn its demise, as it remains on the 13-inch MacBook. However, the future doesn’t look promising for that input device. In its place, the full-height function keys have returned, and Apple positions their reintroduction as a significant new feature. The company states:

The keys include brightness, dictation, volume, Spotlight, Siri, Do Not Disrupt, and music playback controls. It also retains the best aspect of the Touch Bar: Touch ID. This time, it’s a full-size key, rather than the small nub found on last year’s Air.

Much like the return of MagSafe, the abandonment of the Touch Bar exemplifies why the new MacBooks are the best in years. They build upon the technologies and lessons learned from previous generations, introduce key innovations, and, most importantly, listen to user feedback. This means moving away from what doesn’t work and focusing on what does, and above all, avoiding the assumption that you know what’s best for the consumer – particularly for discerning creative professionals.

Priced between $1,999 and $5,899, this is not a MacBook for everyone. For most consumers, the MacBook Air is sufficient. However, if you regularly push your machine to its limits, the new Pro is an excellent combination of the line’s best features.