The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M1 has arrived and reveals some problems

[Redaktion]

The new MacBook Pro 14 with the M1 Pro SoC has finally arrived and we want to describe our first impressions of the chassis, the notch in the display as well as the speakers. Both the display as well as the performance do not really meet the high expectations though.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Apple-MacBook-Pro-14-M1-has-arrived-and-reveals-some-problems.575315.0.html

[Malcolm Mason]

I would be interested to know if something other than the color of the keyboard has changed (key travel, size, finish etc)

[MadMaxx]

I've had my MBP 14 for several hours. Love the screen and performance, but it's a bulky laptop compared to my XPS 13 (2020). I'm kinda disappointed in the thickness. Gotta give it a few days before rendering final judgment, but my initial impression is to return it and wait for the 2022 M2 Air.

[savethebrave]

Interested to see you guys test if the display has any blooming issues with the mini leds

[PolCPP]

I've had my MBP 14 for several hours. Love the screen and performance, but it's a bulky laptop compared to my XPS 13 (2020). I'm kinda disappointed in the thickness. Gotta give it a few days before rendering final judgment, but my initial impression is to return it and wait for the 2022 M2 Air.

Is the keyboard better? Comparable to the xps? or is it mushy bottom like previous gen?

Look at the bright side, at least you won't be cooking your fingers like on  the xps (got the 9310 and without disabling turbo i can't barely use it)

[Karolis]

Could we get an in-depth review of the keyboard and webcam/mic combo, please? These are the aspects important for WFH setup.

[Bertrand]

Hello,
I would be interested to know the following points,

- delta E of the webcam and the screen (before and after the calibration),
   the PWM screen
- keyboard backlighting
- battery life

thank you  :)         

[Sergio]

I'd love if you guys can check the weight of the laptop in the full review. I've seen different numbers when its converted to Kilos and, as usual, it has a big *asterisk* next to the 1,61kg in the official Apple specs, because it depends on the configuration. It'd be great to know if the weight of the machine changes depending if it's the 8-core entry Pro model, 10-core Pro or the M1 Max. Thanks for all the great, detailed reviews!!!

[Dan Ridenhour]

The case sounds like a return to the earlier 'wrist slitter' Macbook Pro models... and I can't help wondering why they need all that case.  Its not for circuitry...  could be for battery and cooling... but part of me can't help but think its so they can release a slimmer model next year. 

From what I gather the 8 core GPU in the M1 is around a gtx1050...   while the M1 pro 14-16 core is around a gtx1650.  If thats the case...  the 'air' seems like a better price / performance deal and the 8/256 mini remains the deal of the bunch.

[Andreas Osthoff]

The weight of our entry-level SKU is exactly 1600 grams

[Lucky7]

Would like to know more about the display! It seems pixel response time has regressed and may be worse than the previous MBPs.

Coupled with the blooming expected given the miniLED iPad and it's looking like a mixed bag.
Very bulky too. Thought speakers would be a big improvement from the M1 machines.

[KG]

My main questions:
(1) Battery life: seems to be the only spec that is significant downgrade from the 2020 M1 models. Any insight to this would help as other reviews show a range of report that make it hard to evaluate.
(2) Display gamut: I have seen from 83% to 88% Adobe RGB coverage although Apple's marketing vaguely suggested a wider gamut than before (billions vs. millions of colors). How does this look especially for a serious photo editor?

[poi]

Hi,

Can you please test the performance in After Effects and 3d rendering.

Another interesting question for future reviews, is to know the difference of 14 vs 16 for same M1 Max processor.

[maxfan]

Am following this review very closely - its refreshing to finally see a review of a 16gb ram and not the 32gb model for the 14 inch. Need to see how it stacks up to see if 16gb is truly enough

[JamesV2]

Fantastic initial review. I guess I'll have to wait for a laptop that does 1000 nits on all content types.