If you're unsure whether you should purchase a MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip or if an M1 machine will best suit your needs, our latest YouTube video is for you. We've compared the 14-inch base MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip to the 13-inch base MacBook Pro with M1 chip to give our readers an idea of how they measure up to one another.
The M1 MacBook Pro is priced starting at $1,299, and it comes with an M1 chip that features an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU, along with 8GB memory and a 256GB SSD.
The base 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro is priced starting at $1,999 and has an 8-core CPU, a 14-core GPU, 16GB memory, and a 512GB SSD. Upgraded models of the M1 Pro come with a 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU, but we're comparing the two base models.
Apple's 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro is $700 more expensive than the M1 model, but as you'll see in our video, it's much more capable. It has a brighter, crisper display that makes a noticeable difference and additional ports. There's one more USB-C/Thunderbolt port, a MagSafe charging port, an HDMI port, and an SD card reader. Speakers probably aren't a major selling point for most people, but the sound is much improved, and there's also a somewhat better webcam at 1080p vs. 720p.
There are clear performance differences with the M1 and M1 Pro when it comes to Geekbench scores. The M1 MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 1705 and a multi-core score of 7385, along with an OpenCL score of 18480. In comparison, the 14-inch MacBook Pro earned a single-core score of 1763, a multi-core score of 9823, and an OpenCL score of 30569, which is a decent improvement in multi-core and graphics performance.
This does translate to real-world usage as well. Rendering a 4K timeline in Final Cut Pro took the M1 Pro MacBook Pro about 2 minutes and 55 seconds, but the M1 MacBook Pro took 3 minutes and 40 seconds, which is a notable difference. The M1 Pro MacBook Pro was able to handle 8K footage with no problem, but the M1 MacBook Pro struggled.
So is the 14-inch MacBook Pro worth the premium? Sure, if you need the kind of power that it delivers. If you're just going to be reading emails, browsing the web, and doing other lightweight tasks, the M1 chip is more than sufficient. As a note, though, if you're considering an M1 MacBook, it's probably best to go with the MacBook Air, a thinner and lighter machine that is nearly as powerful and $300 less expensive than the M1 MacBook Pro, saving you even more money.
If you need more power for pro-level tasks like video editing, sound editing, photography, and similar purposes, shelling out an extra $700 may be well worth it given the benefits of the M1 Pro, the extra 8GB memory you get with the base machine, and the additional storage space compared to base M1 options.
Make sure to watch our video for the full comparison, and let us know in the comments if you think the M1 Pro MacBook Pros are worth the additional money over the M1 machines.
Note: Our YouTube video and article have been republished after we addressed an error with the Geekbench scores.
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8 core M1 Pro MacBook Pro vs 10 core M1 Pro MacBook Pro. Recorded with iPhone 13 Pro, edited on iPad Pro