Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M4 Pro, Space Black) Review

The CPU performance is one of the worst we've tested, landing in the 4th percentile. However, the screen and port selection are best-in-class. Buy this if you need a gorgeous, reliable, well-connected laptop for media work, but skip it if you need raw processing power.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro chip is a laptop that nails the fundamentals. It's got a screen that's one of the best on the market, a port selection that's nearly perfect, and a reputation for reliability that's well above average. The 24GB of RAM is solid, and the 512GB storage is about average for this price point. But the headline number is the CPU, which sits in the 4th percentile. That means it's one of the worst we've seen for raw processing power in our database.

Apple's marketing focuses on 'Apple Intelligence' and up to 22 hours of battery life, but our data shows this machine excels for entertainment, business, and student use, scoring above 90 in each. Its weakest area is gaming, clocking in at a dismal 45.2 out of 100. So, this is a pro machine built for specific workflows, not a general powerhouse.

Let's talk about what this MacBook Pro actually does well. The Liquid Retina XDR display is a standout, with its 3024x1964 resolution, Mini-LED tech, and 1000 nits sustained brightness. It's a gorgeous screen for creative work. The port selection, with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, SDXC, and MagSafe, is best-in-class and solves a major pain point from older MacBooks. Reliability and social proof scores are also strong, meaning people trust these machines and they tend to last.

Now, the weak spots. The GPU performance is middle of the pack, which explains the poor gaming score. The 512GB storage is about average, and the 24GB RAM is solid but not leading. The real shocker is the CPU ranking. Landing in the 4th percentile means it lags behind most laptops in our tests for processor-intensive tasks. That 'M4 Pro' branding doesn't translate to leading benchmark numbers in our data.

Prices for this config swing from $1799 to $1999 across different vendors. That's a $200 spread, so hunting for the lower price is a smart move. Given the standout screen and ports, but the disappointing CPU performance, the value proposition is tricky. You're paying premium laptop money for a machine with a best-in-class display and connectivity, but with processing power that falls behind most competitors. It's a trade-off: incredible build and screen quality at the expense of raw speed.

Compared to its sibling, the M4 Max model, this M4 Pro version gives up some GPU cores and external display support for a lower price. Against Windows rivals like the ASUS ProArt PX13 or MSI Creator M14, this MacBook wins in screen quality, port selection, and likely battery life, but loses decisively in CPU and GPU performance benchmarks. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, a gaming laptop, will crush it in both CPU and GPU tasks. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Copilot+ PC might challenge it in AI features and portability. Your choice boils down to prioritizing a sublime screen and robust build over benchmark-leading speed.

Skip this laptop if you're a power user who needs top-tier CPU performance. Our data places it in the 4th percentile, which is dead last. Developers, engineers, and anyone running heavy computational tasks will find it underwhelming. Also, gamers should look elsewhere, given its mediocre GPU score and terrible gaming rating. If your priority is raw speed over a beautiful screen and great ports, this isn't your machine.

This is a data-backed recommendation for a specific user. If your workflow is heavily reliant on a perfect screen—like photo editing, video review, or design—and you value a laptop that feels premium and connects to everything easily, this MacBook Pro makes sense. The high scores in entertainment, business, and student categories support that. But if your tasks are CPU-intensive, like coding, rendering, or data analysis, our percentile data shows this machine is a real letdown. You should look at the Windows competitors or the M4 Max config.