Apple MacBook Pro 14.2" M4 Max Space Black 2024 Review

Apple's M4 Max MacBook Pro delivers absolute top-tier CPU and memory performance, paired with a stunning 1600-nit Mini-LED display. The 40-core GPU is adequate for creative apps but disappoints in gaming, landing in the bottom fifth of our benchmarks. Prices start at $3199, making it a serious investment, but for developers and video professionals who need macOS, it's a powerhouse that's tough to beat. If you're a gamer or need Windows, skip it and look at a Legion or ZBook instead.

Apple's latest MacBook Pro with the M4 Max chip is exactly what you'd expect from the top of Apple's silicon lineup: absurdly fast, dead quiet most of the time, and wrapped in that same unibody chassis we've been admiring for years. This 14.2-inch model packs a 16-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, and up to 128GB of unified memory into a 1.62kg package that you can actually carry around without a dedicated backpack. It's built for the kind of person who edits 8K video on set, compiles massive codebases during a coffee break, or runs local AI models that would make lesser laptops sweat.

Let's talk raw numbers. We've got this thing sitting at the 92nd percentile for CPU across all laptops in our database, which puts it among the best on the market for raw compute. The 16-core M4 Max chews through multi-threaded tasks like they're nothing. In our testing, it handled a 30-minute 4K render in a fraction of the time most Windows workstations manage, and the 128GB of unified memory, literally the best you can get right now, means you can keep a dozen creative apps open without ever touching a scratch disk.

The GPU tells a different story. At the 18th percentile, it's a weak spot if you're looking at pure gaming muscle. AAA titles at native resolution will stumble, and ray tracing performance isn't going to challenge a dedicated Nvidia chip. But for the pro apps this machine is designed for, like DaVinci Resolve or Blender's Metal-accelerated viewport, it's more than enough. The display is a standout, pushing 1600 nits peak HDR in a 120Hz Mini-LED panel that makes everything from color grading to Netflix look incredible. And our reliability data, placing this in the top 96th percentile, means you're probably not visiting an Apple Store anytime soon.

Value is tricky when you're talking about a $4000-plus machine, but hear me out. Across our vendor data, prices for the MacBook Pro M4 Max range from $3199 for the entry spec to $4849 for fully loaded configurations, and the config we're reviewing, with 128GB of memory, likely lands somewhere in the middle. At that price, you're getting a level of integrated memory and CPU performance that you simply can't match in a Windows laptop without jumping to a chunky mobile workstation that's twice the weight and has half the battery life in real-world creative apps.

If you shop around, you'll find deals hitting that $3199 floor, which makes the base M4 Max model a surprisingly good deal for developers and video pros who don't need the absolute maximum memory. Just know that every spec bump from Apple adds a wallet-denting premium, and the storage upgrades are especially painful. Factor that in before you click buy.

Stacked against the HP ZBook Ultra G1a or the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, the MacBook Pro feels like a different species. The ZBook offers similar CPU grunt in a Windows environment and often comes with Nvidia Quadro GPUs that smoke the M4 Max in 3D rendering, but you'll sacrifice display quality and battery life. The Legion Pro 7i, with its high-refresh screen and RTX graphics, is the obvious pick for gamers and game devs who need Windows, but it falls short on portability and that seamless Apple ecosystem integration.

The ASUS ROG Flow GZ302EA also deserves a mention. It's thinner and has a dedicated GPU that might edge ahead in some rendering tasks, but it can't touch the MacBook's memory ceiling or its quiet fan profile during light work. And the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro? Gorgeous OLED but nowhere near the sustained performance. Think of the MacBook Pro M4 Max as the most polished tool for macOS devotees who prioritize CPU, memory, and display over raw GPU horsepower and upgradeability.

Gamers should steer clear entirely. The GPU performance is just not there for the latest titles, and you'll get far better frame rates per dollar from a mid-range Windows gaming laptop. Likewise, if you're a professional who relies on Windows-only software or needs an Nvidia GPU for CUDA-accelerated tasks, this machine will only frustrate you. And if your budget is under $2500, even the entry-level M4 Max config is a stretch, so you'd be better off with a MacBook Pro M4 Pro or a well-specced Windows alternative like the HP ZBook Ultra G1a.

If you're a developer working with massive codebases, a video editor pushing multiple 8K streams, or a data scientist running local large language models, this MacBook Pro is basically custom-built for you. The combination of that top-tier CPU, the insane 128GB memory ceiling, and a display that doubles as an HDR reference monitor makes it the best pro laptop Apple has ever made, and one of the best, period.

But if your workflow revolves around gaming, heavy 3D rendering in apps that don't play nice with Metal, or you need to dual-boot into Linux, you're going to feel the GPU limitations and the Mac's walled garden. In that case, a high-end Windows machine with a beefy dedicated GPU will serve you better, and you'll likely save some cash in the process. For everyone else, this is the portable Mac workstation we've been waiting for.