Finding a solid multi-purpose laptop is a difficult art. If you work with video and/or desire capacity for gaming, you might be locked into the “gaming laptop” ecosystem, where bodies are bulky and battery life is scarce. If you have portability needs, or you require longer-lasting battery, that becomes an issue. To date, I’ve gotten around dual needs by having two laptops – one for work, one for gaming. But testing the new MacBook Pro M4 (2024), I’ve found my worlds coming together, with both disparate needs met in one chassis.
Not only that, but in a stylish chassis, too. The MacBook Pro prides itself on minimalism, with a matte grey-black finish and slim lines defining its design. If you’ve used any MacBook before, you’ll be well familiar with the layout here. There’s a reason why
The 14-inch model I’m testing is also just the right size. It’s nice and compact, with thin sides. While it is heavy, it remains portable. Any larger and I’d start to question the weight, but as it stands, this is the perfect, pint-sized package. More than that, the MacBook Pro M4 justifies its weight when you consider its performance, battery life, and beyond.
The MacBook Pro M4 as a work laptop
In my day-to-day, I’ve been using the MacBook Pro M4 for all of my work tasks. Where previously, I was forced to switch to my gaming laptop to take on my weekly TikToks, I’m now using the MacBook Pro for video processing. I also spend time typing away in the GamesHub CMS, catching up with gaming news on various social platforms, checking my emails, and tending to my other work responsibilities.
Everything’s a breeze for the MacBook Pro M4. Website pages, which load slow on my usual laptop (a much older MacBook Pro), immediately snap to attention. Applications pop in, and open up instantly. When I export TikToks, videos require 2-3 seconds before they’re processed. For reference, my usual laptop takes closer to 2-3 minutes.
Weirdly enough, it’s meant being able to get more work done – and while some people might begrudge that, it comes in very handy when I’ve got a pile of press releases in my inbox, and an ever-growing pile of gaming news to cover. It’s been particularly good for covering live news, with the laptop’s snappiness meaning instant updates for articles, and not having to wait for thinking before doing. Its Wi-Fi 6E capabilities also allow for a smoothness and consistency of reception I previously lacked – noticeable in those faster webpage loading times, as well as connection to CapCut, and other programs.
Read: iPhone 16 Pro Max review: AAA gaming in your palm
Another great feature for those work-minded is the camera. In Zoom meetings, the 12MP lens gives you a nice, crisp picture – perfect for underlining those tired wrinkles. While the camera is only 1080p, that’s really all you need for a nice, professional look. It also has a neat Desk View feature for showing off documents if you need, but personally, this isn’t something required in my always-online work.
Where the laptop does slightly disappoint me – and I do mean slightly – is in its ports. This is an ongoing bugbear, but laptops simply shouldn’t be transitioning to USB-C only when the vast majority of accessories still release with USB-A interfaces.
Change has been very slow in this department, and so many of my daily work tools (mouse, microphone, chargers, lighting rig) require a USB-A connection, which the MacBook Pro M4 can’t provide. I do have a USB-A to USB-C dongle, and I’ve been mostly getting by with this, but it’s pretty frustrating.
At least one USB-A port would’ve been generous, if not practical. I’m certainly not going to go out and buy a whole new suite of products because some laptops are trying to edge too far into the future.
The MacBook Pro M4 as a gaming laptop
Where
Thanks to the laptop’s M4 chip, you can absolutely blast through compatible games. While these are limited, as not every new release for PC is also compatible with Mac, there’s plenty of games that are available, and they all perform fantastically – even newer AAA games.
Recently, I tested Assassin’s Creed Shadows on the MacBook Pro, and I was pretty blown away by how strongly it performed. It looks fantastic on screen, thanks to a bright, dynamic and ultra-crisp display, and gameplay remains smooth and consistent throughout. In some parts, the game looked even better on the MacBook Pro M4 than it did on my PlayStation – although part of that was playing on a smaller screen.
Running through most terrains, the game was able to run with zero noticeable frame rate drops or input lag. While areas of terrain density (with lots of trees, grasses, flowers, and hills) did create some minor visual inconsistencies, this happened only rarely. For the vast majority of my time with the game, I might as well have been playing on a dedicated gaming console, with the crispness and dynamism of visuals to match.
Read: Assassin’s Creed Shadows runs shockingly well on a 2024 MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro M4 had no trouble playing the game at 60FPS, in 3024 x 1964 resolution. When I say no trouble, I mean the laptop’s chassis remained lukewarm-to-warm throughout, and there was only low, consistent fan noise, even with the power required to play the game.
The battery did deplete fairly fast, and I’ll go more in the depth in the next paragraphs – but regardless, it was an easy, breezy experience that roundly surprised me.
Elsewhere, I was able to play through a range of new game demos and previews for articles, none of which proved to be any trouble for the
Apple MacBook Pro M4: Battery life, charging
On the whole, the most impressive feature of the
Playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows was a different story, as this is a more demanding game. Maxing out the specs of this game and playing it carefree, I was able to play for just 1 hour, 20 minutes on power. But if I’m being honest, that was still much more than I expected, and the reality is, there’s few circumstances where I’ll need to be untethered while playing a game like this.
What was a more effective test of the laptop’s battery life was taking it off-charge for a full day of work, sitting in a space outside my office. In this circumstance, with the laptop used for the daily work tasks mentioned above, the battery had only drained by 50% of the end of a full 8am-4pm work day. Realistically, I could’ve worked two full days without needing to charge, which is an impressive feat.
With my own needs accounted for, I’d expect the laptop would last at least 14 hours before needing charge. Consulting the reports of my fellow reviewers, that number is entirely variable by work tasks and needs, with some writers getting closer to 16 or 18 hours out of their use. It all depends on how you use it, and what you use it for. But there’s no variability in saying the MacBook Pro M4 has a hearty battery that well-serves its purpose, and one that far exceeds the performance of its nearest rivals.
When you want to charge the laptop, you also benefit from a fast-charge system that’ll give you 50% battery in around 30-40 minutes, and a full charge in around two hours. There’s really not much downtime between uses.
Final verdict
In my time with the MacBook Pro M4, I’ve been consistently impressed. Impressed to the point of messaging my friends about how well Assassin’s Creed Shadows was going, and that I could finally load a heavyweight Fandom page. Leaping from a 2015-era MacBook Pro, with all its age-old quirks and wheezing, to this youthful stallion, has been a ball, and it’s fantastic to see just how far the laptop series has come.
Above all, what most endeared me to the MacBook Pro M4 is its hybrid use. With a hearty battery and hefty performance, it functions well as a work laptop and a gaming laptop. All without being too bulky or heavy, or being too obnoxiously gamer. It’s compact and practical, and yet it hides killer power beneath its chassis.
You will pay for the privilege of corralling this beast – prices begin at AUD $2,499 in Australia, and this model is a whopping (and expensive) AUD $4,599 as configured – but with its hybrid use and hefty innards, there’s plenty you can underline as price justification (even if you don’t get all the way there).
The MacBook Pro M4 really is a stunner.
Five stars: ★★★★★
MacBook Pro M4
Release Year: 2024
Manufacturer: Apple
A MacBook Pro M4 (2024) was provided on loan for the purposes of this review. GamesHub reviews are rated on a ten-point basis.
