Apple updates the MacBook Pro and introduces some even more powerful chips. This morning, in a low-key press release, it was announced that the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros will be updated to the M4 processor line, which now includes the M4 Pro chip introduced in the Mac Mini yesterday and a new, even higher-end M4 max. The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro also gets a small design upgrade in the form of an additional USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port on the right side and a Space Black option to boot to match its premium brothers.

As with previous models, the M4 Pro-equipped laptops cost $1,999 for the 14-inch model and $2,499 for the 16-inch model, but both get an upgrade from 18GB of base RAM to 24GB. The base 14-inch M4 MacBook Pro still starts at $1,599, but this model now (thankfully) starts with 16GB of RAM instead of just 8GB. The new MacBook Pros will be available on November 8th, with pre-orders available now.

Aside from chip bumps and RAM improvements, the 14- and 16-inch Pros with M4 Pro/Max chips are also the first Mac laptops with Thunderbolt 5 ports. All three MacBook Pros feature new 12-megapixel desk-view webcams and can each be configured with a new nano-texture display that enables SDR brightness of up to 1,000 nits and HDR brightness of 1,600 nits.

These additional upgrades are nice, but the big changes are still the be-all and end-all. Apple claims that the entire M4 chip generation has “the world's fastest CPU core” and “the industry's best single-threaded performance.” Single-core performance has been a strength of Apple's Mac chips since the M1 generation, and the M4 chips are promised “dramatically faster multi-threaded performance.” The M4 Pro and Max also have faster GPU cores and a ray tracing engine that is twice as fast. The neural engine is also 2x faster than the M3 generation, ensuring improved machine learning and AI workloads.

Apple's latest, most powerful chips should be ready for Apple's big AI push with Apple Intelligence, which just launched this week on supported Macs, iPhones and iPads. However, Apple Intelligence runs on Macs that will use the M1 chip from 2020 – the big hurdle for Macs seems to be the RAM. Coinciding with today's MacBook Pro announcements, Apple is also increasing the base configurations of the M2 and M3 MacBook Air models from 8GB of RAM to 16GB, starting at $999 for the M2. So perhaps it's only a matter of time before older, lower-spec models start to fall behind in future features that Apple continues to slow down with updates.

The M3 generation of MacBook Pros was a mix of continued excellence in the form of the M3 Pro/Max models and an awkward middle child in the non-Pro M3 14-inch. The top-tier Mac laptops with Pro and Max chips remain a good choice for creatives who have performance-intensive workflows with apps like Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. The entry-level 14-inch M3 model, on the other hand, was a little hard to justify compared to a cheaper MacBook Air or one of its more expensive siblings on offer. The new 14-inch model with M4 now looks a little more interesting and is a little more deserving of the “Pro” branding. It's amazing the feelings an additional USB port can bring.

Update, October 30th: Added base RAM amounts for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M4 Pro chips.