Does the 2024 MacBook Pro Really Need a Full-Height Keypad? How Much Should I Don’t Fix It? The Macintosh Case

But hey: If it works, don’t fix it, right? Well, let’s consider that. There are still some things that could be done to make the user experience better. As has long been the case, the 2024 MacBook Pro chassis features full-height function keys I never touch but teeny-tiny arrow keys I use all the time and can barely operate because they’re so small. The keyboard is great, but the huge trackpad is hard to depress for a click. I had to dial the click force down to the lightest level and turn on the tap to make it useable.

Aside from some new color options that hit last year, the MacBook Pro chassis is almost indistinguishable from its 2021 incarnation. The ports that were present today include HDMI and an SD card slot. MagSafe 3 is still in the mix. None of that is new except for the USB port speeds; more on that in a bit. The design of the MacBook Pro is not expected to be updated for another year, according to rumors.

The arrival of a new MacBook with fresh Apple silicon always has lots of excitement, but this year you can already see that it’s not quite as exciting. Subdued, even. The mood is cautious as I read it. It’s definitely faster, onward, upward. No one complains about things being better than before. But is the new MacBook Pro, featuring Apple’s M4 CPU, getting you $3,649 worth of better?

The answer is almost definitely not if you are currently using an M3-based MacBook. If you’re on an M2 or even an M1, the calculus still seems to be wavering. Chalk it up to the zeitgeist, perhaps, but I’m not expecting lines out the door this time. Allow me to explain.

The Power of the iMac: A Tribute to the Apple M1, Not a Prompt Upgrade for Entry-Level Consumers

Chalk that up to the power of the M1 then. As is the case with the MacBook Pro M4, the iMac is simply suffering from attempts to improve on an already good thing. Artificial intelligence features in Apple Intelligence, powered by its 16-core Neural Engine and faster unified memory, are in addition to a performance boost for this fourth trip to the well. The latter is actually part of a pretty big deal: The base amount of RAM on the iMac has doubled from 8 to 16 GB, a game-changing upgrade for entry-level shoppers.

I initially wanted to change only one character, from 3 to 4. But unlike the latest MacBook Pro update, Apple has put a little more thought into upgrading the user experience, at least behind the scenes and in a few places where it counts. Sure, the design is nearly identical to last year’s iMac, but Apple has listened to most of our gripes and made some key improvements that will benefit almost everyone. Since the M1, Apple has focused less on design and more on bolstering pure, raw power.