So I was hyped, very hyped with seeing the announcement of the new Apple MacBook Pro of 2021. Now that reviewers like Notebookcheck, The verge, and even Linus Tech Tips took their time to review the new Apple MacBook Pro thoroughly, I can definitely and confidently say that this is an amazing feed from Apple. So, with that excitement, let’s find out what 30+ reviewers think about Apple’s latest MacBook Pro.
Is Apple MacBook Pro (2021) worth it?
Yup, if we can believe Peter McKinnon, Matti Haapoja, Potato Jet (aka Gene Nagata), Linus Tech Tips, Notenbookcheck, LaptopMag, and the Tech Chap, this laptop is worth every single penny you put into it. When watching and reading their reviews, you can clearly understand why. Peter McKinnon, Matti Haapoja, and Gene, YouTubers well-known for their photo-/videographer skills, bought the Apple MacBook Pro. While Peter and Matti have the M1 Max, Gene decided to buy the lowest spec’d M1 Pro. What Gene found amazed me, to be honest. In a nutshell, the lowest spec’d MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro, already delivers the performance you could want from this laptop as a video editor!
When editing in Premiere Pro, 5k at 50FPS, I saw the lowest spec’d Apple MacBook M1Pro struggle. This was easily fixed by either having 1/2 preview or turning down the FPS to a normal 24 FPS. While the power was out, I could test the amazing battery life of the MacBook M1 Pro, without a dongle (aaw, yeah!) straight for the SD card. What really amazed me while editing the video, is that the Battery Life with the M1 Pro processor, got through a 5 hours long editing process, non-stop!
Potato Jet (aka Gene Nagata) – Review
Tech YouTuber The Tech Chap spends about 50% of his time on video editing, he did go for the M1 Max and didn’t feel the need to touch his video editing PC, and that’s saying a lot. Anthony from Linus Tech Tips discussed that this is an excellent machine for professionals who need to edit videos for a living. Although they point out that if you’re not rendering, video editing, or designing all day long the Apple MacBook Pro might not be the best laptop for you, for now. This is due to the fact Apple’s GPU isn’t widely supported yet. With that being said, it’s obvious that Apple did a great job with their all-new Apple M1 Pro and M1 Max SoC, and integrated it very well with the laptops’ hardware. Add a liquid retina XDR display with all the ports you could eat (welcome back HDMI, and SD card slot), and you’ve one hell of a computer.
It’s fantastic to see Apple working towards not just making a fantastic, yet sleek laptop. They’re always looking to improve things and on this laptop, they have achieved it. The MacBooks are some of the best-designed laptops in my opinion.
9 things reviewers like
7 things reviewers dislike
Who should buy the Apple MacBook Pro (2021)?
You should consider this laptop if you are a video editor, designer, or are a creator as your profession. I mean, in almost all the 30+ reviews, the MacBook Pro comes out on top when scrubbing through the live view in 4k or in rendering speed tests. Now, if you’re looking to game on it, you can expect some poor gaming experience for the price you pay. Anthony from Linus Tech Tips compares this laptop gaming performance with the RTX 3050. This can be good for some gamers, but you really can get a lot more gaming power at this price, and I mean a much more gaming power. For everyone else, the Apple Macbook Air is the best laptop for you if you want an Apple for some everyday tasks.
With that being said it’s fantastic to see Apple working towards not just making a fantastic, yet sleek laptop, but also listening to their fans. I mean they have finally taken a step back and added the HDMI port and SD card slot again. It’s nice that they’re always looking to improve things and on this laptop, and they have achieved it. The MacBooks are some of the best-designed laptops in my opinion.
apple macbook pro magsafe 
apple macbook pro ports
Which Apple MacBook Pro (2021) should you buy?
The Apple MacBook Pro comes in 2 forms, with a 14 or 16-inch screen. Inside the Apple MacBook Pro, you’ll find a powerful M1 Pro or M1 Max SoC. Jup an SoC, Apple has integrated the CPU, GPU, and memory in one chip. This means these parts can work together even better and faster, compared to lose components, and will give you an even faster and smoother Apple macOS experience.
Now back on topic, you should consider the M1 Max if you’re a professional content creator, need a powerful device, want the maximum amount of memory, or just want the latest and greatest offered by Apple. The M1 Max version is best used for creating high-quality videos, with a silky smooth experience, or creating high-quality designs.
With that being said, for most people looking to buy the new Apple MacBook Pro, reviewers recommend buying the M1 Pro version with about at least 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage. Although this laptop is not as powerful as the M1 Max, you’ll only get more graphics performance, which in most cases is not needed that much.
Pro
PROCESSOR16‑core GPU
GRAPHICS CARD16GB
1000GB
Is Apple MacBook Pro (2021) good for content creators?
If I can believe the reviews, I want to say that it is. For the price, I think it’s very worth it. You get a great machine that does a lot of things right. The newly integrated M1 SoC’s from Apple deliver on any computational front. For a creator, this means getting super-fast rendering speeds and a smooth and flawless scrubbing through the timeline in 4k, and no stutter within any design tool.
Is Apple MacBook Pro (2021) good for gamers?
You can get a much better gaming laptop at this price point than the Apple MacBook of 2021. The Apple MacBook Pro needs Rosetta in most games. This will significantly decrease your gaming experience with this laptop. Anthony says Rosetta will only help so much, but the gaming performance is comparable to a gaming laptop equipped with an RTX 3050. If you want something at this price, you could take a look at the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, it’s much more capable than the MacBook pro.
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16" 165Hz QHD IPS NVIDIA G-SYNC 500 nits Gaming Laptop AMD Ryzen 7-5800H 16GB RAM 512GB SSD RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 TGP 130W
GAME BENCHMARKS
Reviewers wouldn’t be reviewers if they didn’t try to game on it, so Linus, Notbookcheck, and Max Tech did so and gave some benchmarks with them. Although the MacBook Max does a great job in a demanding game like Mankind divided, Linus even mentions it looks pretty good, and Max Tech does some really great popular game testing, it’s still not as good as a gaming laptop for this price point, but that is to be expected for now.
At least 60 FPS is recommended, but higher gives smoother gameplay.
Note these benchmarks are from Notebookcheck I can suggest looking at this comprehensive review for even more in-depth insights
Best Apple MacBook Pro (2021) accessories
Below are the best Apple Macbook pro accessories and peripherals to have. The keyboard is most recommended to buy the Logitech Craft for its great typing experience and handy dial. The Logitech MX Master 3 is a great mouse that is also comfortable.
