I had been in desperate need of a laptop upgrade last year and finally decided to pull the trigger on the new M1 MacBook Pro. In November, my Forbes colleague Patrick Moorhead suggested you “might want to pass” on Apple’s new M1-powered MacBook Pro, pointing out potential issues like compatibility with third party software and peripherals. He did suggest that if you stick with Apple software, things should be fine. I’m an Apple software guy, so I was hoping I would be okay. I’ve been using M1 MacBook Pro all day, every day, as my primary work machine for over a month now. This is a review of the M1 MBP from that perspective — a daily-driver for someone who primarily uses Apple’s included software.

From where I sit, this is a pretty incredible laptop. I’m not going to focus on things like the keyboard, display, or ports. Those are knowns. This review is all about hands-on experience with Apple’s M1 processor.

The Decision to Upgrade

Let me make it clear upfront that I am not a “power” user. My job involves research, writing, plus editing photos and videos for web use. For my purposes, Apple software does the job — I spend 90% of my time in either Pages, Safari, Numbers, Preview, iMove or Photos.

For the past five years, I’ve been using a 13-inch MacBook Air (connected to an external monitor). In fact, my last three laptops have been MacBook Airs… I always upgrade them to get the best performance for as long as possible, so the latest was equipped with a dual-core Intel Core i7 processor. But it was struggling. Slow (especially with a lot of browser windows open), exporting video files took an excruciatingly long time, and the fan would fire up constantly, sometimes blowing like an airplane engine.

It was time for an upgrade. I was considering a 16-inch MacBook Pro, primarily because of the video card, minimum Core i7, and upgraded keyboard. Then came the M1 announcement in November. 

I decided to skip the MacBook Air this time, I held off on the 16-inch MacBook Pro and instead took a chance with the M1 MacBook Pro. I wanted the maximum cores available for video processing, plus a fan, so I didn’t go with the less expensive M1 MBA. I opted for an upgrade to 16GB of RAM to ensure the longest useful life possible. The new laptop took the better part of a month to arrive, but it made an immediate impression.

Impressive Performance

My initial impression of the M1 MBP was that it was snappy, but not screaming fast. I’d read early reviews that made it seem like the instant I launched an app it would be onscreen. That’s not quite the case. It is very fast, but even with Apple apps it does take a split second. The laptop wakes instantly, but booting still takes 30 seconds to the login screen. 

However, the M1 processor shows its power when you start giving it tasks to chew on. I can keep as many windows and apps open as I need. Video exporting was obviously a huge test and it passed that with flying colors. 

A seven minute 1080p iMovie video at high quality exported as an MP4 file by the MacBook Air took about 14 minutes. That was with all other applications shut down. About a minute into the export, fans were blowing at full blast. In contrast, that seven minute 1080p video exported by the M1 MBP at maximum “ProRes” quality took 66 seconds. No fan. And while iMovie was processing the video, I had Firefox, Numbers and Pages open, and was actively surfing in Safari. I also had Activity Monitor opened, and it showed iMovie GPU utilization during the export ranging from 36% to 47%.

Yes, this a bit of an apples to oranges comparison given that it’s a MacBook Air vs. a MacBook Pro, and five years apart, but it was still a pretty incredible performance. 

Speaking of Firefox, when I first used it the M1-native version wasn’t yet available. Rosetta 2 handled the app perfectly and after a slightly longer initial launch, I never would have known I wasn’t using a native app.

I use the laptop primarily as a desktop workstation, so I haven’t had the opportunity to really push the battery. However I did run on battery for a full day, from around 8am to after 11pm — including a three hour Zoom session — and it still showed about 20% of a charge left. That’s 14 hours of use and still some battery life remaining, so no complaints in that department.

Compatibility With Peripherals

I don’t use a ton of peripherals, but I have yet to run into an issue. I do plug into an OWC USB-C dock so I can easily access USB Type-A devices without requiring dongles. 

I’m connected to a 27-inch 4K BenQ multimedia monitor (reviewed here) as a second display. No problems there at any resolution, and the USB-C connection to the monitor also keeps the MBP charged. I use a Blue Yeti X microphone (connected to the OWC dock using USB) and it has been solid. I have used a range of external hard drives including a Western Digital USB-C external SSD, multiple USB Type-A drives from WD and Seagate, and thumb drives. I print over Wi-Fi to an HP Envy 7640. I have a DAS mechanical keyboard plugged in.

So far, I’ve encountered zero compatibility issues.

I’ve also had no problem with Bluetooth connectivity. I have seen reports of M1 Bluetooth issues, but I have not experienced any. I use a Logitech MX Master 3 Bluetooth mouse (no dongle) and it performs as expected. I’ve also used a number of Bluetooth headphones with the M1 MBP without any issues.

I Have Never Had the Fan Come On

In the entire month and a bit that I’ve been using the M1 MacBook Air, I have never had the fan come on. Not once. 

During several college football games, I had a three hour Zoom session with my father-in-law so we could watch together while socially distancing. The laptop ran Zoom and at the same time, I streamed the game from the MBP in full-screen maximum resolution on my external monitor. No fan. 

At one point I tried running the usual collection of Apple applications simultaneously, while exporting a ProRes file from iMove, and also streaming a collection of 720p, 1080p and 4K videos on 12 Safari tabs. Nothing. No slowdown whatsoever and no fan.

To be honest, I was starting to worry that maybe the fan was broken. However, even under a heavy load, I’ve never felt the laptop get overly warm. One of these days, I’m going to have to try to find the time for some gaming — that might do it…

M1 MacBook Pro Recommendation

In month+ I’ve spent with the M1 MacBook Pro — using it for work all day, five days a week and then some — I have been extremely happy with it. 

Typically, when I move from one laptop to a new one, it’s four or five years between models and the new one will seem noticeably faster. Not an Earth-shattering difference, but enough for a better user experience. This time around that difference isn’t just noticeable, it’s spectacular. The closest comparison I can come to is moving from a laptop equipped with a 5400rpm hard drive to one with an SSD — except in this case the performance gains are across the board, not just when booting or copying files.  

For $1,499 ($1299 plus $200 for 16GB of RAM), this M1 MacBook Pro is an easy recommendation for anyone who needs “lite” pro performance and works primarily with Apple software. If you’ll be using third party apps under Rosetta 2, you might want to check to see if anyone has tried them and what their experience is. 

If you need more horsepower, this was just the first release and what will be the entry level in MacBook Pro lineup. Stay tuned through 2021 for expected new models featuring even faster Apple chips, support for additional RAM, slick new form factors, and maybe even some additional ports.

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