You’re standing in the Apple Store, or maybe just staring at a browser tab with a $2,500+ hole in your pocket, wondering if you actually need this much computer. The 2024 MacBook Pro 16 inch isn't just a laptop. It’s a statement. But for most people, it's honestly a trap. Apple’s latest refresh, featuring the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, pushes the boundaries of what a "pro" machine even is, yet it leaves a lot of users asking if they’re just paying for bragging rights.
It’s heavy. It’s expensive. It’s powerful enough to simulate weather patterns while you’re just trying to edit a 1080p TikTok.
Let's get into the weeds of what actually changed this year. If you’re coming from an Intel Mac, this will feel like alien technology. If you’re on an M1 Max, the gap is narrowing, but there are specific reasons—like that new nano-texture display option—that might finally make you pull the trigger.
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The M4 Max is just stupid fast
We need to talk about the silicon. The M4 Max chip inside the 16-inch chassis is a beast. We’re looking at up to a 16-core CPU and a 40-core GPU. Apple claims it’s up to 3.5x faster than the M1 Max. That’s a massive leap, but statistics like "3.5x" are kinda vague until you’re actually rendering a 3D scene in Blender or exporting 8K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro.
For the average creative, the base M4 Pro is actually the sweet spot. You get 512GB/s of memory bandwidth on the Max, which is great, but do you really need it to write emails and edit photos? Probably not.
One thing that’s genuinely cool: the Neural Engine. With the push toward Apple Intelligence, this 16-core Neural Engine is designed to handle local AI tasks. We aren't just talking about Siri. We’re talking about real-time transcription, image generation, and complex coding assistance that stays on your device. Most Windows laptops are still playing catch-up with this kind of integrated efficiency.
That screen is still the gold standard
The Liquid Retina XDR display is basically the reason you buy this machine. It hits 1,000 nits of sustained brightness for HDR content and 1,600 nits peak. But the 2024 model adds something new: the nano-texture glass.
If you’ve ever tried to work in a coffee shop with a massive window behind you, you know the struggle. Standard glossy screens are mirrors. The nano-texture option scatters light to reduce glare without making the screen look like a muddy mess. It’s a $150 upgrade, and honestly, if you work outdoors or in bright studios, it’s the only upgrade that matters.
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Is it perfect? No. The notch is still there. You’d think by 2024 they’d have figured out how to hide a camera under the pixels, but nope. It still sits there, hanging out in your menu bar. You get used to it, sure, but it’s a weird design choice that Apple seems married to for the foreseeable future.
Battery life and the reality of the 16-inch frame
Apple says you can get up to 24 hours of battery life. That is a wild number. 24 hours!
In reality, if you’re actually doing "Pro" work—compiling massive codebases or color grading—you aren’t getting 24 hours. You’re getting maybe 8 to 10. Which is still incredible. Most gaming laptops die in two hours if you unplug them. The 2024 MacBook Pro 16 inch is one of the few machines where you can actually leave the charger at home and not have a panic attack halfway through the day.
But there’s a trade-off. It’s big. It weighs nearly five pounds. If you’re a digital nomad who works from tray tables on airplanes, the 16-inch is a nightmare. It barely fits. You’ll be bumping elbows with the person in 14B just trying to open the lid. For those people, the 14-inch is the smarter play, even if you lose a little thermal headroom.
Thunderbolt 5: The future-proofing move
The M4 Pro and M4 Max models now support Thunderbolt 5. This is one of those specs people skim over, but it’s huge for longevity. We’re talking about data transfer speeds up to 120Gbps.
Why does this matter?
- You can drive multiple high-resolution displays without the bandwidth choking.
- External SSD speeds will finally start to match internal speeds.
- It makes the laptop a legitimate desktop replacement.
If you’re someone who plugs into a massive RAID array or a studio display setup, Thunderbolt 5 is the "hidden" feature of the 2024 MacBook Pro 16 inch that justifies the price.
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The "16GB is enough" lie is finally dead
For years, Apple tried to convince us that 8GB or 16GB of unified memory was plenty because it was "efficient." They finally stopped. The new 16-inch base model starts with 24GB of RAM (Unified Memory). Thank goodness.
If you’re doing professional work, 24GB is the absolute floor. If you’re a developer running Docker containers or a video editor working with 4K timelines, you should probably spec up to 48GB or 64GB. The M4 Max can even go up to 128GB if you have the budget for it. Just remember: you can’t upgrade this later. Whatever you buy on day one is what you’re stuck with until the laptop dies.
Who should actually buy this?
Don’t buy this if you just want a big screen for Netflix. Get an Air.
Buy the 2024 MacBook Pro 16 inch if:
- You are a video professional who needs to edit on the go without a proxy workflow.
- You’re a software engineer working on massive, multi-threaded projects.
- You’re a 3D artist using Octane or Redshift and need every GPU core you can get.
- You simply hate squinting at small text and want the best portable display money can buy.
It’s a specialized tool. Using an M4 Max for Google Docs is like using a Ferrari to drive to the mailbox. It’ll do it, but it’s a waste of potential.
Real-world quirks you won't see in the keynote
The speakers are still the best in any laptop, period. They have actual bass. You can listen to music on this thing and not feel like you’re listening through a tin can. The microphones are also "studio quality," which is marketing speak for "good enough for a Zoom call or a scratch vocal, but don’t record your album on it."
The keyboard is the same Magic Keyboard we’ve had for a few years. It’s reliable. It doesn't break if a crumb falls in it like the old butterfly keys did. The Touch ID sensor is fast. These are the small things that make the daily experience of using a Mac feel premium, even if the raw specs are what get the headlines.
How to choose your configuration
Buying a Mac is an exercise in restraint. It is very easy to click a few buttons and end up with a $5,000 laptop.
Stick to the M4 Pro if you do photo editing, light video, or general dev work. The extra GPU cores in the Max won't help you much there. Save that money and put it toward more RAM. Unified memory is the biggest bottleneck for performance as the machine ages.
If you are a high-end colorist or work in Unreal Engine, get the Max. You need the memory bandwidth.
Immediate Next Steps for Buyers
Before you drop several thousand dollars on a 2024 MacBook Pro 16 inch, do these three things:
- Check your current RAM usage: Open Activity Monitor on your current Mac and look at the "Memory Pressure" graph while you're working. If it’s red or yellow, you need at least 48GB in your new machine.
- Visit a store to see the nano-texture: It’s a love-it-or-hate-it feature. Some people think it makes the screen look slightly less "crisp," while others think it's a lifesaver. See it in person before committing.
- Audit your ports: If you have a lot of USB-A gear, buy a high-quality Thunderbolt dock now. This laptop is USB-C/Thunderbolt only, plus the HDMI and SD card slot.
- Evaluate your bag: This thing is significantly larger than the 14-inch. Make sure your current laptop sleeve or backpack compartment can actually fit a 16.2-inch device. Many "15-inch" bags are too tight for the Pro's thickness.
The 2024 refresh isn't a reinvention of the wheel, but it is the most refined version of Apple's "power user" vision. It solves the RAM complaints of the past and adds enough future-proofing with Thunderbolt 5 to make it a five-to-seven-year investment.