The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) is a 16-inch premium workstation laptop. It replaces the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023). It's configurable with an M4 Pro or Max SoC and up to 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage. The 120Hz ProMotion Liquid Retina XDR display is available with a standard glossy or new nano-texture finish. There's Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity, a 100Wh battery, a 1080p webcam, and a fingerprint sensor built into the power button. Its port selection includes three USB-C/Thunderbolt 5 ports, an HDMI 2.1, a full-size SD card reader, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a MagSafe charging port.
See our unit's specifications and all configurable options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 is good for gaming, though the experience depends heavily on the game. Its M4 Pro and Max SoCs run CPU-intensive games like Civilization VII very smoothly and handle well-optimized titles like Resident Evil 4 at high frame rates, but demanding games like Assassin's Creed Shadows are choppy, and many games don't run natively on Apple Silicon, or at all. The display supports 120Hz, but its slow response time causes ghosting behind fast-moving objects. The laptop also gets hot and loud under load, making the keyboard uncomfortable and the bottom too warm for lap use.
Powerful SoCs can handle the most demanding workloads.
Wide port selection and Thunderbolt 5 and HDMI 2.1.
Minimal performance loss under load.
120Hz display.
Hot and loud under load.
No user-replaceable components, and upgrades are extremely expensive.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 is great for school and work. It offers an amazing user experience with a large screen for multitasking and a responsive, easy-to-use haptic touchpad. However, the keyboard may not be suited for a heavy typer; the short key travel and rigid key deck can be tiring to use. While a 16-inch device might not fit in some bags, it's not too heavy to carry around. Its battery lasts more than a typical workday, so you won't need to carry the charger. The M4 SoCs can easily handle general productivity tasks like text processing, but are also ideal for editing photos and videos. You get three Thunderbolt 5-compatible USB-C ports for peripherals and external displays, an excellent 1080p webcam for video calls, and a fingerprint sensor for quick logins.
Sturdy and premium build.
All-day battery life.
Large and responsive haptic touchpad.
Excellent 1080p webcam.
Wide port selection and Thunderbolt 5 and HDMI 2.1.
Might not fit smaller bags.
Short key travel and rigid key deck may be tiring for heavy typers.
Hot and loud under load.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 is great for media consumption. Its 16-inch display is sharp, bright, and color-accurate, making it ideal for enjoying HDR movies and sRGB web content. The display gets bright enough to combat glare in most settings. You can choose between a glossy or nano-texture finish; the latter will further cut glare, making it ideal for outdoor use. The speakers are excellent; they sound full, with ample bass and clear treble, resulting in an enjoyable experience whether listening to music, dialogue-driven podcasts, or watching action-packed movies. The one caveat is that the bass can get muddy at maximum volume. With all-day battery life, you won't need to reach for the charger during binge sessions.
All-day battery life.
Large and responsive haptic touchpad.
Bright, color-accurate display.
Loud, full-sounding speakers with ample bass.
Might not fit smaller bags.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 is very good for heavy workloads. The M4 Pro/Max SoCs are powerful enough for demanding workloads like 3D graphics and simulations. Its XDR Liquid Retina display is ideal for producing web content and HDR videos, as it offers complete coverage of the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces. While the lowest-end configuration only comes with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, you can configure this laptop with up to 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage; just know that neither is user-replaceable, so you need to get enough for your workflow upfront. This laptop gets hot and fairly loud under load; the keyboard becomes uncomfortably hot, as does the bottom of the laptop, so it's best used on a desk.
Powerful SoCs can handle the most demanding workloads.
Bright, color-accurate display.
Fast SSD.
Wide port selection and Thunderbolt 5 and HDMI 2.1.
Minimal performance loss under load.
Hot and loud under load.
No user-replaceable components, and upgrades are extremely expensive.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 has outstanding battery life. It lasts around 13 hours of light use and more than 12 hours of video playback, so you can get through a long workday without the charger, and it recharges quickly. Battery life drops to under two hours while gaming, though.
All-day battery life.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 has outstanding build quality. Its all-aluminum unibody chassis feels rigid and premium, with no gaps around the display, keyboard, or touchpad. The hinge is solid and barely wobbles, and you can lift the lid with one hand. The Space Black color shows fingerprints more than the Silver one, and the ABS keycaps can become slick after a few months of use.
Sturdy and premium build.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 has decent graphics performance, and it scales a lot with the configuration. The M4 Pro has a 20-core GPU, while the M4 Max comes with a 32- or 40-core GPU. Our 40-core unit handles GPU-accelerated work like 3D rendering and video editing well, but it falls behind high-end dedicated laptop GPUs. On every model, demanding games are hit or miss, since many don't run natively on Apple silicon. Performance stays stable under long loads.
Powerful SoCs can handle the most demanding workloads.
Minimal performance loss under load.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 has excellent processing performance. All three chip options have the same fast single-threaded performance, so everyday work feels snappy on any model. The difference is in multi-threaded work: the 16-core M4 Max handles 3D animation, simulations, and heavy video editing with ease, while the 14-core M4 Pro and M4 Max are slower in those tasks. The 16-core M4 Max is also the only option with up to 128GB of RAM for very large projects. Performance stays stable under long loads.
Powerful SoCs can handle the most demanding workloads.
Minimal performance loss under load.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Nov 06, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 1.0! This update adds several new verdict scores to the review, so it's easier to make a buying decision. Read the changelog for a full list of changes.
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Updated Oct 15, 2026:
We've added a link to the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026) in the Wireless Communication section of the review.
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Updated Aug 19, 2026:
We've added a link to the Framework Laptop 16 (2026) in the Serviceability section.
- Updated Apr 09, 2026: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.9.1! This update changes the way we score the 'Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy' box. Read the changelog for more info.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 with a standard Liquid Retina XDR display, an M4 Max SoC (16-core CPU, 40-core GPU), 48GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The display, SoC, RAM, and storage are configurable; see the available options below.
SCREEN
- 16.2" IPS 3456 x 2234 120Hz (standard Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion)
- 16.2" IPS 3456 x 2234 120Hz (nano-texture Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion)
SOC
- M4 Pro 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 273GB/s memory bandwidth
- M4 Max 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 410GB/s memory bandwidth
- M4 Max 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 546GB/s memory bandwidth
MEMORY
- 24GB LP-DDR5x 8533MHz (M4 Pro only)
- 36GB LP-DDR5x 8533MHz (M4 Max with 14-core CPU only)
- 48GB LP-DDR5x 8533MHz (M4 Pro or M4 Max with 16-core CPU)
- 64GB LP-DDR5x 8533MHz (M4 Max with 16-core CPU only)
- 128GB LP-DDR5x 8533MHz (M4 Max with 16-core CPU only)
STORAGE
- 512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD (M4 Pro only)
- 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 4TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- 8TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD (M4 Max only)
COLOR
- Silver
- Space Black
See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2024 is a premium mobile workstation and among the best laptops on the market. Its industry-leading features include its robust build quality, a large and responsive haptic touchpad, full-sounding speakers, and a color-accurate, bright display. The M4 Max 16-core CPU outperforms direct competitors like Intel's Core i9 14900HX, making it ideal for the heaviest workloads, and the 40-core GPU delivers great productivity performance. While it features enough raw horsepower to deliver solid gaming performance in some titles, the overall gaming performance on Apple silicon still lags behind Windows devices due to compatibility issues. The keyboard may not be suited for heavy typers, as the short key travel combined with the rigid key deck can cause fatigue. Finally, given the otherwise uncompromising design, it would have been nice to see Wi-Fi 7 connectivity included, as it has been showing up on fewer premium laptops in 2024.
See our recommendations for the best workstation laptops, the best laptops for programming, and the best laptops for video editing.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M5, 2026) is a refresh of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024). Both offer a high-resolution 120Hz display, Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, and configurations intended for demanding professional work. The M5 model introduces newer chip options, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and higher starting storage capacities. Those changes matter more for demanding work and large projects than everyday browsing or document editing. Also, our tested configurations differ: the M4 model has a 40-core GPU and 48GB of memory, while our M5 unit has 36GB, so the results aren't a comparison between equivalent configurations.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) is the next generation of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023). Both devices share outstanding build quality and provide an industry-leading user experience. Notable changes include a new nano-texture Liquid Retina XDR display with superior reflection handling and the M4 Pro and Max SoCs. These new SoCs are significantly faster in both productivity and gaming workloads and feature significantly increased memory bandwidth. Finally, you get Thunderbolt 5 support on the newer model.
While the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 are powerful 16-inch laptops, they're designed for different purposes. The ASUS is a gaming laptop with gaming-focused features, while the Apple is a premium mobile workstation. The Apple laptop's user experience is better overall, thanks to its superior build quality, a brighter and more color-accurate display, a larger haptic touchpad, and better-sounding speakers. The ASUS is still well-built; it can't compete with Apple's industry-leading design and build. While the M4 Max SoC is faster than the Intel Meteor Lake CPUs found on the ASUS, the ASUS has the Apple beat in terms of discrete GPU options; it comes with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU that vastly outperforms the M4 in gaming. Otherwise, the ASUS's 240Hz OLED display has a much faster response time than the Apple's 120Hz Liquid Retina XDR display, giving you a clearer image in fast-paced games, and it supports G-SYNC to minimize screen tearing.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) is much better for most uses than the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024). The MacBook Pro is a much more powerful device designed for the most demanding workloads, while the Air is an ultraportable designed for general productivity tasks. The Pro has a superior display that gets brighter and has a higher refresh rate, a wider port selection with Thunderbolt 5 ports, and fuller sound speakers. Also, since the Air relies on passive cooling, it doesn't perform as well during sustained workloads.
Test Results
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