After a year of rumors and speculation, Apple’s M4 processor came to the MacBook Pro laptop line this fall. The new lineup improves upon the already powerful M3 Pro and M3 Max with even faster performance, a more efficient battery, and a new Thunderbolt 5 port for blazing-fast data transfer speeds.
Also: The 10 best gifts for Mac fans on your nice list
One of the best things about the new M4 MacBook Pro is that it starts at the same price as last year’s M3, making it that much easier to consider. But with the holiday shopping season near its end, we’re seeing some deals, namely this one at Amazon offering the MacBook Pro M4 for $1,699 — $300 off the regular price.
Besides the improvements to Apple’s proprietary AI, Apple Intelligence, the MacBook M4 Pro and M4 Max have some hardware upgrades — notably, the USB-C Thunderbolt 5 ports — becoming some of the first laptops on the market to support faster than 120Gbps transfer speeds, 240W charging, and even better performance with external monitors. For professional creatives who use external GPUs and need a portable system that can move large files in a flash, this alone could make the MacBook Pro M4 a worthy upgrade.
Also: I replaced my M1 MacBook Pro with a base model M4 – and it blew my $3,000 laptop away
Speaking of displays, the mini LED on the MacBook Pro M4 — with 1,000 nits of brightness at SDR and 1,600 nits at HDR — pairs well with the nano-texture coating, resulting in one of the best-looking laptop displays I’ve seen. The matte layering reduces glare and makes it look better under indoor lighting, while the sheer brightness makes for a high-end visual experience for entertainment and creative tasks.
The M4’s battery life is also improved over its predecessors. Apple advertises up to 24 hours of battery life, the first for any Mac. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro or M4 Max get the full-day rating, while the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro or M4 Max falls just short at 22 hours.
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For folks who have been on the fence about the new M4, this deal will likely convince them to buy. That means that inventory might not last long, with Amazon specifically telling consumers that there will be a limited supply at this price.
Deals are subject to sell-out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We’re sorry if you’ve missed out on this deal, but don’t fret — we’re constantly finding new chances to score savings and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.
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