M4 Max MacBook Pro: Real-World Usage Tests

Apple last week replaced the M3 Max MacBook Pro with the new M4 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌, and we picked up one of the new high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ machines to see how it compares to the prior model with both benchmarks and real-world tests.


We tested an M4 Max with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 48GB RAM against an M3 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ with similar specs. The two machines look similar, but the display on the M4 version did get some improvements and it's a little bit brighter. There's an option for nano-texture too, which makes a big difference if you ever work outside.

Thunderbolt 5 ports instead of Thunderbolt 4 ports allow you to connect more displays (up to three 6K displays) and get faster transfer speeds. Unsurprisingly, the M4 Max performed better across the board on benchmarks, and those higher numbers did indeed translate to actual improvements in day-to-day performance.

Creating a slow motion clip from a standard clip in Topaz Labs AI took the M3 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ a little over six minutes, while the M4 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ was done in under five minutes.

Exporting a 6 minute 4K video with effects, plugins, LUTs, Roto AI masks, Motion VFX, and more from Final Cut Pro took the M3 Max 1:17, while the M4 Max did it in 1:07. It's only a 10 second savings, but that adds up with longer videos and over time.

Obviously you're not going to be upgrading to the M4 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌ if you have an M3 Max machine, but it is interesting to see the year-over-year improvements. If you have something like an M1 Pro or an M1 Max and do a lot of CPU/GPU heavy tasks, upgrading to the M4 Max could end up saving you a good amount of time.

Let us know what you think of the M4 Max ‌MacBook Pro‌'s performance in the comments below.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Latest iPhone 17 Series CAD Images in Line With Redesign Rumors

Friday February 28, 2025 2:51 am PST by
Apple is expected to embrace a new camera system design for some models in its upcoming iPhone 17 series, and the latest purported CAD images don't deviate from what we have been hearing lately about Apple's new lineup. If you do not like the sound of an iPhone with a Google Pixel-style camera bar, look away now. Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson shared the following images in a post on X...
iphone 16e usb c feature

Apple Provides Reason for iPhone 16e's Lack of MagSafe

Friday February 28, 2025 4:39 am PST by
Apple has offered a reason why the iPhone 16e doesn't include MagSafe, one of the more notable omissions from its latest entry-level smartphone. According to Apple representatives who spoke to Daring Fireball's John Gruber, MagSafe is not included in the iPhone 16e because "most people in the iPhone 16e's target audience exclusively charge their phones by plugging them into a charging...
apple intelligence black

These New Apple Intelligence Features Are Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday February 28, 2025 3:17 pm PST by
iOS 18.4 was supposed to bring new Apple Intelligence Siri features, but Apple ended up needing to pull those capabilities from the update to continue testing. There are fewer new Apple Intelligence additions now, but there are still some new features that will make the update worth installing when it comes out in April. Priority Notifications Apple introduced Priority Notifications back at ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Saturday March 1, 2025 11:00 am PST by
iOS 19 is still around three months away from being unveiled, but there are plenty of rumors about the upcoming update. Below, we recap iOS 19 rumors so far. Redesigned Camera App A leak earlier this year allegedly revealed a redesigned Camera app coming with iOS 19. On his YouTube channel Front Page Tech in January, Jon Prosser shared a video showing what the new Camera app will...
cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
apple c1

How Fast is Apple's First-Ever 5G Modem? The Results Are Surprising

Friday February 28, 2025 10:08 am PST by
iPhone 16e reviews are now out, and Apple's custom-designed C1 modem has been put to the test. The results so far are quite surprising, as the C1's speeds are not as slow compared to Qualcomm modems as originally expected. While the C1 does not support ultra-fast mmWave 5G in the U.S., it appears to offer comparable 5G performance to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X71 modem found in the iPhone 16,...

Top Rated Comments

ColonelShaun Avatar
16 weeks ago
I'm a video editor (still using an M1 iMac Happily), and more than export times, I'm always interested in hearing about how fluidly you can scrub through clips and watch timelines without rendering. The render speeds are always a nice comparison benchmark, but 10 seconds doesn't mean as much. My computer can render most things in a reasonable time. Where I see my m1 struggle is watching 4K Multicam clips with the Multicam viewer open. Or coloring footage and adding titles and playing it back without rendering first.

I'm not sure the scientific way to test that, but that data would be really helpful with a comparison. Something to think about for the future?

(And I'd love to see those comparisons for an M4 Pro Mac mini vs the M4 Max MBP. That's the dilemma I'm in.

Thanks for doing these for us!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Syrianos82 Avatar
16 weeks ago
What strikes me a bit is that when the iPad m4 came out most people were leaning toward the negative side reviewing the nano texture. With the m4 MacBook Pro it seems everbody suddenly works outside or in crazy bright offices… ?

Nobody is talking about slight fuzziness and less sharp text or lines.

What made the general opinion flip sides??

(Yes I have an iPad Pro with nano texture so speaking from personal experience)
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Normandy_sr2 Avatar
16 weeks ago

Obvious to who? Maybe not you or me, but there may be plenty of people who see a benefit.
I have extensive experience as a full-time video producer spanning several decades, and I currently use the M3 MAX. Based on my analysis, upgrading to this model does not offer a meaningful return on investment (ROI) for users who already own an M2 or M3 series, and even the M1 Max would be difficult to justify beyond mere "bragging rights." The performance gains, while present, are incremental and do not provide a substantial leap in practical video production workflows. Unless you are specifically seeking the latest hardware for prestige or minimal performance improvements, the financial outlay is not warranted. For those intent on purchasing, however, it's your prerogative.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roar08 Avatar
16 weeks ago

Obviously you're not going to be upgrading to the M4 Max MacBook Pro if you have an M3 Max machine
Obvious to who? Maybe not you or me, but there may be plenty of people who see a benefit.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marek5069 Avatar
16 weeks ago
This was a frustrating video to watch. There are many ways to show a comparison that would be so much better than how it was done. Put the benchmarks for both machines on the screen at once. If you had the data from the M1 Max and M2 Max, instead of just saying you have that data, show it also. Would have been great to see the progression reflected. Swing and a miss.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrRoberto Avatar
16 weeks ago

Obvious to who? Maybe not you or me, but there may be plenty of people who see a benefit.
Just look up how many M3 Max MacBook Pros are being dropped on eBay every week and that should give you an idea of how many folks are upgrading from M3 Max to M4 Max.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)