Yes, the MacBook Pro range is really that good!

“Awesome”. “Incredible”. “Stunning”. “Dazzling”. “Next level”. “Revolutionary”. The reviews are in and the critics are raving, as the MacBook Pro range with M1 Pro and M1 Max get put through their paces by some of the world’s top tech writers and analysts. 

Built to outpower, outperform, and outlast even the most high-end Windows PC portables, the new models, now available at iStore, are the flagships of Apple’s Mac range of notebooks, which utilise a leading-edge processing technology called SOC. 

That stands for System on a Chip, an engineering breakthrough that makes it possible for several previously-isolated components, such as the CPU, GPU, Neural engine, and audio and image processing hardware, to be combined on a single chip, with unified memory and up to 57-billion transistors. 

But what does all of this mean for the single most important element in the everyday computing equation — the human who uses the machine? It means…well, let’s see what a few human users have to say. 

For GQ’s Robert Leedham, the MacBook Pro M1 Pro 14-inch is a “ludicrously impressive” machine that redefines expectations of the capabilities of notebook computing. He is particularly dazzled by Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display technology, which offers “startling contrast and pin-sharp clarity”, making the screen “an absolute stunner to behold”. 

Over at PC Magazine, Tom Brant hails the MacBook Pro M1 Max 16-inch as “the ultimate MacBook Pro”, noting in a series of gruelling tests that its 20-hour battery life “trounces that of its Windows competition”. 

Outside of the testing lab, the MacBook Pros are designed to satisfy the intense and demanding needs of professional users, whether working from home or out in the field. So how do they live up to their name? 

For Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, an ever-on-the-move YouTuber, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M1 Pro and M1 Max are “truly next level” for battery life, speed, performance, and video editing power. “There are going to be a lot of professionals like me who are really happy with these,” he adds. 

Scott Simmons, a professional video editor, agrees, observing on the ProVideoCoalition website that the speediness of the MacBook Pro M1 Max, which “didn’t break a sweat” during testing, has direct and quantifiable benefits in an industry where time is money. 

For software engineer Jameson Williams, who works at the popular social news curation site, Reddit, the same principle applies.

“We recently found that the 2021 MacBook Pro range cut our Android build times in half,” he reports, adding that the machines are expected to save $100,000 in productivity for his team of nine, a massive return on investment.

Whatever your own profession or level of use, you can find out why the critics are raving about the MacBook Pro range at iStore, where you can take advantage of an exclusive trade-in and trade-up programme for Mac and Windows PC users. 

Trade-in your Windows laptop, and you can get up to R10,000 towards your purchase of a new Mac.

You can choose an instant discount on your cash purchase, or redeem your trade-in value as an iStore Gift Card, to be used at a later stage.

For more information on the MacBook Pro range, please visit www.istore.co.za.