Apple MacBook Pro 14" 2024

One of the many MacBook Pro laptops with an XDR Retina display from 2021-2026.
In late 2021, Apple launched new MacBook Pros with 14-inch and 16-inch displays, which, in terms of design, keyboard and the return of the SD card reader, MagSafe and HDMI ports, are reminiscent of the models from 2012-2015.

After what were probably the worst laptops in Apple's history - the models from 2016 to 2019 - someone at the company finally used their head and realized it was worth changing the status quo. Alongside the launch of the M1 Pro chip, completely new MacBook Pro designs were unveiled, which rectified all the shortcomings of their predecessors. There were more ports than just USB-C, the ribbon cable connecting the screen to the motherboard didn't get damaged from looking at the display, and the keyboard regained its classic "scissor switch" mechanisms. Since 2023, Apple has also been incorporating the standard versions of its chips - without the Pro or Max suffix - into this tried-and-tested new chassis.

Models with M4 and M5 chips are still the same (and thank goodness for that). Although replacing the battery isn't particularly easy, and Apple only sells new ones complete with the entire palmrest and keyboard, the design introduced in 2021 is very user-friendly, and thanks to the ARM chips, the laptop offers significantly better performance, quiet operation and longer battery life than Macs with Intel processors, which were notorious for turning their aluminium casings into frying pans and suffering from severe throttling, which noticeably reduced their performance.

A minor drawback of the 2021-2026 MacBook Pros is the notch in the screen. Not only does it look rather unsightly, but it also takes up valuable space in the system bar for applications that use a lot of menu items. One can get round this by going into System Settings, enabling the list of all resolutions in the Display settings, and then selecting the lower option with the same width as the default one. This will ensure the image is displayed in the ideal 16:10 aspect ratio.

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