In review: Apple MacBook Pro 13 2020 M1. Test model courtesy of Cyberport.We can keep the verdict about the new MacBook Pro 13 with the M1 processor pretty short: It builds on the strengths of the previous iterations and the new processor improves some aspects like the performance, the fan noise in everyday scenarios or longer battery runtime. However, there are still some drawbacks like the limited number of ports or the slow Wi-Fi 6 transfer speeds. All in all, it is still one of the best mobile devices on the market.
The problem is the comparison with the new MacBook Air. Thanks to the M1 update, the Air is now much more powerful than before, and you cannot really notice a difference between the two devices in practice. The MacBook Pro 13 only benefits from its fan under sustained workloads, but we do not think this is really an important aspect for the target audience. The performance drop of the Air is also not that bad (about 12 % in Cinebench R23).
The Air also closed the gap when it comes to the display. It is still a bit darker than the Pro (400 vs. 500 nits), but the Air now also supports the larger P3 color gamut. Both devices support the same connectivity features. The battery runtime is better on the Pro thanks to the bigger battery, but it is also heavier in return. The only real difference when you use the device is the Touch Bar of the MacBook Pro 13. However, every user has to decide whether this is a positive or negative aspect. To be honest, even after a couple of years, the Touch Bar is still just a gimmick most of the time and basic actions like adjusting of the display brightness or speaker volume usually requires more inputs. Personally, we would prefer the physical F keys of the MacBook Air.
The MacBook Pro 13 benefits heavily from the new M1 processor and it is certainly one of the best subnotebooks you can get. Compared to the new MacBook Air, however, we miss the “Pro” features. Both models are extremely close in everyday usage scenarios, so we would definitely prefer the less expensive MacBook Air.
The price of the MacBook Pro 13 with a 256 GB SSD starts at $1299, and $1499 with a 512 GB SSD. The MacBook Air with the faster 8-core GPU and 512 GB is available for $1249, so it offers a much better price-performance ratio.
All in all, the new MacBook Pro 13 M1 seems to be filler product that does not make much sense. We cannot find any real arguments to prefer the Pro over the new Air. We suspect Apple will eventually discontinue the entry-level MacBook Pro 13 in the not-too-distant future and only offer a single (and more expensive) MacBook Pro 13 (or maybe MacBook Pro 14) with a more powerful M1X processor.
The post Apple MacBook Pro 13 2020 Laptop Review: The entry-level Pro also gets the M1 performance boost appeared first on abangtech.
source https://abangtech.com/apple-macbook-pro-13-2020-laptop-review-the-entry-level-pro-also-gets-the-m1-performance-boost/
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