Should I buy a 14-inch M1 Pro or M4 MacBook Pro?
Buy the M1 Pro when $800 is the budget. Buy the M4 when you can spend about $1,200 and you want a newer chip and more years of macOS. The screen and the ports are the same idea on both. Check the battery on the 2021 model.
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$400$600$800$1,000$1,200
Side by side
Shaded with a red rule: the better side for a typical buyer. Not a lab score.
Pro 14-inch M1 ProPro 14-inch M4
Typical price
Better here: About $730
About $1,240
Memory
16GB was the base. 32GB listings cost more and are the better edit machine.
16GB is the base on this M4 model. M4 Pro and M4 Max models often start higher.
Storage
512GB was the base, which is more useful than the Air’s 256GB.
512GB is the base.
Screen
14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR with ProMotion (120Hz). Much brighter than any Air: about 1,000 nits sustained.
14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR with ProMotion (120Hz), about 1,000 nits. A nano-texture glass option exists.
Ports
MagSafe, three Thunderbolt ports, HDMI, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack.
MagSafe, three Thunderbolt ports, HDMI, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack.
External displays
Two external displays, and HDMI is built in.
Two or more external displays, with HDMI built in.
Camera
1080p.
Better here: 12MP Center Stage.
Noise
Fans spin up on long exports. Quiet the rest of the time.
Fans run under a long export. Quiet for ordinary work.
Weight
3.5 lb
3.4 lb
Battery
Apple’s figure is up to 17 hours of video. Cycle count matters on a 2021 machine.
Better here: Apple’s published figure for the 14-inch M4 is up to 24 hours of video playback.
Speed
Still strong for code and 4K timelines. The fans let it hold speed.
Better here: A large step over the 2021 14-inch, and it holds that speed on long exports.
US eBay asking ranges as of November 11, 2026.