16-inch 2021 MacBook Pro (M1) ("M1 Max")

vs 15-inch 2018 MacBook Pro (Intel) ("Intel 2018")

Check out my YouTube video below!

There are many great reviews about the latest MacBook Pro.

I bought myself one and have used it for a few weeks.

I'm not a tech savvy person.

The main reason I bought it was

for editing videos and photos for my YouTube and blog.

Unrelated, but if you ask me why I spent $6,100

for a YouTube channel with 77 subscribers,

all I can say is I love making videos.

It's not an investment, okay? :P

Why am I making a tech review

when there are hundreds of others made by professional tech reviewers?

Well, I wanted to share a perspective from someone ‍

who knows almost nothing about tech.

I don't even know what a CPU or GPU is

or the difference between Intel or M1 chips is. (Yes, I am a tech idiot)

To me, the important question is

not what specs the new MacBook has,

but it is, "Is it better to use? Do I like it better thanthe old model?"

In this video, I will compare the 2021 M1 Max against my old Intel 2018.

External Design

Intel 2018 wins - M1 Max doesn't look as sleek as the 2018 Intel

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M1 Max has thicker profile.

Its flat-edged body makes it look boxy and less sophisticated.

The apple logo got bigger.

The feet got larger and also flat-edged.

Overall, the 2018 is just more beautiful and refined.

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But I heard there are reasons for the design shift, for example,

the four larger feet make the M1 Max sit higher,

and there are vents at the side that take in air

that's expelled out of the back.

This design helps minimize heat and noise.

Everything about the new machine was designed for performance, it shows,

I like it, but aesthetically it's a step back.

Keyboard

M1 Max wins - the touch bar is finally gone!

If you ask me to pick one thing I didn't like about the 2018 model,

it'd be the touch bar.

Until today, I didn't know the Intel 2018 had the fingerprint sensor (aka Touch ID).

I think I ignored or forgot about the sensor

because it was a part of the touch bar.

This is how much I hated it.

Also, the escape key is back. Yay!

I don't know why I should be excited about this obvious simple thing‚

Design should not compromise function IMHO.

Why didn't I like the touch bar?

Because it was not intuitive to use.

I tried it out and got frustrated.

Instead of learning how to use it,

I bought the Magic Keyboard. Yea, pretty lazy.

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Ports

M1 Max wins - Being able to plug SD card directly into my MacBook is a game changer

for someone who takes photos and videos almost daily.

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The SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) slot means

no more external SD card reader that makes my already messy desk messier.

And then there's MagSafe,

a magnetic DC connector that enables the cord to disconnect harmlessly

if someone should trip over it. I've had close calls inthe past.

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Display

M1 Max wins - The bigger the better / the sharper the even better

As I am not using an external monitor,

I wanted the biggest possible screen size.

Thinner bezel makes it look even bigger,

and this is the one thing about M1 Max that is

aesthetically superior over the Intel 2018.

The camera notch doesn't bother me at all.

MacOS is designed to have a menu bar,

I don't care that there is something in the middle.

It's in an area of the screen that doesn't matter.

M1 Max display quality is clearly better with deeper blacks and improved brightness over the Intel 2018

M1 Max uses something called mini-LED

but I won't get into the technical details - because I don't know.

what's important is that M1 Max looks even more amazing

than the 2018s already great display.

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Audio

M1 Max wins - Bass sounds much better / smooth, rich, andclear (I don't know how to describe sound).

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It won't replace real speakers,

but it is incredibly good regardless.

M1 Max stands out when listening to bass-heavy music

Sidenote: Audio is my least favourite part of the M1 Mac Mini

Performance

M1 Max wins - faster and quieter

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When exporting my latest YouTube videos,

M1 Max was more than x2 faster than Intel 2018

Previewing the video at full resolution

can make the video look choppy.

M1 Max had no issues, and it didn't make any noise while playing full resolution.

I also let my developer friend test their large Xcode project on both machines.

This is what they had to say:

To build the project,

The M1 Max did it about 2-3 times faster than the Intel 2018.

The Intel 2018 performed worse when it's hot, and most of the time, it's hot.

Whereas M1 Max didn't get hot

This means, that for software development,

this machine will always perform at its peak. Wow!

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Going back to the initial question:

is the M1 Max better than the Intel 2018?

Yes. The design can improve, but everything else is much better with the M1 Max.

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In my next video, I'll share some of my experiences with theM1 Max.

Do you have something you want me to cover in my next video?

Feel free to drop me a line