60 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2021
FEATURE REVIEW: 14 -INCH MACBOOK PRO (M1 PRO)see a laptop with as many as six
Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, but four would
have been more practical, even with
MagSafe as a charging option.
The SDXC slot is another important
feature for content professionals who want
a hassle-free way to transfer work from
their gear. High-end cameras, audio
recorders, and more use SDXC cards, and
it’s convenient to pop the card out of the
device and plug it into the MacBook Pro.
Apple is now providing a full-size
HDMI 2.0 port, which may seem odd for
high-end professional work, but this port
is important for people who often make
presentations. You can plug in a large
external display without needing an
adapter, and that’s one less thing to
worry about when you’re on the road.
HDMI 2.1 would be better for future-
proofing, but it’ll likely be a couple of
years before higher-end 4K, 120Hz
displays are affordable enough to be
commonplace.
Apple also includes a headphone jack,
and in keeping with the theme of giving
pros what they need, the company
upgraded the jack so it can support high-
impedance headphones. Nice. One port
we were hoping to get is an ethernet jack
on the power adapter, like the one found
on the 24-inch iMac. That didn’t happen,
unfortunately, so it stays on the wish list.NO TOUCH BAR
The decision to dump the Touch Bar will
definitely raise the ire of some MacBook
Pro users. For the record, I did not care for
it, but a vast majority of respondents to an
article I wrote about the Touch Bar (fave.
co/3qa7N1V) said I was wrong (see a few of
those comments [fave.co/3GNvFhH]).
Apple replaced the Touch Bar with
full-size Function keys, not the half-height
keys you find on the MacBook
Air. Having full-size function
keys is a boon for pro users
who use those keys in their
apps. With the Touch Bar, you
were able to switch it to
Function key mode, but its
on-screen Function buttons
weren’t tangible and the lack of
feedback wasn’t satisfying.
Physical Function keys provide
a much-desired usability cue.The right side of the MacBook Pro houses the SDXC Card
slot, a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port, and an HDMI 2.0 port.