58 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2021
FEATURE REVIEW: 14 -INCH MACBOOK PRO (M1 PRO)
3DMark Wild Life (fave.co/3GNcViv) is
actually an iOS app (which also makes it
native for Apple silicon), and you can run
iOS apps on Apple silicon Macs. This
graphics test uses Apple’s Metal API. The
M1 Pro showed a 249 percent
improvement over the M1 in the test’s
Unlimited mode. See the test data and
performance chart (fave.co/3nYyP9W).
BasemarkGPU (fave.co/3q6J4Ma)
uses a “game-like scene” and can be
configured to run the Metal API, which is
how we tested. The M1 Pro’s score was
over 2.5 times that of the M1. This test is
native to Apple silicon. See the test data
and performance chart (fave.co/3BEDgeV).
Blender Benchmark (fave.
co/3BQLnVS) tests how long it takes to
render a 3D image. The M1 Pro showed a
185 percent improvement over the M1. See
the test data and performance chart (fave.
co/3BEDy5v).
Corona Benchmark (fave.co/3GSiBYi) is
a 3D render test using the Corona Renderer.
The M1 Pro’s time was 140 percent faster
than the M1’s. See the test data and
performance chart (fave.co/3k4rHYv).
V-Ray 5 Benchmark (fave.
co/3k5cbvm) uses the V-Ray rendering
engine with two tests. In the V-Ray 5 CPU
test, the M1 Pro results showed a 194
percent improvement over the M1’s. In the
V-Ray 5 GPU CUDA test, the M1 Pro had a
272 percent increase over the M1. See the
test data and performance chart (fave.
co/3k3GmTA).POWER ADAPTER AND
BATTERY
MagSafe makes a welcome return to the
MacBook Pro after four years. This
connector magnetically attaches to the
laptop’s power adapter port, and it breaks
away if you give it a good tug. It’s a great
safety feature that I really missed,
especially as someone who has tripped
over the plugged-in cable and sent the
laptop tumbling to the floor more than a
few times.
Another nice touch is that the
included USB-C to MagSafe cable is
braided, so it’s a bit more durable than
the regular vinyl it uses on its other
cables. Try not to lose that MagSafe
cable, though—a replacement cable is a
whopping $49 at the Apple Store (fave.
co/2ZPLcgx). If you don’t want to use
MagSafe, you can use a more sensibly
priced $19 USB-C charge cable (fave.
co/3bMhGKF) and charge through one of
the Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports.
Both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros
support a new fast-charging feature, where
a battery can go from zero to 50 percent
battery life in 30 minutes. However, fast
charging on the 14-inch model requires the
96W power adapter, which is included in
the $2,499 standard configuration, but not