With the M4, Apple finally has a base MacBook Pro that’s less of a parts-bin compromise and more of an actual Pro machine. It’s a laptop you can buy and not feel like you’re caught in between anything.

However, Apple dropped the M4 chip and obliterated Windows laptops in one fell swoop. On Geekbench 6, the MacBook Pro notched a sweet multi-core score of 15,199. This beats our most powerful non-gaming PC laptop, Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, which delivered a score of 14,548 on the same test.

The refreshed M4 chips bring nice performance gains over last year’s, as the line continues to evolve and improve. The MacBook Air continues to be the best choice for the vast majority of users. It’s more affordable, lighter weight, and performance ...