M1 Max 16-Inch MacBook Pro One Year Review: Still Worth It?

With the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pros on the horizon, how do the M1 Pro and M1 Max 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros hold up? Are they still worth it?. And what do I want to see in an updated model!

Save up to $700 on every MacBook Pro in our Price Guide!

Grab the LOWEST prices on Apple gear! 👇

Follow our social channels! 👇

New here? AppleInsider has been around since the 1997 covering anything, and everything Apple. This YouTube channel will give you the best coverage for anything Apple related. New MacBooks? We'll cover them! New iPhones? We got you covered on that as well. Want to get the most out of your new Apple product? We've got videos to help you with that. Make sure to subscribe, comment, and share our videos!

AppleInsider may earn commission on purchases made through affiliate links.

[himboslice_]

got a 16" m1 max 64gb ram 1tb ssd for $1999 refurbished from microcenter. only 2 battery cycles and everything looked brand new.

[vernearase]

Bought the 16" M1 Max w/32 cores, 32 GB, 2 TB and it's easily the best laptop I've ever owned (and I owned the 2019 16" core-i9).

[star_man]

Still love my M1 Max 16". I don't see any need to upgrade to M2 and I think it would be a poor reflection on Apple's laptops if I felt the need to upgrade every year like some people do with their phones. I use it for graphics design, web development, and mild 3D and video work, it handles it all brilliantly. I'm glad the touchbar is gone, it was more a hinderance to productivity than a bonus for me and I found it slowed me down. The notch doesn't bother me and I forget it's there. My only wish for additions would be face ID and better graphics performance because whilst it's good a Windows laptop with dedicated graphics card still smokes it for 3D work... although it draws the power to do it.

[xavier]

My old MBP15 retina 2012 lasted 10 years until I broke the display. Now I purchased the M1Max 16 in a deal and I think it will last another 10 years.

[ameyajoshi]

I bought a 16 Inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro with1 TB SSD and 32 GB RAM. I'm a Mobile Apps Developer and extensively use Android Studio, Visual Studio Code and X-Code. When I have my IDE's open, just like you, I have a ton of Chrome Windows open as well. This Computer handles all these processes with such finesse it's incredible and without using any Swap. The Computer cost me $4000 Canadian.

[teaearlgrayht]

Got my 16" Pro with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD from Costco sale, 2 months ago. Never ever had anything as perfect, effortless, and satisfying as this beast. For the first time, it is worth every penny spent.

[deeppc]

Proud owner of this… :)) Best machine Apple has made till date😊😊

[valdius]

Pros:
* no touch bar 😂
* build quality
* huge touch bar
* speakers
* battery
* screen size

Cons:
* weight. I understand though

I am a software dev so this machine is helpful for me. Also, this is the first Mac in my life and I am not an Apple fan in general.
Still, I think it is a very impressive laptop. I wished iPhone was made by the same people

[keaton]

Do you still recommend, considering how cheap new M1 Max can be bought today?

[vanzetti]

Still using my 2017 Macbook Pro 16GB of ram. Still pushing along really well and I use the touch bar all the time.

[makelvin]

I find it funny how when the Touch Bar was first released, it was universally criticized and hated. Now that it is gone, all of a sudden, it is missed by many. 😂

[jonphanspromotions]

is it worth it at $2000? THinking about buying one

[janet.snakehole]

my only complaint is small... i miss the dedicated monitor light button vs going through menus to turn down /up the brightness

[lewisw.]

What’s the advantage to having the ‘auto-on, auto-wake’ feature when I lift the lid? I’d prefer to turn on my MacBook Pro myself, manually. How can I disable this ‘auto-wake’ feature?

[mejlgaardbliddal]

I did not need the power of the max chip and had set my eyes on a miniLED monitor for video editing when a Danish Apple dealer had a great deal on both the 16 inch pro and max version I decided to buy the pro version as I realized that I could buy that cheaper today than a miniLED monitor in the future. What as surprised me the most is how much more screen real estate you get on the 16 inch compared to my 13 inch MacBook Air m1 and when I need more screen real estate I just add my MacBook Air and my 12.9 iPad via sidecar and continuity thus getting a 3 monitor setup controllable from the same keyboard and trackpad

[MainActor]

M1 Max is still working great, I also push mine hard because I have a bunch of apps that are open all the time, battery is probably a tad bit worn out at 97% but it still gets me through the day, and I'm in my workstation most of the time anyway so it's not really an issue for me.

[sugargliderdude]

298 cycles, battery on 89%.... but overall i am pleased with the laptop... never even heard the heat fans come on, previous intel macbook, i could hear them all the time.

[tperrak]

i have M1 Max 16-Inch MacBook Pro 64Gb and is perfect!!!

[philiplibertine]

Just picked up a Max (I needed it for my work and couldn’t wait for the m2). Totally agree about missing the Touch Bar, will take a long time to rid myself of the muscle memory from using it for years!

Absolutely great laptop so far though, the best apple one I’ve ever owned

[ccseic]

glad u like it. so many people complain about the size and weight of this thing. come on