Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Apple 2020 MacBook Pro M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Storage)

Top positive review

Best Laptop in History

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2021

I got my new MacBook Pro M1 two weeks ago and could not be more happy with it. This machine is absolutely incredible in terms of speed, looks, weight/size, display, and battery life - and texture (it feels so good against the skin on my wrists as I type) and basically anything else you can think of. I also love the space gray color, the new keyboard, the Touch Bar, and the larger trackpad. There are so many options to customize the system to work just the way I like.
My previous MacBook was the 2011 model and it still works today, but after 10 years it became too slow and the trackpad had trouble clicking, so after a TON of research, I decided to pull the trigger and get the New MacBook Pro with the M1 chip.
A couple suggestions I am able to give after spending almost two months and probably over 30 hours researching the new MacBook are: go with the standard model of 8gb of RAM and the 256 ssd - you can get this on Amazon for $1239 vs $1299 at Apple - so you get to save 60 bucks, and you have the added satisfaction of not having to deal with the snobby nerd losers that work in the Apple Store, who asked me rudely when I went in to get a new laptop "umm, do you have an appointment? Well, you're going to have to make an appointment if you want to go in the store". I love Apple products and will never use another phone or computer besides the iPhone and MacBook, but after that experience I will never again give my business to the physical Apple Stores. I mean, seriously, do you really need me to make an appointment to buy a $1300 laptop? Whatever dude.
Anyway, in several YouTube videos that compared the 8GB ram model along side the 16GB ram model (costs 200 bucks more), the 8GB performed just as well in nearly every task - and they really pushed it to the limits. The only reason to pay up for the 16GB RAM is if you want to edit 8K UHD videos or are a super serious music recording artist or highly advanced professional photographer - and even then it's not too much of a difference. For the every day user (me or basically anyone who is not a computer professional) the 8GB working with this new M1 chip is mind-blowing, blows any other laptop on the market completely out of the water, and actually even performs just as well as the $2200 15 inch MacBook Pro using the Intel chip. As far as the storage goes, 256 ssd is standard - that's what I got - and you can pay 200 bucks more for 512 ssd or 400 bucks more for 1 TB. But with the Cloud storage available now, you don't really need to keep much on the laptop drive, you can just save it to the cloud.
Overall I honestly could go on for hours about every little detail that I absolutely love about this machine. A free one year subscription to Apple TV is also another little perk. But I am still mystified every day at how incredible this machine is. I've been online for over 3 hours now and its still on 92% battery. The new Retina display is brilliant. Everything is perfect. I truly am in love this laptop and would recommend that anyone looking for a new laptop to last a long time and outperform everything else on the market gets the new matchbook 13 inch M1.

1,230 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Brian S in DC

Very good -- but not up to the hype

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021

I've been an Apple user for over 35 years, and I was pretty excited to make the M1 migration now that many apps have been updated for Apple Silicon. I expected to be blown away, and while this is an excellent Apple laptop, and the battery life does live up to the hype, I overall I found it disappointing compared to the reviews. Three things:

1. Sure, it may fly if you're doing really CPU heavy things, but for things like "heavy" productivity, I found it no better than my Intel 16". In fact....

2. This could be related to all the stories I read saying, "8GB on Apple Silicon is like 16GB on Intel." Yeah, don't believe those. Again, this may be true for tasks that are well suited for ARM, but heavy productivity work is no better. I keep a decent but not insane amount of Safari tabs open at any time, and that plus having much of anything else open kept the memory pressure graph constantly in the yellow, if not red. And that may or may not be related to the biggest problem which is....

3. I had significant problems using my LG 5K display which has worked like a champ with my 16". Sometimes it would take up to 4 minutes before things "settled down" and I was actually able to use the computer again. That was a dealbreaker.

Would 2 and 3 have been better with more memory, or are these M1 growing pains, or something else? I don't know. I'll probably give the 16" a try with 16GB whenever it comes out. For now, this 13" was just too underpowered for my fairly average professional needs.

I realize that reviews below 5 stars on this are rare, which I find puzzling for the reasons above. Hope this is helpful to anyone who might be wondering about the downsides.

5 people found this helpful

7,045 total ratings, 887 with reviews

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From the United States

JK Reviews

Best Laptop in History

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2021

Capacity: 256GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

1,230 people found this helpful

Helpful

Juan N.

Happy after 40 years on Windows

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2022

Capacity: 512GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

Nowadays is ridiculous that a good Windows system can be as expensive as a Mac computer, or vice versa, a Mac now is as affordable as a Windows PC. This new micro, the M1 series is amazing, run fast, no lagging, and with the rest of the integrated Masc hardware I am fascinated with the performance, no matter I am just writing a book or editing videos on Premiere, or even making a complex podcast with Audition or Reaper.

Wit my previous Windows machines I was experimentan lot of lagging issues and considering build or buy new computer were expensive and complicated. Now the Macbook Pro solved all in one single package.

I am delighted with the number of hours I can be working on the go, one single charge last all day long, checking emails, editing audio, writing, translating, chatting and all with a great Keyboard, that we must admit is not a mechanical one, but makes a very decent job for a 1 mm travel on each keystroke.

I am so happy that my Mac is so versatile and powerful in one small package that I am considering getting rid of all my Windows PC get another couple of Macs and continuing with my new style of working hours on the go or in any other place I like bringing just one small device but powerful with stounding battery life. Worth to mention the finishes are superb and make it thought for travelling.

Finally, the OS is amazing, I have almost no trouble moving from one to the other, I am surprised that Mac OS comes with all the things to start working just opening the lid of the computer, everything is suitable to start working or creating something, something now I really hate on PCs is the number of hours I had to spent setting up the OS, later installing programs, setting my preferences and son on, now all that days have gone with Mac OS.

These finals words are for you. my friend:

If you are like me, an old school tech guy that loves setting RAID arrays, tunning the BIOS, picking every component by hand, dealing with BUS speeds, got issues on the registró and spent hundreds of hours on forums asking questions about performance and incompatibilities with your stuff, please don't hesitase to move to Mac OS. On this Side, everything is simple but powerful and you can be more focused on producido that supports your systems. As many people have told me before buying a Mac I can share with you it's real... "when you get a Mac you won't get back to windows". It happened to me in just 14 days.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dan

Perfect Computer for College and Campus Life!

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2021

Capacity: 512GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

The media could not be loaded.

I was not disappointed as this was my first time buying a computer on Amazon, and here is why.

The ordering experience was much easier than my last visit to an Apple store to purchase a computer. The computer arrived in two days, on time, a gift to our son who is heading to college.

This space grey laptop is the perfect size and weight when on campus. It includes an audio jack and two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports.

The package also includes a charger with a cord and a straightforward setup.

I like the fantastic Apple design of this laptop with the space grey casing. I'm glad overall that this laptop will last up to 20 hours on a charge, has a great screen, and is more than the required memory and speed as requested by the University. Simply perfect and well worth it. Therefore I rate this product five out of five stars.

36 people found this helpful

Helpful

Travis F.

The M1 chip is no joke! Macbook just works, period.

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2021

Capacity: 256GBColor: SilverVerified Purchase

I love my MBP! As a Windows user since the early 90's, I've gone through all sorts of computer systems; desktops and laptops, name-brand pre-built systems and custom builds and I've got to say, Apple knows how to construct an absolutely gorgeous and solid device with premium build quality. My interest in Windows began waning after Windows 7 and has been a downward spiral since, in terms of user experience, maintenance, bugs, endless updates, updates for those updates, etc. I was not going to stick around for another lackluster release with Windows 11 on the way (which my fairly new and high-end laptop at the time didn't even officially qualify for the upgrade). The learning curve was not too steep and has been more rewarding in the past several weeks of use. I forget how much of a pleasure it was to use a computer that the developers actually understand the needs of the customer base. I am equally amazed by just how seamlessly everything just seems to work. I used to think in terms of Apple monopolizing the market by offering a product that they built both on the hardware and software side, but that is in part why it just works so flawlessly.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Pete DiLima

Fantastic

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2023

Capacity: 512GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

Love this laptop. Fast/ easy to use/ loads of space. East to transport. Great purchase. Very happy with it

Helpful

J. Lopes

Best keyboard EVER

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2021

Capacity: 512GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

Coming from years and years of PC, I must say that this 13" M1 Macbook Pro is an Internet beast. I also use it for Lightroom, Photoshop, Affinity suite, Capture One, FL Studio and I have zero complaints. I hadn't had a mac since the mid 90's and I was a huge fan then, but PC's just offer so much more for the money.

The ports are an issue and you will need to buy a dock like device because you'll need it to hookup older devices or more than two devices at some point.

GET THE 16GB model - While I have no issues with RAM so far, I believe the 16GB model should be the base model because the hibernation/sleep is going to kill the NAND hard drive eventually from writing to disk every time you close the lid.

There is an issue with the keyboard that I haven't been able to replicate, but the delete key will enter a state where it doesn't work, though the keyboard still functions. I have to close whatever window I'm typing in in order to get the delete key working again. It's not random, but I haven't figured out what two key combo is causing the problem or if it's just in twitter.

The screen is 100% accurate (close enough) out of the box - The reason I got the macbook pro is because of the issues I was having with my 15" Dell XPS, which is a beast, color discrepancy when exporting. The colors were always over saturated and I had to guess what settings to use to counter the output. I did everything imaginable and always color calibrate with Spyder (for 10 years I've done this) but the accuracy was never the same on other screens, printing or web postings.

I never used the touch screen on the XPS. I hate smudged screens.

THE BATTERY LIFE is insane, as you've probably heard. 2 days, all day, no issues surfing the web at whatever levels are auto adjusted for on battery usage.

The touchpad - While really good, there are times when the two finger scrolling skips around, but overall, is a good experience.

I'm not a fan of the operating system at all, just like iOS, it's just too clunky and cluttered. Something odd coming from a company who builds incredible hardware with fantastic esthetic designs.

19 people found this helpful

Helpful

Clarkb286

Unix-Based Stability, Unparalleled Performance / $, and a Bright, Beautiful Display

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021

Capacity: 512GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

The performance of this machine (CPU, memory, SSD, and GPU speed) is outstanding. The battery lasts over 10x longer than my previous laptop, a Lenovo Thinkpad T490. The display is bright (500 nits) and beautiful. The laptop is ultra-portable, weighing less than 3 lbs. Either the cooling fans on this laptop are so quiet that they're inaudible, or else they've never come on! macOS Big Sur is intuitive and feature-rich, and the fact that the OS is based on Unix makes software development a delight. The only criticism that I have with this machine is that it only has 2 Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports; an external USB-C hub/adapter/dongle is required if one needs HDMI, USB-A, Ethernet, SDHC, DisplayPort, or VGA connectivity. The price / performance of the M1 MacBook Pro is hard to beat!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Sean

Thinner Lack of Ports Still Cool Though 👍

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2021

Capacity: 256GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

It's a Macbook Pro bro. What's there not to like. It's been 9yrs since my 2012 Macbook Pro purchase and I still use it. I just have to keep it plugged in because I can't find a good battery replacement for it. This M1 is much thinner. 😯 I would say half as thin as the 12 retina model.

Battery life seems good but it was good on my last one. I can use it all day. Button press trackpad even the touchbar is good. I do not understand the complaints about the touchbar. I find it kinda cool and ok. Maybe my opinion will change after some use.

The speed is what everyone raves about. I don't see it. It may be slightly faster but it's hard to tell just how much faster. When I open or load it doesn't seem super fast as everyone claims. I'm sure it's faster but it's not like its drastically noticeable.

I had one issue initially. I set up my fingerprint ID and all was fine until one day it didn't work and it asked me for my password. I could not remember my password and it took a whole day to figure out how to reset it. So far it's only happened once and I hope it doesn't happen again because using the fingerprint scanner I forgot my password already.😄

The audio is good. Definitely not tinny or hollow its that good quality audio you expect. Good full sound. Volume is ok too could maybe be a little louder.

I do not like that it has no ports. Just 2 usb C slots. 😐 You will have to buy an adapter. At least they kept the headphone jack. I also do not like clicking to drag n drop. I don't see any settings that I can change for this. I like being able to tap and 2 finger drag.

I was expecting this to be really fast because that's what they were bragging about but for the money I maybe should have got the air with more GB. But the camera and sound is better on this one. The screen doesn't look as HD as the retina model seems a little flat but it's good. Overall you know the quality of Apple. I will most likely always have a Macbook Pro. 😉👍

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Zach Nichols

A Great Laptop, but buy the MacBook Air

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2021

Capacity: 512GBColor: Space GrayVerified Purchase

I bought this laptop primarily for college. As someone who has dealt with both devils by the name of Apple and Microsoft, the operating system differences don't bother me (although, one thing I did find is that when I go home and I'm not able to do any gaming, it can be a bit of an irritation, but that was never why I bought this laptop to begin with). The screen and battery life on this thing are amazing. My previous laptops had terrible screens and had a max battery life of about two hours. This laptop, between using it for school, doing photo editing, graphic design, coding, and video editing, can easily last me up to two days or even more. The one thing I will say is that frequently in order for me see things most of the time, I need the screen cranked up past 50% brightness most of the time. I like the touch bar, I barely use function keys in most applications and the apps that do use them have the buttons on the touch bar anyways. I will say though unless you care about the touch bar, a slightly larger battery, and a fan being inside this machine (which for the record, with all of my use of heavy exports and edits, has never once turned on), just buy the MacBook Air. For school especially, it will get you across fine. The 8 GB model is also superb in most of the tasks I need to accomplish. I mean, it has similar performance in what I need for compared to my PC with a Ryzen 3700X, and RTX 3070, and 32GB of RAM. There were a couple of times where webpages tried to use more than 8GB of RAM and that caused some trouble, but after turning on an ad-blocker I never had that issue again. macOS has superb memory management, which allows for someone semi-professional like me to get by with it just fine.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Oscar Castillo

I bought it on 2021. Still good

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2023

Capacity: 256GBColor: SilverVerified Purchase

I really trust my mac. It has 86% health on battery after 2 years of heavy use. I use it for developing ios apps. The fan never turns on, except if you render videos, stable diffusion, oh and if you have like 150 chrome tabs opened.

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