MacBook Pro with M1 Max just blew my mind, and I'm a die-hard Windows user

I think I've just had my allegiance to Windows PCs well and truly destroyed by Apple's MacBook Pro with M1 Max

Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max
(Image credit: Apple)

Well, my going on three decades of using Windows PCs looks like it has just come very much to a terminal halt, with Windows 11 the sunset on a now dead relationship.

The cause of the brutally sudden split? Apple's new MacBook Pro with M1 Max chipset, which at last night's Apple launch event not only blew my mind but left Intel-powered Windows PCs dead and buried.

Apple described the new MacBook Pro with M1 Max chip, in both its 16-inch and 14-inch sizes, as a "beast" and, honestly, after watching Apple detail the insane amount of power and performance it had on tap, for once I had to agree with them.

This was a PC killer. No matter what spec of chip you threw at the M1 Max, even up to a top-shelf Intel Core i9, the M1 Max triumphed - and it did so by orders of magnitude.

Watch the official MacBook Pro with M1 Max trailer below to get a taste of how comprehensive the PC beatdown is.

Apple Event — October 18 - YouTube Apple Event — October 18 - YouTube
Watch On

Seriously, head on over to the official press release announcement for the new MacBook Pro with M1 Max (and M1 Pro) and you'll see a list of stats that are humbling to read from a PC users perspective.

The M1 Max features a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU and boasts a ridiculous 400GB/s of memory bandwidth. Pair that with up to 64GB of unified memory and you've got a system that is two times faster than the M1 Pro and a crazy six times faster than the current M1 chip.

And, let's be very clear here. The M1 chip already smokes the vast majority of processors on the market, no matter who they are made by. The standard (if standard is the right word!) is faster per core then any Intel laptop chip, and it has 8 cores. So you currently need to go very high (and very expensive) to beat the M1 in PC land.

But now the M1 Max has just dropped in the MacBook Pro and that chip is six times faster than it. I'm sorry but that is just game over.

Oh, and if the crushing performance victory wasn't enough, the new MacBook Pro also comes rocking superb battery life and efficiency, an advanced thermal cooling system that is actually quiet and not just claimed to be, and the world's best notebook display.

That display claim is no puff by Apple either, but stone cold hard fact. The MacBook Pro deliver a 120Hz Liquid Retina XDR display featuring the mini-LED technology used in iPad Pro. This Liquid Retina XDR display delivers up to 1,000 nits of sustained, full-screen brightness, an incredible 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. Simply incredible.

Connectivity is also fantastic and the new MacBook Pro also comes with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera built in. It's just the complete package and one that features technology that, right now, looks genuinely about 3-5 years in advance of anything Windows PCs can deliver.

Consider me converted!

Robert Jones

Rob has been writing about computing, gaming, mobile, home entertainment technology, toys (specifically Lego and board games), smart home and more for over 15 years. As the editor of PC Gamer, and former Deputy Editor for T3.com, you can find Rob's work in magazines, bookazines and online, as well as on podcasts and videos, too. Outside of his work Rob is passionate about motorbikes, skiing/snowboarding and team sports, with football and cricket his two favourites.