Better with a real gaming laptop
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 and MacBook Pro 2021 16-inch is the most powerful laptops to date thanks to the new M1 Pro and M1 Max. This chip is an important upgrade from last year's M1. Apple claims that the chips, especially the powerful M1 Max, compete with or outperform GPUs from AMD and Nvidia.
The 32 core GPU M1 Max is certainly impressive. As reported by WCCFTech, YouTubers like Vadim Yuriev provided stats for the M1 Max, saying that the chip can offer 10.40 teraflops of performance compared to 10.28 on the PS5. The Radeon RX Vega 56 (10.5 teraflops) and GeForce RTX 2080 (10 teraflops) are also in this range.
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While the M1 Max is objectively strong, that doesn't mean the chip-equipped MacBook Pro automatically becomes a gaming laptop or anything like that. This doesn't mean the potential doesn't exist. MacBook Pros or future devices with M1 Max can be solid gaming platforms. Unfortunately, there are two main obstacles that prevent this from happening.
Where are the macOS games?
The first thing that stopped the MacBook Pro from becoming a viable gaming platform was the lack of well-known titles for the Mac. Fortnite, Hades, and Disco Elysium are solid titles, but where are Grand Theft Autos, Assassin's Creeds, or Witchers? You can find it on Steam, GoG, and game consoles, but not on macOS.
A steep price to pay
While the Mac has plenty of AAA and indie games, another big barrier that stands in the way of it being a viable gaming platform for most users is price. $3,299 for an ornate MacBook Pro with an M1 Max chip is a tough pill even if you have a high-paying job. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $3,499 with the M1 Max.
Powerful Windows gaming laptops cost a lot less. For example, you can get an Alienware M15 R4 gaming laptop with a 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics processor, 32 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of storage for $2609. 17-inch MSI GE76 Raider with RTX 3080, refresh rate 300Hz, and 1TB of storage costs $3,099, though more expensive and more powerful configurations are available.
If you're a professional musician or 3D illustrator, the price of the new MacBook Pro is justifiable. If you are a gamer with that kind of money, better buy a gaming laptop or desktop like I did.
Reality check
The game is available on the new MacBook Pro. Both the M1 Pro and M1 Max go beyond the ability to deliver high quality graphics and smooth performance.
But now, the lack of AAA titles doesn't justify the price of Apple's latest laptops. That could change in the future, especially if Apple has thrown enough money on developers to get great titles on macOS.