ZDNET Recommends: What exactly does it mean?
ZDNETs recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNETs editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
When Apples M4 processor came to the MacBook Pro laptop line, we noted how it improved upon the already powerful M3 Pro and M3 Max with smooth performance, a more efficient battery, and a new Thunderbolt 5 port for blazing-fast data transfer speeds. One of the best things about the new M4 MacBook Pro is that it starts at the same price as last years M3, making it that much easier to consider.
Also: Best Amazon Prime Day Apple deals 2025
In the lead-up to Amazons October Prime Day, which starts on October 7, the MacBook Pro M4 received a nice discount. Every single model is seeing a price drop, so to make things easy, below is a table highlighting the specific build and its new price.
Configuration
Price
M4 MacBook Pro with 16GB Unified Memory and 512GB SSD
$1,399
M4 MacBook Pro with 16GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD
$1,620
M4 MacBook Pro with 24GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD
$1,779
M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 24GB Unified Memory and 512GB SSD
$1,798
M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 24GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD
$2,132
M4 Max MacBook Pro with 36GB Unified Memory and 1TB SSD
$2,870
Besides the improvements to Apples proprietary AI, Apple Intelligence, the MacBook M4 Pro and M4 Max have some hardware upgrades — notably, the USB-C Thunderbolt 5 ports — becoming some of the first laptops on the market to support faster than 120Gbps transfer speeds and 240W charging. For professional creatives who use external GPUs and need a portable system that can move large files in a flash, this alone could make the MacBook Pro M4 a worthy upgrade.
Speaking of displays, the mini LED on the MacBook Pro M4 — with 1,000 nits of brightness at SDR and 1,600 nits at HDR — pairs well with the nano-texture coating, resulting in one of the best-looking laptop displays Ive seen. The matte layering reduces glare and makes it look better under indoor lighting, while the sheer brightness makes for a high-end visual experience for entertainment and creative tasks.
Also: Its not even Prime Day yet, but Apple AirPods 4 are already $39 off
The M4s battery life is also improved over its predecessors. Apple advertises up to 24 hours of battery life, the first for any Mac. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro or M4 Max get the full-day rating, while the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro or M4 Max falls just short at 22 hours.
The new MacBook Pro M4 regularly starts at $1,599 for the version with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD. This sale brings the cost down to a more accessible $1,399, a very competitive price for a top-of-the-line device thats less than a year old.
Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.
Although the exact prices for each of the MacBook Pro models vary, all of the deals provide the same level of value. As per ZDNETs rating system, I grant this deal a 2/5 editors deal rating. $220 off doesnt seem like a big amount in relation to the MacBook Pro, but you have to keep in mind that Apple rarely rolls out discounts for its products. I recommend taking advantage of this window of opportunity while its open.
Deals are subject to sell-out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. Were sorry if youve missed out on this deal, but dont fret — were constantly finding new chances to score savings and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.
We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech.
In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editors deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.
At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals are chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts.
Also: How we rate deals at ZDNET in 2025