Due note that there is one GLARING reason I still think creative professionals will want to pick up the MacBook Pro M1 over the HP ProBook 630 G8, join me to find out. ►⏩►⏩ Check specs and pricing in the links below…
💻 HP ProBook 630 G8 ( geni.us/ProBook630G8-16gb - Commission Earned )
💻 MacBook Pro 13in M1 ( geni.us/MBP-M1-512gb - Commission Earned )
Windows has finally brought us a worthy competitor to the MacBook Pro M1 (Insert raging comments below). While there are no perfect laptops, there are also no perfect opinions, so this is indeed my opinion which I will back up with specs, benchmark tests, and build quality assessments.
Alright so we have two all-aluminum laptops built for the mid budget category. We are going to find out which one will better serve your use cases. First and foremost, chassis design overall goes to the MacBook Pro. It has become the defecto gold standard (so to speak) as all that is good and beautiful.
The ProBook is the same thickness as the MacBook Pro M1 at 0.61 inches thick but weighs roughly a half pound less at 2.51 Lbs compared to the MacBook Pro’s 3.0 Lbs
Another part of the ProBook design I really like is the ledge they created for your fingers to grip the screen to open and close it. The top and bottom bezel of the ProBook are slightly angled in creating a perfect ledge for you fingers to grip the screen and pull it open easily. This could go easily overlooked and I love when company’s design in this way. Well done HP.
The screen can also open to 180 degrees whereas the MacBook Pro cannot.
The HP ProBook Keyboard is my preferred keyboard between these two. It is very snappy, responsive and quiet. The keys are very stable and the soft-touch materials are more soft-touchy than the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro’s keyboard is good, but the ProBook definitely stands out here.
Both the HP ProBook and the MacBook Pro M1 come with all in one trackpads with the click built in. The HP ProBook has a manual click whereas the M1 totes Apple’s vibration click. So basically the trackpad isn’t manually activated by the click from the mechanism moving. Rather the amount of force that is applied to the trackpad causes a vibration that feels like a click.
The ProBook 630 comes with a much wider variety of ports. So if you’re not into that dongle life than the ProBook will be the better choice.
The ProBook 630 comes with:
Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 2
x2 Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 2
HDMI Port
SC (SmartCard) Slot
Headphone Jack
And the MacBook Pro M1 comes with:
x2 USB-C 3.1 (DisplayPort)
Mic/headphone combo
The HP ProBook 630 G8 I am reviewing comes with:
CPU: Intel 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 (4 Cores 8 Threads)
GPU: Intel Iris Xe
RAM: 16GB DDR4
Storage: 512B NVMe SSD
Whereas the MacBook Pro M1 comes with:
CPU: Apple M1 (8 Cores 8 Threads)
GPU: 8 Core GPU + 16 Core Neural Engine
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Storage: 512GB SSD
The ProBook 630 only falls slightly behind the MacBook Pro M1 in Photoshop. The ProBook 630 scored a 505 while the MacBook Pro M1 scored a 565. Looking at my charts you can see that the ProBook 630 is actually out-performing the current MacBook Pro 13 inch with the Intel Core i5 offering. Which by the way is a well suited laptop for creators tasks. So, that the ProBook 630 outperforms it is a good sign.
If you are going to be playing back and editing 4k footage on one of these two laptops then the MacBook Pro M1 gets double the smoothness while editing. But to be honest, while the MacBook Pro can handle 4k video editing on a single clip basis, I would recommend both of these laptops for advanced 1080p before I would recommend them for 4k.
So with that in mind, if you purchase the ProBook 630, just note that you will need to shoot and edit 1080p, which in my opinion is totally fine. I currently shoot and edit everything 1080p. Plus, did you know that phones are only HD (1080p). So nearly everyone watching your edits will not know any different.
If you’re looking for a laptop that is highly color accurate, all-aluminum, handles Photoshop in the top of its category, is capable of 4k video editing, and destroys simulated benchmarking tools (just in case you want to impress the neighbor kids), then bi-golly you better go for the MacBook Pro M1.
If you’re looking for a brilliant windows alternative to the Macbook Pro with smooth beveled edges, and incredible keyboard deck and trackpad at half a pound less than I would pick up the HP ProBook 630 G8.
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