I have a 2021 MacBook Pro with an Apple processor.
One is a work machine, the other is my personal machine.
--- Things I love about the 2021...
The keyboard is just spot on perfect. No stupid touch bar. It feels good to type on too.
It has MagSafe again.
It doesn't get hot. The Intel MBP has real heat issues. It sucks to use it on my lap, or lying down. MBPs get really hot on video calls... and I spend all my time on video calls. For comparison, I shut everything down on the two machines and video called one from the other... and the 2019 had over 3x power usage on video calls. Also it didn't heat up!
The screen is "burn a hole in your eyes at night if you forget to dim it a bit" bright. It's amazingly bright.
I thought the notch would be annoying but if anything now the entire top of the 2019 feels like a notch. Meh. I don't care about the notch, it's never gotten in the way. And if anything the consistent black space around the monitor on the 2021 makes me really noticed how the 2019 has more black space on the top than it does on the sides.
The battery can go all day. Like no joke. And what's awesome is when I travel for work I don't even bring the charge brick with me. I know it seems like a small thing, but it means I can just use a smaller "sleeve" style case and it just makes traveling a little easier. One less thing I have to lug around on a day-flight.
--- Things I miss about the 2019...
The case on the 2021 is just flat out ugly and hideous. It's a total square box. It's thicker, it has more "give" and doesn't feel as solid. It feels cheap and shitty and hollow and all the things Apple laptops aren't supposed to feel like. It doesn't have any of the nice graceful curves that make you say, "Man these guys... how did they do all this?!" It's just a big thick ugly box that "thuds" when you tap on it and has visible give when you grab it in certain places. I think they even changed the finish texture on the aluminum. I just hate the way the 2021 feels. It feels cheap and flimsy. I hate the design choices on the 2021 too. Feels like they went back 10 years.