I had a 2018 core i9 MBP with 32GB + 1TB SSD before moving to my current 16″ M1 Pro Macbook Pro. For me, the most noticeable difference is that the new M1 Pro MBP is virtually silent, everyday tasks are quicker, and I get better battery life. In your case, are you moving from a more recent model 16″ Intel Macbook Pro? The reason I ask is that I’ve read that the Intel-based 16″ MBPs ran significantly cooler than my 2018 MBP, so maybe in your case the jump to the 16″ M1 Pro was less significant. With respect to temperatures, the 16″ M1 Pro MBP can measure high temperatures for certain components, but I think there is a vast difference in measuring the temperature of certain internal components and the total heat output of a given device. My old 2018 MBP fan turned on and stayed on all the time when doing any sort of export in Lightroom Classic or when I was playing StarCraft II. I’ve yet to hear the fans on my M1 MBP when doing those same exact tasks. In addition, the chassis is much cooler, while the 2018 MBP was noticeably very hot on the bottom.
In ordinary use my M1 Pro MBP is much faster for certain things but not noticeably different for other tasks. The other factors in favor of the M1 Pro MBP are the better speakers and a better webcam. I find that the screen on the new MBP is better than the old one, but for my purposes I thought the screen on the 2018 was great too.
In the end, if the new M1 Pro MBP is not significantly better for you, then that’s the way it is. I might end up buying an M2 Air for the much lighter weight when I travel. In fact, I was thinking of perhaps selling the M1 Pro MBP, and then buying a lower end Mac Studio + M2 Macbook Air. That actually might be a better combo.
