Apple unveils 14-inch and 16-inch M3 MacBook Pro models
Apple has unveiled 14-inch and 16-inch M3 MacBook Pro models with an M3 chip. The new laptops do not have a Touch Bar.
Apple launches new MacBook Pro with M3 chips
All models of the MacBook M3 Pro are equipped with a 14.2-inches Liquid Retina XDR Display, which has an LED-backlit panel that supports a resolution of 3024 x 1964 pixels. It has a brightness of 600 nits for SDR content, 1000 nits for XDR, and a peak brightness of 1600 nits for HDR playback. The screen has a P3 wide color gamut, supports True Tone, and 120 Hz refresh rate with ProMotion tech. The laptops run on macOS 14 Sonoma out of the box.
The base model of the MacBook M3 Pro is powered by an M3 Apple Silicon chip that has an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, and a 10-core GPU that supports Dynamic Caching, Hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing, Mesh Shading, and modern codecs like H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1.
The 14-inch MacBook M3 Pro comes with 8 GB of RAM (Unified Memory), and supports up to 24 GB of RAM. The M3 Pro version supports a maximum of 36 GB of RAM, while the M3 Max supports up to 128 GB of memory. The main difference between the three models is the memory bandwidth; the M3 supports 100 GB/s, the M3 Pro supports 150 GB/s, while the M3 Max supports up to 400GB/s memory bandwidth.
Storage-wise, the MacBook M3 Pro has just a 256 GB SSD in the base model, but can be configured up to 2 TB. The M3 Pro on the other hand supports up to 4 TB of storage, while the M3 Max supports up to 8 TB.
The new laptops have a 1080p FaceTime HD Camera for video conferencing. The MacBook M3 models have a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers, support wide stereo sound. The devices also support Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos via the built-in speakers (for music and video). Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking is supported with the following AirPods: AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. The devices have a studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming. Wireless connectivity protocols supported by the new Macs include Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.3.
The keyboard on the laptops is backlit, and has 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys. This includes 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys. The keyboard has a built-in ambient light sensor, and a Touch ID (fingerprint scanner) embedded in the power button. The trackpad on the MacBooks is a Force Touch trackpad, that has pressure-sensing capabilities to support Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures.
The base model of the MacBook M3 Pro has 2 x Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, an HDMI Port, and an SDXC Card Slot. The M3 Pro and Max models have Three Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, an HDMI Port, and an SDXC Card Slot. The HDMI port on the laptops also support multichannel audio output. Sadly, the M3 only supports one external display.
Apple has packed a 70-watt hour lithium polymer battery in the 14-inch MacBook M3 Pro, and the Cupertino company says that the laptop supports up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing or up to 22 hours of streaming videos via the Apple TV app. The 14-inch MacBook M3 Pro has a 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, but it only offers 12 hours of web browsing or up to 18 hours of streaming. The 16-inch MacBook M3 Pro has a much larger cell with a 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, but it still offers the same battery performance as the base model. The entry-level MacBook Pro and the M3 Pro models have a 70W USB-C Power Adapter in the box, but you can opt for a 96W charging brick while ordering the laptop. The 16-inch laptop comes with a 140W USB-C power adapter.
Apple 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook M3 Pro specs
- Display: 14.2-inches / 16.2-inches Liquid Retina XDR Display, LED-backlit, 3024 x 1964 pixels, XDR brightness: 1,000 nits sustained full-screen; 1,600 nits peak (HDR content only), SDR 600 nits brightness, Wide color (P3), True Tone technology, ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
- Operating System: macOS 14 Sonoma
- Chip: Apple M3 / M3 Pro / M3 Max 16-core Neural Engine
- CPU: M3 8-core with 4 performance cores + 4 efficiency cores; M3 Pro up to 12-core for M3 Pro - 6 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores); M3 Max up to 16-core CPU with 12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
- GPU: 10-core (M3 Pro up to 18-cores, M3 Max up to 40-cores), Hardware-accelerated Ray Tracing, H.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, AV1
- Unified Memory: Up to 24 GB (8 / 16 / 24), (M3 Pro up to 36 GB, M3 Max up to 128 GB), 100 GB/s memory bandwidth (M3 Pro: 150 GB/s memory bandwidth, M3 Max Up to 400 GB/s memory bandwidth)
- Storage: Up to 1 TB / 2 TB SSD (256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB / 2 TB), (M3 Pro up to 4 TB, M3 Max up to 8 TB)
- Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD Camera
- Audio: 3.5 mm headphone jack, 6 speaker system, Stereo sound, Spatial Audio, Dolby Atmos, Three-mic array, HDMI Port (multichannel audio output)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.3
- Battery: 70-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery - Up to 22 hours Apple TV app playback (14-inch M3 Pro - 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, up to 18 hours, 16-inch M3 Pro Integrated 100-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery, Up to 22 hours )
- Power Adapter: 70W USB-C Power Adapter (up to 96W), 140W USB-C Power Adapter (16-inch model)
- Ports: Base model - Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, HDMI Port, SDXC Card Slot, M3 Pro and Max models - Three Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, HDMI Port, SDXC Card Slot
- Keyboard: Backlit Magic Keyboard, 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, Touch ID, Ambient Light Sensor
- Trackpad: Force Touch trackpad
- Dimensions: 0.61 x 12.31 x 8.71 inches; 16-inch model - 0.66 x 14.01 x 9.77 inches
- Weight: 3.4 pounds (1.55 kg)/ 14-inch M3 Pro - 3.5 pounds (1.61 kg) / M3 Max - 3.6 pounds (1.62 kg), 16 -inch M3 Pro - 4.7 pounds (2.14 kg) / M3 Max 4.8 pounds (2.16 kg)
- In the box: MacBook Pro, Power Adapter, 2M USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable
- Misc: Apple Pay, Siri
The lack of the touch bar is not the only surprise, this time there is no 13-inch MacBook Pro. And there is more, the 14-inch MacBook Pro M2 was priced at $1,999, but the newer model is more affordable.
Apple MacBook M3 Pro pricing and availability
The 14-inch MacBook M3 Pro price starts at $1,599 while the M3 Pro model carries a price tag of $1,999. Apple has priced the 16-inch MacBook Pro at $2,499. All models of the MacBook Pro are available for pre-order today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 27 countries and regions. The laptops will start shipping on November 7th, you can also buy them from authorized stores and Apple Stores from the same date.
Apple has also launched a new 24-inch iMac with an M3 chip.
The Apple M3 Max 3nm Chip (16 CPU cores (12 performance, four efficiency) and 40 GPU cores & 128GB) max spec – truly delivers a desktop supercomputer power & performance in a portable laptop! What an incredible performance boost and new groundbreaking features like Dynamic Caching, Mesh Shading, and Hardware-Accelerated Ray Tracing included in the GPU architecture. This is good news for the gamer community. Finally apple is closing the gap with M3 Max chip vs Windows OS based platforms with RTX 4000 series gaming graphics cards. The M2 generation had already made substantial progress in this regard, so the M3 Max 3nm chip infrastructure has again pushed the bar very high. There are other performance improvements too that the M3 offers if you are going to perform GPU-demanding tasks such as 3D graphic rendering or modelling, video and audio production. If you want to go for an insane amount of power boost then go for it M3 Max with max config & 128GB of RAM. It’s like a performance boost on steroids! But if you could wait and striving for more ( LoL why not?) then wait until the M3 Ultra comes out (x2 double the M3 Max chip = M3 ultra) in Summer 2024 with a ridiculous amounts of power and potentially up to 256GB RAM. More awesome Apple products keep coming ahead!
I’ll take one of each–Apple makes some wondrous, high quality products, svelte products.
macOS vs. Windows vs. Linux?
I could work with macOS.
Not me