At its Monday evening ‘Scary Fast’ event, just one day before Halloween, Apple unveiled an updated lineup of MacBook Pro computers with the company’s next-generation M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips with a spooky Halloween-themed backdrop.
What’s new?
Apple’s brand-new MacBook Pro is tailored to meet the performance needs of the average Joe, professionals in the field, and even the most demanding top 1% who draw upon Apple silicon’s blazing-fast performance and power efficiency to stay productive on the go.
Apple maintains its industry-leading 22-hours of battery life on a single charge, but the M3 series of chips drive incredible performance and features that make even Apple’s recent machines look antiquated:
- Built using new 3nm process
- Support for up to 128GB unified memory
- GPU provides up to 2.5x faster rendering compared to 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max
- Hardware-accelerated ray tracing
- Built-in AV1 decoder
- Up to 80% faster multi-threaded CPU performance compared to 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max
- Up to 18 trillion operations per second
While the base model M3 MacBook Pro is available in the usual Space Gray and Silver colors, the higher-end M3 Pro & M3 Max-equipped MacBook Pros are available in a new Space Black color in addition to Silver, the former of which makes your computer stand out from the crowd. Even the USB-C to MagSafe charging cable comes in the new Space Black color.
All other specs of the machine that don’t have to do with the chips are pretty much the same the as previous generation, except that Apple has bumped up the standard display brightness from 500 nits to 600 nits. XDR brightness remains at 1,000 nits, while peak HDR brightness remains at 1,600 nits.
M3 – a computer for everyone
Apple’s first new MacBook Pro comes with the M3 chip. This model only comes in a 14-inch size and is a well-rounded portable laptop that average users will find fills most personal requirements.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 starts at $1,599 for an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory, and 512GB of internal flash storage.
Users can choose to upgrade their unified memory to 16GB or 24GB for +$200 and +$400 respectively and their internal flash storage to 1TB or 2TB for +$200 and +$600 respectively. It’s also possible to choose between a slower-charge 70W USB-C power adapter or a faster-charge 96W USB-C power adapter for $20 more.
These upgrades obviously command higher price tags, and a fully-loaded M3 14-inch MacBook Pro sets you back $2,619.
M3 Pro & M3 Max– where power starts to show
Apple’s second new MacBook Pro comes with either the M3 Pro or M3 Max chip inside and is available in both 14-inch and 16-inch flavors and is available in a new Space Black color (in addition to silver) setting it apart from lower-end models.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro starts at $1,999 for an 11-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 18GB of unified memory, and 512GB of internal flash storage, and prices go up from there depending on hardware customizations.
Users may upgrade the power of their M3 Pro chip or jump straight to the M3 Max chip at purchase. Options include a 12-core CPU and 18-core GPU (M3 Pro) for +$200, 14-core CPU and 30-core GPU (M3 Max) for +$600, or to a 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU (M3 Max) for +900. All those chips have the same 16-core Neural Engine regardless of configuration.
Memory upgrades available to 14-inch M3 Pro & M3 Max MacBook Pros depend on the chip configuration selected at purchase. We’ll outline those below:
- 11-core CPU & 14-core GPU (M3 Pro): 18GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 36GB for +$400
- 12-core CPU & 18-core GPU (M3 Pro): 18GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 36GB for +$400
- 14-core CPU & 30-core GPU (M3 Max): 36GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 96GB for +$800
- 16-core CPU & 40-core GPU (M3 Max): 48GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 64GB for +$200 or 128GB for +$1,000
Storage upgrades available to the 14-inch M3 Pro & M3 Max MacBook Pros include:
- 1TB for +$200
- 2TB for +$600
- 4TB for +$1,200
- 8TB for +$2,400
A fully maxed-out 14-inch MacBook Pro will run you $6,899 and includes the M3 Max chip with the highest memory & storage upgrades at 128GB & 8TB respectively.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro starts at $2,499 for a 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB of unified memory, and 512GB of internal flash storage, and prices go up from there depending on hardware customizations.
Users may upgrade to the M3 Max chip at purchase. Options include a 14-core CPU and 30-core GPU (M3 Max) for +$400 or a 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU (M3 Max) for +$700. All those chips have the same 16-core Neural Engine regardless of configuration.
Memory upgrades available to 16-inch M3 Pro & M3 Max MacBook Pros depend on the chip configuration selected at purchase. We’ll outline those below:
- 12-core CPU & 18-core GPU (M3 Pro): 18GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 36GB for +$400
- 14-core CPU & 30-core GPU (M3 Max): 36GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 96GB for +$800
- 16-core CPU & 40-core GPU (M3 Max): 48GB unified memory standard, upgrade to 64GB for +$200 or 128GB for +$1,000
Storage upgrades available to the 16-inch M3 Pro & M3 Max MacBook Pros include:
- 1TB for +$200
- 2TB for +$600
- 4TB for +$1,200
- 8TB for +$2,400
A fully maxed-out 16-inch MacBook Pro will run you $7,199.
Wrapping up
Apple’s new MacBook Pro might be a tough sell for someone who has an M2 Pro-equipped MacBook Pro, and maybe even an M1 Pro-equipped MacBook Pro, but the new color scheme paired with the generous performance bumps might push even the most conservative impulse buyers over the edge. If you have an Intel-based Mac, then it’s time to face the music and just make the jump already.
Apple’s new MacBook Pro offerings are available from the company’s website. M3 & M3 Pro models can be ordered starting Monday, October 30th and will be available starting Tuesday, November 7th. MM3 Max models can be ordered starting Monday, October 30th and will be available starting Thursday, November 9th.
Do you plan to upgrade to Apple’s new M3-series MacBook Pro? Let us know in the comments section down below.