Apple streamed an event on YouTube and their official website to share an update on their Mac lineup. The event was late at night w.r.t where I live so I wasn’t able to watch it, however, that was pretty short as compared to previous ones, matching the tagline of the event “Scary Fast.”
It’s important to note that less than a year ago, Apple announced the M2 MacBook Pro series in January 2023.
The upgraded lineup of MacBook Pro laptops features Apple’s new M3 family of chips, offering significant performance improvements over M1 chipsets, however, they’re slightly better than the M2 chipsets.
What’s new in M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max?
| Feature | M3 | M3 Pro | M3 Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing Process | 3nm | 3nm | 3nm |
| CPU Cores | Up to 12 | Up to 12 | Up to 12 |
| GPU Cores | Up to 14 | Up to 18 | Up to 38 |
| Neural Engine Cores | 16 | TBD | TBD |
| Unified Memory Support | 32GB | 64GB | 128GB |
| Memory Bandwidth | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| New Graphics Features | Ray tracing support | Ray tracing support, Improved mesh shading | Ray tracing support, Improved mesh shading |
| Performance vs Previous Gen | Up to 60% faster than M1 | Up to 40% faster than M1 Pro | Up to 2.5x faster than M1 Max |
| Target Users | Mainstream pros | Professional creatives, coders | Extreme pro workflows |
- New 14-inch and 16-inch models powered by M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips
- Up to 60% faster performance than prior 13-inch M1 models
- Up to 40% faster than the previous 16-inch M1 Pro model
- Advanced 3nm manufacturing process
- Up to 128GB of unified memory
- New space black color option
14-inch M3 MacBook replaces the traditional 13-inch MacBook Pro
The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro now comes with the new M3 chip, starting at $1,599 with an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB unified memory, and 512GB SSD storage. Apple says it provides up to 60% faster performance than the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip. The new chip enables faster rendering in video editing apps, faster code compiling, and faster spreadsheet performance compared to prior models.
It’s important to note that with the new M3 Macbook, Apple has finally ended the touch-bar MacBook Pro models.
M3 Pro and M3 Max are the new ‘Pro’ machines
Higher configurations offer the new M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, which Apple says provide up to 40% faster performance than the prior top-of-the-line 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The new chips utilize an advanced 3nm manufacturing process and new GPU architecture to enable the performance leaps. Apple is also introducing new features enabled by the chips, like hardware-accelerated ray tracing for the first time on the Mac for enhanced graphics in games.
The new pro laptops can be configured with up to 128GB of memory to handle demanding creative workflows. The high-end configurations with M3 Pro and Max chips are aimed at professional users like programmers, 3D artists, and video editors.
Comparison of New M3 Chips vs Prior Models (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max):
| Model | Chip | Key Improvements |
|---|---|---|
| 14″ MacBook Pro | M3 | Up to 60% faster than 13″ M1 model |
| 14″/16″ MacBook Pro | M3 Pro | Up to 40% faster than 16″ M1 Pro model |
| 14″/16″ MacBook Pro | M3 Max | Up to 2.5x faster than 16″ M1 Max model |
The new MacBook Pros feature the same industrial design as prior models but with an additional new space black color option for the metal body. They retain the same Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED displays, 1080p webcams, six-speaker sound systems, and a wide selection of ports as before.
Comparing all MacBook M series:
| Chip | CPU Cores | GPU Cores | Neural Engines | Memory/s | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | 8 | 7-8 | 16 | 68.25GB/s | 5nm |
| M1 Pro | 8-10 | 14-16 | 16 | 200GB/s | 5nm |
| M1 Max | 10 | 24-32 | 16 | 400GB/s | 5nm |
| M2 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 100GB/s | 5nm |
| M2 Pro | 12 | 19 | 16 | 200GB/s | 5nm |
| M2 Max | 12 | 38 | 16 | 400GB/s | 5nm |
| M3 | 12 | Up to 14 | 16 | TBD | 3nm |
| M3 Pro | 12 | Up to 18 | TBD | TBD | 3nm |
| M3 Max | 12 | Up to 38 | TBD | TBD | 3nm |
Key highlights of M3 chips:
- M3 chips utilize a 3nm process versus 5nm for prior models
- M3 has up to 12 CPU cores and 14 GPU cores
- M3 Pro/Max have higher core counts and memory bandwidths (TBD)
- Each gen brings performance and efficiency improvements
- Pro and Max variants target more demanding workloads
The new MacBook Pro models are available to order now on Apple’s website starting at $1,599 for base model. They will begin shipping to customers on November 7.
