Apple refreshes MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch with M3 chips

At the ‘Scary Fast’ live stream event today, Apple has unveiled the new M3 family of chips that will first make its debut at the refreshed MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch, which is identical on the outside like its predecessor, but now comes in a new Space Black color that’s exclusive to M3 Pro equipped MacBook Pros.

Meanwhile, the 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro has been axed from the line up, leaving the entry M1 powered 13-inch MacBook Air, M2 powered 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, which finally makes it easier for people to choose between performance and portability.

The new M3 chips are based on the 3nm process that heavily emphasizes on graphics performance this time, bringing ray-tracing and mesh shading capabilities to the Mac for the first time, it is available in three models – namely M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max, while it is surprising that Apple didn’t introduce an M3 Ultra this time and it is probably reserved for the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, these new Apple chips are incredibly powerful and as usual, they outperform most Windows laptop processors of similar price range when it comes to performance per watt.

Here’s what Apple has quoted in terms of performance gains for the following MacBook Pros with M3 chips:

For users pursuing their passions — from students and business owners to aspiring musicians and video editors — MacBook Pro with M3 is the ideal laptop. The 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M3 is up to 60 percent faster than the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with M1, and with its advanced thermal system, it unleashes the full potential of M3 for sustained performance. Starting at RM7,499, it delivers more performance and capabilities than ever at a great value.

With MacBook Pro with M3:

Render performance in Final Cut Pro is up to 7.4x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Core i7 and up to 60 percent faster than the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Code compilation in Xcode is up to 3.7x faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Core i7 and up to 40 percent faster than the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Spreadsheet performance in Microsoft Excel is up to 3.5x faster than the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with Core i7 and up to 40 percent faster than the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with M1

14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro

For users with more demanding workflows like coders, creatives, and researchers, MacBook Pro with M3 Pro provides even greater performance, supports more unified memory, and is now up to 40 percent faster than the 16‑inch model with M1 Pro.

With MacBook Pro with M3 Pro:

Filter and function performance in Adobe Photoshop is up to 3x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro,5 and up to 40 percent faster than the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro. Basecalling for DNA sequencing in Oxford Nanopore MinKNOW is up to 20x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 36 percent faster than the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro Text-based editing in Adobe Premiere Pro is up to 1.7x faster than the 16-inch Intel-based MacBook Pro,5 and up to 30 percent faster than the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro

14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max

MacBook Pro with M3 Max provides performance and capabilities for those with extreme workflows like machine learning programmers, 3D artists, and video editors. It is up to 2.5x faster than the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max and up to 11x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro model. It also supports up to 128GB of unified memory, enabling creators to easily work on large and complex projects spanning multiple pro apps and plugins, or compose huge film scores where entire orchestral libraries are instantly available from memory.

With MacBook Pro with M3 Max:

Simulation of dynamical systems in MathWorks MATLAB is up to 5.5x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 2x faster than the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max.

Render performance in Maxon Redshift is up to 5.3x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 2.5x faster than the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max.

Noise reduction in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Studio is up to 2.7x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro and up to 65 percent faster than the 16‑inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max.

The new MacBook Pros can be configured with up to 128GB of Unified Memory and 8TB of SSD storage, which is the highest memory configuration ever allowed on a MacBook, battery life varies on the processor option that you choose, as Apple quotes up to 22 hours of battery life for the 14-inch M3 and 16-inch M3 Pro and Max models, the 14-inch with M3 Pro and Max models will get only 18 hours of battery life.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 starts at RM7,499 and RM7,029 for education; the 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro starts at RM9,999 and RM9,249 for education; and the 16‑inch MacBook Pro starts at RM11,999 and RM11,039 for education.

Apple hasn’t announced the availability of the M3 MacBook Pros at this time of writing, but we will be sure to update this space when we get that info.