I published my review of the M3 Max MacBook Pro earlier this week, and suffice it to say, I was pretty impressed. I’m fond of the Space Black color, and the GPU performance in particular blew me away.
But one configuration of the new MacBook Pro went a bit more under the radar — the M3 Pro model. Apple wasn’t keen on sending this exact unit out to reviewers, instead leading with its much stronger foot, the M3 Max. And while the M3 Max and Pro were a bit closer in performance in the M2 generation, this time around, it seems as if there’s more of a disparity.
There are two eyebrow-raising specs in regard to the M3 Pro. First, the core counts have been changed, reconfiguring what the M2 Pro used. This time around, the 12-core M3 Pro has six performance cores and six efficiency cores, whereas the M2 Pro had eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. It also has a reduced memory bandwidth, down from 200 GB per second to 150 GB per second. All the while, Apple has begun selling the base configuration with 8GB instead of 16GB of RAM, which has caused its own minor backlash. None of that sounds good, but in the end, it’s performance that actually matters.
The first performance leak revealed some early Geekbench scores that came out last weekend, showing some very disappointing results. They showed a single-core score of 3,035 and a multi-core score of 15,173, which YouTuber Vadim Yuryev notes is practically equivalent to the performance of the M2 Max. Compared to the results of my own MacBook Pro, that’s 28% slower than what I got with the M3 Max.
Of course, this doesn’t address graphics, which are where the biggest gains in the M3 generation are. So, I think you’d still see an improvement going from the M2 Max to the M3 Pro. But it’s still not a good look.
One of the first thorough reviews of the M3 Pro came out from Ars Technica on Thursday and confirmed a lot of the initial concerns. The M3 Pro is clearly an improvement over the M2 Pro and M3, but doesn’t compare quite as well to the Max model. Whereas the M2 Pro used to be almost too overpowered to make sense in the lineup, even causing some awkward positioning to chips in the previous generation, the M3 Pro is a much more modest improvement over the base configuration. This review does show the M3 Pro being only 13% faster than the M2 Pro (in the Mac mini) for graphics in the 3DMark Wildlife Extreme benchmark.
All the while, prices have remained the same. So, while the M3 Pro does its job in the lineup, it seems to be there primarily to push people up to the more expensive M3 Max. If nothing else, it certainly guarantees that Apple is making more off M3 Pro buyers.
None of this means that you should necessarily avoid the M3 Pro MacBook Pro altogether. For some, it may be just enough performance at just the right price. But I think it’s becoming an increasingly small demographic compared to the M3 or M3 Max models.
Editors’ Recommendations
- The MacBook Pro M3 doesn’t have a memory problem — it has a pricing problem
- Apple’s M3 Max appears to keep up with Intel’s top desktop CPU
- Nobody knows exactly how the M3’s Dynamic Caching works, but I have a theory
- Why the MacBook Air is still stuck on the M2
- The M3 is the most important chip Apple has ever made
Luke Larsen is the Senior editor of computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.
I saw the new Space Black MacBook Pro, and it’s stunning
It’s not often that MacBook Pros get new color options. But with this most recent update to M3 chips, the MacBook Pro will add Space Black, a color that first appeared on the iPhone, to the mix. I was shown an early preview of the new color ahead of the “Scary Fast” launch event, and I have to say: I’m smitten.
This new Space Black is not true black, of course. In truth, it’s a slightly darker gray than Space Gray, which it replaces. And it’s a good thing this isn’t true black. Because remember, this is aluminum, and Apple isn’t just slapping a coating or layer of paint on here like so many laptop manufacturers do when making true black aluminum laptops. These laptops, such as most gaming laptops or even something like the Surface Laptop, tend to scratch easily and fade over time.
The M3 Max makes the MacBook Pro look like a nearly unbeatable laptop
Apple announced an update to its MacBook Pros at today’s Scary Fast event that brings the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max under the hood. That might sound like a ho-hum generational chip refresh, especially coming just 10 months after the M2 Pro/Max models came out. But trust me — these new MacBook Pros have become an unstoppable force, especially the new full-tilt model with the M3 Max.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro (which replaces the 13-inch MacBook Pro) will now have the option for the M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max, while the 16-inch model gets the M3 Pro and an even more powerful M3 Max configuration. Across the board, these new M3 chips are built on the new 3nm technology, the same that’s used in the new iPhone 15 models, only scaled up for the Mac. It’s all about efficiency, with Apple claiming that the M3 chips provides the same performance at 30% less power.
Everything announced at Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event: iMac, M3, and more
Apple’s unexpected “Scary Fast” event has wrapped, and the 30-minute presentation was packed full of announcements. Headlining the showcase was Apple’s new M3 chip, which is showing up in a variety of devices in just a week from now.
We have the lowdown on everything Apple announced at its unprecedented fall event, which kicks off the third generation of Apple’s silicon with two major product updates.
M3 family of chips
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