Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3: everything we know so far
The first M3-powered MacBooks will be available November 7
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Read up on all the developments from theApple Scary Fast event as it happened.
Apple’s’Scary Fast' eventhas revealed that we’re getting a shiny new MacBook Pro 14-inch - supercharged with the newApple M3,Apple M3 Pro, andApple M3 Maxchips.
WhileWWDC 2023failed to impress when it came to Mac product launches, with Apple releasing the somewhat unnecessaryM2 Macbook Air 15-inch, this is what users have really been waiting for. The M3 chip promises a major step up in performance against its predecessor, something theApple M2didn’t quite achieve in comparison.
Manufactured with a 3nm fabrication process, M3 is expected to deliver better performance and better power efficiency thanks to the smaller distance between its transistors – offering a nice upgrade from the current 5nm M2 SoC.
While we haven’t yet received full spec sheets for Apple’s new M3 products (which also feature a newMacBook Pro 16-inchandiMac 24-inch), we do know that the new MacBook Pro 14-inch will feature Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display and up to a whopping 22 hours of battery life (dependent on configuration). The M3 Pro and M3 Max versions will come in a new ‘Space Black’ colorway, too. We’ll dig more into the specs further down, so get scrolling!
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3: at a glance
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3: release date
The MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 is available to pre-order now, October 30 - just head on over to Apple’s website (assuming it doesn’t crash).
As for the official release date, that’s November 7 - if you pre-order, you should receive your new laptop around that date, and that’s also when it’ll be available in stores. Apple notes that the initial rollout will be across ‘27 countries’ including the US, so you may need to wait a little while if your region isn’t included in the initial list of countries to receive the new MacBooks.
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3: price and availability
Although Apple didn’t give us the full price breakdown during its ‘Scary Fast’ live event, we know that the MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 will start at $1,599. Configurations with extra RAM or the M3 Pro/M3 Max chips will be more expensive.
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That’s a fair lick cheaper than any currently available 14-inch Pro laptop from Apple, but there’s an important caveat here: those laptops start with the M2 Pro chip. You can get a MacBook Pro with the standard M2 chip, but it’s the (apparently now deprecated) 13-inch version, which starts at $1,299.
In other words, we’re looking at a generational price bump of sorts here, although you do get a bigger display - and a more powerful chip - for your money. The main downside is that the entry-level price for MacBook Pros just went up, but the entry-level price for a 14-inch MacBook Protechnicallyjust went down.
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3: Specs and performance
We don’t know a huge amount when it comes to detailed specs right now (though of course, we’ll be back to update this page once we can get our grubby little mitts on some spec sheets), but we do know that the M3 chip offers much better performance than its M1 and M2 predecessors.
The MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 will - according to Apple’s own internal testing - beat theM1 MacBook Proby up to 60% in rendering workloads, and up to 40% in code compilation and spreadsheet tasks. Although we do wish Apple had provided a more recent comparison point (it also compared the new M3 MacBook Pros to oldInteli7 models, which are practically ancient history at this point), that’s still some impressive performance.
One interesting aspect of the new MacBook Pro models is that they use 100% recycled aluminum for the external chassis. Apple was keen to emphasize the environmental benefits of the design during its livestream event, furthering its goal of reaching net zero pollution.
Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.
Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.
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