Yesterday, Apple unveiled during its Scary Fast event the new M3 MacBook Pro family with three different processors and several new tweaks. While Cupertino treated us with a cheaper option, it has also tricked us into spending more on better specifications.
Don’t get me wrong, ditching the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the old design for all the new features available on the entry 14-inch model is a solid upgrade – even though it’s a bit more expensive. But if you have a base-model M1 Pro MacBook Pro and are planning to upgrade to the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, you shouldn’t just hit the first option available on the Apple Store page.
With the entry-level M2 Pro option, Apple charged $1,999 for this chip with a 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 512GB storage of SSD, and 16GB of RAM. With the new entry-level M3 Pro, Apple still charges the same price, but while it has an 11-core CPU, the new GPU is 14-core only – which is a downgrade.
That said, Apple is breaking the M3 Pro processor into two options. For a better experience and real upgrade, users need to choose the 12-core CPU and 18-core GPU option, which costs $200 more. A 96W charger is also included.
In addition, users get less memory bandwidth than previously, as the M2 Pro was 200GB/s, and the M3 Pro is now 150GB/s. This means that the rate at which data can be read from or stored in memory by the processor is slower.
With that in mind, it doesn’t mean the base options are bad, but if you are spending $2,000+ on a MacBook, you might want to treat yourself with extra improvements to ensure this computer will last for years to come with no issue.
BGR will keep bringing all the details from Apple’s announcements and what might be the best option for you.
