Apple today unveiled three new Mac computers 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros And the iMac 24 inch, all powered by the company’s latest silicon development: the M3 chip. If you followed the “Scary Fast” keyword — which, fittingly, only took a fraction of the time these events typically require — you can share the same takeaways as me.
- Apple has a way with colors.
- The M3 chipset is a beast in terms of performance and efficiency.
- There’s now a cheaper 14-inch MacBook Pro starting at just $1,599.
Also: Everything Apple announced at its ‘Scary Fast’ event in October (and what wasn’t revealed)
This last point is perhaps the most interesting of the three, as Apple has officially shut down the 13-inch MacBook Pro model in favor of the new base configuration of the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which has a relatively accessible price tag of just 8GB of storage. RAM. 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. There are also only two Thunderbolt USB-C ports versus the three on the M3 Pro and M3 Max variants. See what Apple did there?
For “pro” users who spend hours a day on graphics design, game development, video editing, or dealing with AI/ML workflows, it’s clear that the base model of the new M3 MacBook Pro — as good as it looks at this price point — won’t be. . cut it. Instead, look to the M3 Pro and M3 Max powered configurations, which are not only more capable of handling the creative use cases that Apple spent most of its 30-minute keynote demonstrating but also come in a new Space Black color.
so why He should Professional considering the cheapest M3 MacBook Pro? One exception, as ZDNET’s Jason Hainer points out, is when companies purchase computers for mass deployment and management of large-scale systems. Checks save prices.
More broadly, Apple suggests the base M3 MacBook Pro will have a battery rating of 22 hours — that’s compared to 19 hours for the M3 Pro and M3 Max models. For users who travel frequently and value endurance, this should be the biggest draw (apart from price) with MacBook Pro, priced at $1,599.
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However, it’s not just downgrading for the base model MacBook Pro, as the basic hardware of its more expensive variants remains there, including the brilliantly colorful Retina Little to be desired.
Users who were already considering the now-discontinued 13-inch MacBook Pro will find a lot of value in the latest M3 MacBook. As for professionals looking for more power, it’s definitely worth putting the needs of the system and securing the future above everything else, including price.