M3 MacBook Professional vs M2: What’s completely different?

The newest MacBook Professional laptops are powered by the brand new M3, M3 Professional, and M3 Max Apple Silicon. Along with extra highly effective and environment friendly CPUs and GPUs, these MacBook Professional machines help as much as 128GB of reminiscence, have brighter screens, improved battery life, and a brand new House Black end. Comply with alongside for for an in-depth take a look at what’s completely different and new with the M3 MacBook Professional vs M2 MacBook Professional lineup.

M3 MacBook Professional vs M2 MacBook Professional laptops

CPU, GPU, reminiscence, neural engine

The brand new M3 Apple Silicon household options choices starting from 8 to 16-core CPUs, 10 to 40-core GPUs, and eight to 128GB of unified reminiscence.

Right here’s the breakdown of the brand new Apple Silicon specs vs the M2 Professional/Max:

	M3 MacBook Professional	M2 MacBook Professional
Processor	M3, M3 Professional, or M3 Max – as much as 16-core	M2 Professional or M2 Max – as much as 12-core
Storage	As much as 8TB	As much as 8TB
Unified reminiscence	As much as 128GB	As much as 96GB
Reminiscence bandwidth	As much as 400GB/s reminiscence bandwidth	400GB/s reminiscence bandwidth
Graphics	As much as 40-core with hardware-accelerated ray tracing	As much as 38-core
Media engine	{Hardware}-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, Video decode engine, 2x video encode engines, 2x ProRes encode and decode engines, AV1 decode	{Hardware}-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, Video decode engine, 2x video encode engines, 2x ProRes encode and decode engines
Neural engine	16-core	16-core

Apple says the M3 chip effectivity cores are as much as 30% sooner than the M2 household, and as much as 50% sooner than the M1 household.

For efficiency cores, the M3 household is 15 and 30% sooner than M2 and M1, respectively.

And Apple says rendering on M3 is as much as 1.8x sooner than M2 and as much as 2.5x sooner than M1.

Apple additionally says the M3 chips symbolize the “Largest leap ahead in graphics structure” with Dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading.

We’ll have to attend and see how real-world checks end up compared to Apple’s numbers, however the brand new M3 chips provide what seems to be one other robust step up in efficiency and capabilities.

Show

The M2 Professional/Max MacBook Professional laptops featured the identical show because the 2021 M1 Professional/Max fashions with the Liquid Retina XDR Show, ProMotion with as much as 120Hz refresh charges, an elevated decision/pixel per inch density, and slimmed down bezels.

Now the M3 MacBook Professional fashions function one fundamental enchancment – a 20% brighter display that shows SDR content material at as much as 600 nits. Apple highlights that matches the Studio Show for constant brightness.

	14″ M3 MacBook Professional	14″ M2 MacBook Professional	16″ M3 MacBook Professional	16″ M2 MacBook Professional
Precise display measurement	14.2″	14.2″	16.2″	16.2″
Decision	3024 x 1964	3024 x 1964	3456 x 2234	3456 x 2234
Side Ratio	16:10 + notch	16:10 + notch	16:10 + notch	16:10 + notch
PPI	254	254	254	254
Nits (brightness)	1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak HDR; SDR 600	1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak HDR; SDR 500	1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak HDR; SDR 600	1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak HDR; SDR 500
Liquid Retina XDR show	✅	✅	✅	✅
ProMotion (as much as 120Hz)	✅	✅	✅	✅
mini-LED backlit	✅	✅	✅	✅
True Tone	✅	✅	✅	✅
P3 large colour	✅	✅	✅	✅

The newest MacBook Professionals include a notch on the high middle of the show for the 1080p FaceTime digicam identical to the 2021 fashions.

Identical because the M2 (and M1) fashions, the newest MacBook Professionals include a notch on the high middle of the show for the 1080p FaceTime digicam.

Sadly, Face ID has nonetheless not arrived with the M3 MacBook Professional laptops.

MacBook Professional I/O

The M3 Professional and Max MacBook Professional laptops function the identical ports with the identical structure because the M2 Professional and Max MacBook Professional.

That features an HDMI port, SDXC card reader, and MagSafe. There are additionally 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C 4 ports.

Nevertheless, the M3 MacBook Professional comes with one much less Thunderbolt 4 port – the one on the fitting aspect has been eliminated.

	14″ M3 MacBook Professional	14″ M2 MacBook	16″ M3 MacBook Professional	16″ M2 MacBook Professional
Magic Keyboard	✅	✅	✅	✅
Contact ID	✅	✅	✅	✅
FaceTime digicam	1080p	1080p	1080p	1080p
USB-C/Thunderbolt ports	3 (2 for M3 fashions)	3	3	3
HDMI	✅ 2.1	✅ 2.1	✅ 2.1	✅ 2.1
SDXC card reader	✅	✅	✅	✅
MagSafe charging	✅	✅	✅	✅
Bluetooth	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.3
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Exterior show help	M3: One exterior show at as much as 6K/60Hz M3 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 1 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI M3 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows: 3 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or as much as 3 shows: 2 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI	M2 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz, 1 exterior show at 8K/60Hz, or 1 show at 4K/240Hz over HDMI  M2 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows, 3 at 6K/60Hz and 1 at 4K/60Hz or 3 complete with 2 at 6K/60Hz and 1 exterior show at 8K/60Hz or 1 show at 4K decision at 240Hz over HDMI	M3 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 1 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI M3 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows: 3 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or as much as 3 shows: 2 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI	M2 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz, 1 exterior show at 8K/60Hz, or 1 show at 4K/240Hz over HDMI M2 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows, 3 at 6K/60Hz and 1 at 4K/60Hz or 3 complete with 2 at 6K/60Hz and 1 exterior show at 8K/60Hz or 1 show at 4K decision at 240Hz over HDMI

Like their predecessors, the M3 Professional and Max help HDMI 2.1 with as much as 8K output at 60Hz. That additionally permits for multichannel audio output.

Colours, measurement, and weight

Bodily dimensions are the identical between the M3 and M2 MacBook Professional laptops. However new this time round for the M3 Professional and Max fashions is a brand new House Black colour out there alongside Silver.

Leaving the brand new colour for the high-end, the M3 MacBook Professional is barely out there in House Grey and Silver.

Right here’s the total breakdown of colours, measurement, and weight:

	14″ M3 MacBook Professional	14″ M2 MacBook Professional	16″ M3 MacBook Professional	16″ M2 MacBook Professional
Weight	M3: 3.4 kilos (1.55 kg) M3 Professional: 3.5 kilos (1.61 kg) M3 Max: 3.6 kilos (1.62 kg)	3.5 kilos (1.6 kg)	M3 Professional: 4.7 kilos (2.14 kg) M3 Max: 4.8 kilos (2.16 kg)	4.7 kilos (2.1 kg)
Thickness	0.61 inch (1.55 cm)	0.61 inch (1.55 cm)	0.66 inch (1.68 cm)	0.66 inch (1.68 cm)
Width	12.31 inches (31.26 cm)	12.31 inches (31.26 cm)	14.01 inches (35.57 cm)	14.01 inches (35.57 cm)
Depth	8.71 inches (22.12 cm)	8.71 inches (22.12 cm)	9.77 inches (24.81 cm)	9.77 inches (24.81 cm)
Show measurement	14.2 inches	14.2 inches	16.2 inches	16.2 inches
Finishes	Silver or house grey for M3, House Black or Silver for M3 Professional and M3 Max	Silver or house grey	Silver or house grey for M3, House Black or Silver for M3 Professional and M3 Max	Silver or house grey

Battery life

• The brand new 16-inch M3 Professional and Max MacBook Professional laptops provide 22 hours of video playback on a single cost (up from 21 hours with M2 Professional/Max)
• The brand new 14-inch M3 MacBook Professional gives 22 hours of video playback on a single cost (up from 17 hours with the M2 Professional or Max MacBook Professional)
• The brand new 14-inch M3 Professional and Max MacBook Professional provide 18 hours of video playback on a single cost (up from 17 hours with the M2 Professional or Max MacBook Professional)
• The brand new MacBook Professional fashions proceed to function quick charging – as much as 50% cost in half-hour (with 96 W brick for 14-inch and 140W for 16-inch)

Listed here are extra particulars on the battery lifetime of the brand new MacBook Professional laptops:

	14″ M3 MacBook Professional	14″ M3 Professional or Max MacBook Professional	14″ M2 Professional or Max MacBook Professional	16″ M3 Professional or Max MacBook Professional	16″M2 Professional or Max MacBook Professional
Wi-fi net battery	15 hours	12 hours	11 hours	15 hours	14 hours
Video playback	22 hours	18 hours	17 hours	22 hours	21 hours
Included energy adapter	70W or 96W	70W or 96W	67W or 96W	140W	140W
Battery capability	70Wh	70Wh	70Wh	100Wh	100Wh
Quick charging	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

Value

The bottom configurations are cheaper with the M3 choice this time round and close to the identical for the M3 Professional/Max vs M2 Professional Max builds.

However customized builds are dearer with as much as 128GB reminiscence and upgraded chips which implies the M3 MacBook Professional machines might be maxed out at as much as $7,199 – $700 above the M2 MacBook Professional top-end.

Mannequin/worth	14″ M3 MacBook Professional	14″ M2 MacBook Professional	16″ M3 MacBook Professional	16″ M2 MacBook Professional
Base	From $1,599	From $1,999	From $2,499	From $2,499
Customized builds	As much as $6,899	As much as $6,299	$7,199	As much as $6,499

M3 MacBook Professional vs M2 conclusion

Causes to purchase

For those who’re an expert (or aspiring professional) who wants the newest and biggest from Apple, the improve could also be price it. And the M3 MacBook Professional laptops might be very spectacular for individuals who are coming from an Intel MacBook.

Causes to move

However for individuals who have already got an M2 Professional/Max MacBook Professional and/or don’t have workflows that require the very best efficiency, it’s doubtless the most effective match to maintain what you’ve got or go for a MacBook Air.

Deciding on specs

For these uncertain about which M3 MacBook Professional specs to choose, you will get the identical 11, 12, 14, or 16-core processor with the M3 Professional and M3 Max in each the 14 and 16-inch fashions. The principle distinction in value is the upgraded GPU energy together with the extra succesful media engine and elevated exterior show help with the M3 Max chip.

Relating to unified reminiscence, you probably have medium to heavy workflows and/or plan to maintain your new MacBook Professional for a number of years (or extra), going with 36GB or extra will doubtless be well worth the improve.

You could find the brand new MacBook Professional at Apple, Amazon, and different retailers quickly.

Thanks for studying our M3 MacBook Professional vs M2 MacBook Professional comparability!