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Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro vs MacBook Pro M2 Pro: Should you upgrade?
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Apple has revealed the newMacBook Pro laptops with M3 series chips. If you’ve got anM2 version, you might be wondering if it’s worth trading up. Let’s compare.
You might do a double take if you haven’t kept up with the Apple-related launch event news as of late, as theM2 ProandM2 Maxchips did indeed only launch earlier this year. But, Apple hasn’t rested on its laurels, getting the new 3nmM3 ProandM3 Maxchips out the door before 2023 is out.
The change looks set to offer a bigger step up in performance than the shift from the M1 family up to M2, but is it enough to get existing MacBook Pro owners to upgrade? Or, for Windows users to make the shift? Here are all the key comparison points.
Boosted 3nm performance and upgraded graphics
Apple didn’t make many direct comparisons between the newM3 seriesand M2 family during its presentation, instead focusing on the leap up from M1 and, even, older Intel-based Macs. However, we can draw some conclusions from comparisons Apple made with the M1 series during the M2 launch.
At the time, Apple said the new M2 Pro MacBook Pro offered up to 20% betterCPUperformance than the M1 Pro and up to 31%GPUperformance. By comparison, the M3 Pro model is set to provide up to 40% better performance than the M2 Pro. Unfortunately, the numbers Apple has provided don’t make comparisons simple to decipher but there is set to be a solid step up from M2 Pro to M3 Pro.
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However, there is a curious difference in specs between the two chips. Both the Apple M3 Pro and M2 Pro offer a 12-core CPU starting point but, on the GPU side, you’ll find 18 cores for the M3 Pro and that’s one less than the 19 cores on the M2 Pro. Nevertheless, Apple touts improved graphics performance on the M3 series, likely down to the improved 3nm process.
There are some new graphics features for the M3 Pro too. The main one is Dynamic Caching, which allocates memory in real-time. This should optimise the process and lead to boosted performance. There’s also hardware-acceleratedray tracingand mesh shading. These features should bring improved shadows and reflections to gaming on the Mac.
More unified memory
If you’re someone who has been using your MacBook at the very edge of its capabilities or just feel like your workload requires more than 32GBunified memoryto serve your needs well, then you’re in luck with the new M3 Pro model.
Previously, with the M2 Pro MacBook Pro, the most unified memory you could spec your laptop with was 32GB. The new devices don’t offer a huge boost, but it’s up to 36GB nonetheless.
Same price, same design, same display
The step up from M3 Pro to M2 Pro on the latest MacBook Pro models does appear to be a decent jump but, until we test the latest laptops, we won’t make a final judgement on if it’s worth making a change so soon.
However, it must be said that, beyond the chips, almost everything else remains the same. So, there is no upgrade to the display,SSDstorage, ports or battery life. The 14-inch M3 Pro model does feature a bigger battery but Apple touts the same 12 hours of wireless web for it. The only tweak to the design is a new Space Black option available for the M3 Pro and M3 Max models.
Thankfully, something else that remains the same is the price, starting at £2,099/$1,999, with Apple simply replacing the M2 Pro models on its online store with the new M3 Pro versions.
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Adam is the Computing Editor of Trusted Reviews. He joined as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating from Newcastle University with an MA in Multimedia Journalism. After spending two years at WIRED,…
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
