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14-Inch MacBook Pro With M3 Chip Has Only Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports

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Apple's new M3 14-inch MacBook Pro features two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, not three Thunderbolt 4 ports like the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models powered by M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.

m3-m3pro-max-ports.jpg

Apart from having fewer USB-C ports, the lack of Thunderbolt 4 support on the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the base M3 chip means it only supports one display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, or one display with up to 4K resolution at 120Hz over HDMI.

In comparison, like the M2 Pro chip it replaces, the M3 Pro supports up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt. The M3 Pro-powered MacBook Pro models also support one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI.

Meanwhile, the M3 Max supports up to four external displays in the following configuration: Up to three external displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one external display with up to 4K resolution at 144Hz over HDMI.

Alternatively, M3 Max MacBook Pro models can support up to three external displays by connecting two displays with 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz, or one display with 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI.

Lastly, both the M3 Pro and M3 Max also support native DisplayPort over USB-C, and one display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz or 4K resolution at 240Hz over HDMI.

The new MacBook Pro models are available to order now, and they will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Tuesday, November 7. Be sure to check out our MacBook Pro announcement coverage for all the details.

Article Link: 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M3 Chip Has Only Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2023/10/31/m3-macbook-pro-two-tb3-ports-not-tb4/
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I guess bear in mind the model it replaces only had two thunderbolt and a headphone jack, so this is still a big improvement over that. You free up a port from charging duty with MagSafe, you could use a HDMI display instead of a thunderbolt one, and no separate adapter needed for SD cards. Makes it a lot less likely you'll miss the third port, other than the convenience of having one both sides.
 
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brooklyn360 said:
the base mbp is for the mba owners who want to upgrade to a pro
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It’s the replacement for the discontinued 13” Pro but also works as an upgrade to an Air. People are focusing too much on the base model. It's quite a good machine. Sure, the 8 GB of RAM is lame but with education pricing and 16 GB of RAM, it's $1679 ($1800 without education pricing). Jump up to 16GB/1TB and you're at $1879 ($2000 without education pricing). That's expensive but you're also getting a laptop with an amazing screen, great speakers, and more. That's now right at Apple's historical price for the MacBook Pro.

What's the better deal is the base M3 Pro model -- 18 GB RAM, 512 GB SDD for $1849 (education pricing) or $2000 (normal pricing but there will be sales on these -- there are regularly sales from various vendors for the M1 or M2 models). Apple gets you with the upgrades. It's a jump up to go to 36GB RAM / 1 TB SSD ($2389 education pricing), but MacBook Pros historically were in the $2000+ range so a "Pro" machine less than that is targeting the users who want a really nice computer and don't care about TB3 vs TB4 or running 87 external monitors or whatever people seem to want to do.

The 2006 base model MacBook Pro released at $2000 ($3,100 in today's dollars using the BLS CPI metric). For that price ($3100) you get a 16" MBP with a 12 core M3 Pro, 18 core GPU, 16 core Neural Engine, 36 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD. It's not after-market upgradable like the 2006 model was (RAM and HDD), but that's where things are now, for better or worse.
 
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contacos said:
Am I missing something? Either a device is for „Pro“ or it isn’t. Apple line up remains dumb and more and more confusing.
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Lots of comments about missing features meaning it is not for pros. It's been a long time since 'Pro' meant for professionals in Apple's world. Pro just means 'The better, more expensive one'.

This 14inch MacBook Pro with M3, I believe, is aimed at people who don't have the professional workflows, don't need the crazy performance, but want the better hardware, the better screen, the pro motion, the better webcam, microphones, the HDR brightness for videos etc. I believe there are a bunch of people where the performance of the base M3 is more than what they need, 2 USB-C ports are fine for them, but they would like the better screen tech etc.

This is that product. No different to the iPhone 'Pro', most of it's buyers are not using it for professional workflows, but they want the more premium design, the pro motion etc
 
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Falhófnir said:
I guess bear in mind the model it replaces only had two thunderbolt and a headphone jack, so this is still a big improvement over that.
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Exactly. This is a superior replacement for the ridiculous 13" MBP.

Serious pro laptop users will not buy this base model. It is for those who walk into the Apple store and want the cheapest Macbook Pro they can get, for some reason.
 
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At this stage, it's fairly pointless calling it a "MacBook Pro" if it doesn't have a "Pro" chip.

If they'd just called the one with the basic M3 a "MacBook" it would make more sense.
Then the ones with the M3 Pro or M3 Max could be called "MacBook Pro".
 
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What I find outrageous is the $1600/$1800 MacBook Pro 14 comes with only 8GB of RAM.

And you have to pay extra $200 for 16GB of RAM upgrade ($200 per 8GB).

When the price of 16GB of LPDDR5 in bulk is $20 per 16GB.

SDRAM - LPDDR5 DRAM – Mouser Europe

SDRAM - LPDDR5 DRAM are available at Mouser Electronics. Mouser offers inventory, pricing, & datasheets for SDRAM - LPDDR5 DRAM.
eu.mouser.com eu.mouser.com
 
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kendo88 said:
Lots of comments about missing features meaning it is not for pros. It's been a long time since 'Pro' meant for professionals in Apple's world. Pro just means 'The better, more expensive one'.

This 14inch MacBook Pro with M3, I believe, is aimed at people who don't have the professional workflows, don't need the crazy performance, but want the better hardware, the better screen, the pro motion, the better webcam, microphones, the HDR brightness for videos etc. I believe there are a bunch of people where the performance of the base M3 is more than what they need, 2 USB-C ports are fine for them, but they would like the better screen tech etc.

This is that product. No different to the iPhone 'Pro', most of it's buyers are not using it for professional workflows, but they want the more premium design, the pro motion etc
Click to expand...
I don't think using 2 monitors is a pro feature, its a basic feature. You should not have to spend $2K on a laptop to get dual monitor support.
 
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