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

[dandeco]

That "Thunderbolt 3" is technically a version called "Thunderbolt / USB4", in that it's basically Thunderbolt 3 but also supports USB4 rather than regular USBC (meaning 20 to 40 Gbps instead of 10 Gbps). Of course, I don't have any USB4 devices yet, but I do have a couple of Thunderbolt 3 devices that I use with my M1 MacBook Air and its "Thunderbolt / USB4" ports.
In a way, in addition to replacing the Touch Bar M2 MacBook "Pro", this M3 MacBook Pro is like the Apple Silicon equivalent to when Apple continued making the 2012 unibody 13" MacBook Pro until 2016, as an option for those that wanted more processing power than a MacBook Air but didn't want to spring for a pricier Retina MacBook Pro. It was a VERY popular model.

Plus, it was the last Mac laptop to have built-in Ethernet and FireWire ports and user-replaceable RAM, along with the last overall Mac with a built-in optical disc drive. And then when the refreshed MacBook Pros (introducing the Touch Bar) first came out in 2016 and that 2012 unibody Pro was discontinued, they continued making Retina MacBook Pros for a year as a lower-cost alternative to those new Pros.

 

[neilw]

No, it is for enterprise. As an Office delivery device, it is a great product. There are a LOT of people outthere for whom "work" means MS Office, mail and a web browser. At my work we are giving these people ****** Lenovo's at a higher price than this MBP for that type of work, because the IT department don't know how to support Macs.

The MBA is really a superior device for this type of usage, other than not having the word "Pro" in its name.

 

[Velli]

The MBA is really a superior device for this type of usage, other than not having the word "Pro" in its name.

Not sure about “superior” - I value better screen quite highly. Cheaper and good enough, certainly (which is why I own one).

 

[neilw]

Not sure about “superior” - I value better screen quite highly. Cheaper and good enough, certainly (which is why I own one).

So do I. But as an "Office Delivery Device"?

 

[Velli]

So do I. But as an "Office Delivery Device"?

More or less, yes.

 

[dannys1]

So it's a bigger air with promotino...one display on a pro device is a disgrace

"Pro" hasn't meant anything for over a decade other than "slightly better than the model below". I doubt hardly anyone using MacBook Pros are using them solely in a professional capacity and even if they were many many people can run a multi million bound business without any external displays let alone more than one - does that make them "not pro".

Whats "pro device" about the iPhone Pro? The Playstation Pro, iPad Pro, Surface Pro, AirPods Pro, Huawei P40 Pro, GoPro, OnePlus 9 Pro, Razer Blade Pro, Beats PowerBeats Pro, Unifi Pro, Netgear Nighthawk Pro, Samsung 860 Pro?

I'll give you a clue, nothing - it literally just means "slightly better than the cheaper one below" it's not more than a monikier marker, there's no minimum specification for it. So what you've said makes no sense on both "which jobs actually require more than one monitor' or on what the marketing monikier is. You buy what you need based on price and if you think that provides value for money, not on the product name.

 

[fenderbass146]

"Pro" hasn't meant anything for over a decade other than "slightly better than the model below". I doubt hardly anyone using MacBook Pros are using them solely in a professional capacity and even if they were many many people can run a multi million bound business without any external displays let alone more than one - does that make them "not pro".

Whats "pro device" about the iPhone Pro? The Playstation Pro, iPad Pro, Surface Pro, AirPods Pro, Huawei P40 Pro, GoPro, OnePlus 9 Pro, Razer Blade Pro, Beats PowerBeats Pro, Unifi Pro, Netgear Nighthawk Pro, Samsung 860 Pro?

I'll give you a clue, nothing - it literally just means "slightly better than the cheaper one below" it's not more than a monikier marker, there's no minimum specification for it. So what you've said makes no sense on both "which jobs actually require more than one monitor' or on what the marketing monikier is. You buy what you need based on price and if you think that provides value for money, not on the product name.

Okay...one monitor support on a computer in 2023 is a disgrace...let alone Apples slightly better lineup.

 

[dannys1]

Okay...one monitor support on a computer in 2023 is a disgrace...let alone Apples slightly better lineup.

Most people don't even plug their laptops into any external displays, so it's not for them.

 

[davedude]

I have a 14" M1 Pro and have never used all 3 ports at the same time. I suspect most users who are fine with 8GB of RAM are the same.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Agree. My "professional workflow" is Outlook, web browser, word, (very simple) excel, powerpoint. "Pro" means "Work computer", not "I'm a Programmer"!

Exactly. I was merely giving an example of a professional workflow that doesn't require high GPU.

I do applaud the move of putting the base M3 chip into the 14" MBP, for those who want the Pro features, but without the Pro/Max chip performance.

It's a shame they didn't also put it into the 16" model. It annoys me that Apple somehow equate large screen = pro chip performance requirements. Those two things are entirely mutually exclusive.

Quite frankly, it annoys me that the 15" MBA is only 15", and not 16". I'd also love a 14"/16" M3 MBP without the thicker case and fan, and yet with the other pro features such as ports, quality screen etc.

There are also people wishing for a return of a 12" machine. So why not all of 12/14/16" in both the MBA and MBP lines. And for all the MBP models, put all of the M3/M3 Pro/M3 Max options, instead of, for example, removing the lowest spec M3 Pro chip from the 16" MBP. I'd be very very curious what that sales would be like for each option. I suspect it would be surprising for Apple, but hey, maybe I'm completely wrong.

And finally, there are also so many of us, who don't need high performance chips, but do need more RAM. So, for crying out loud, why does RAM quantity have to go step to step with chip performance.

 

[fenderbass146]

Most people don't even plug their laptops into any external displays, so it's not for them.

defend it how you want. In the business world (I'm not talking creative but just normal office workers) docking stations with dual monitors has become the standard. The fact that without a ****** Displaylink Docking station and extra software you can't have dual monitors on a $1500 computer is ridiculous. Macbooks from 2012 at $1200 could handle dual monitors.

 

[OrenLindsey]

Thunderbolt 4 is literally just 3 with a few extra features (it requires 2 monitor support instead of 1, and it doubles minimum bandwidth from 16gb/s to 32gb/s, max bandwidth is the same though). It also requires an intel component on the motherboard (for DMA protection).
Likely Apple just didn't want to support dual monitors (to make it a reason to upgrade to the higher model).
I wouldn't be surprised if these ports are thunderbolt 4 capable (aside from the 2 monitor support), and Apple just didn't get them certified. Apple already supports DMA (https://support.apple.com/guide/security/direct-memory-access-protections-seca4960c2b5/web) with their own proprietary chip, and they easily could increase the minimum bandwidth. So overall, the only real difference will probably be the dual monitor support.

 

[dannys1]

defend it how you want. In the business world (I'm not talking creative but just normal office workers) docking stations with dual monitors has become the standard. The fact that without a ****** Displaylink Docking station and extra software you can't have dual monitors on a $1500 computer is ridiculous. Macbooks from 2012 at $1200 could handle dual monitors.

Well if that's the case then Apple won't sell any at all will they and everyone will buy cheaper Windows laptops for business instead. I'm pretty sure they're aware of who their market actually is for these cheaper machines.

Every single Mac release ever just has people moaning they want more for less. Every. Single. One.

 

[fenderbass146]

Well if that's the case then Apple won't sell any at all will they and everyone will buy cheaper Windows laptops for business instead. I'm pretty sure they're aware of who their market actually is for these cheaper machines.

Every single Mac release ever just has people moaning they want more for less. Every. Single. One.

This isn't asking more for less, this is Apple providing less for more...aka the Disney World model. They have taken away features even the most basic macs had 10+ years ago had in an era where the particular feature I'm talking about is used more then ever.

It's Apple greed to squeeze every ounce of money out of people and force them to upgrade. It is what it is. It's great for Shareholders who are the people Apple needs to please but bad for consumers

 

[dannys1]

This isn't asking more for less, this is Apple providing less for more...aka the Disney World model. They have taken away features even the most basic macs had 10+ years ago had in an era where the particular feature I'm talking about is used more then ever.

It's Apple greed to squeeze every ounce of money out of people and force them to upgrade. It is what it is. It's great for Shareholders who are the people Apple needs to please but bad for consumers

But it's also not, because since the release of the basic M1 processor this has been this way - ALL the base machines have supported (officially) one external monitor.

I mean my monitor cost £1000, if I could afford to have 2, 3 or 4 of them i'd also be able to afford the M3 Max MacBook Pro - but if I was such a monitor enthusiast i'd be using a desktop model anyway.

It's true with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 they were less limitations, however you HAD to daisy chain devices which means only certain monitors were available and there was no support for such high bandwidth we have now. Give me one colour accurate Ultrawide 5k QD-OLED monitor at 120hz over 3x 1080p 60z 24" monitors anyday!