16-Inch M3 Max MacBook Pro Now Costs $7,200 With All Upgrades

[H_D]

All in all, the M3 Max must be a bit above the Studio, considering the added display and keyboard and these prices have been what they are for a couple of years now, Macs have become more expensive – but you have to realize that the Max-Laptops basically are what formerly was called MacPro and stood underneath your desk, and that thing always was expensive. I also gripe about the (too) low base memory and the absurd SSD-pricing, but this also never was different, CTO and maxed-out always was in the «leg and arm» area of investment. On the other hand, the M3 base model and the iMac are really affordable machines and the 24" is great fun. I wish it was available in 27" or 32" with pro/max, but it seems like the Studio-Display is the way to go. Which won't be available in Space Black, I guess?

 

[H_D]

Oh, and by the way, I just got a replacement-plug for my MacStudio, which was about 70€ for what amounts to a 7€ cable. Considering this, the RAM/SSD-prices are totally fair...

 

[FastLaneJB]

I remember it wasn’t that long ago they’d cap their laptops at 16GB RAM, now here we are with 128GB. Mind blown.

Yes, it’s expensive, you don’t have to spec it. Most don’t need close to that but I do think it’s nice they are giving the option. It’s data scientist-sized memory or other specialist use cases.

 

[canon-cinema-0r]

I would say that M3 is the sweetspot for me, Apple Silicon reaching feature parity with Win boxes with Nvidia cards is huge. As in not outrageously bad rendering times for 3d gfx, good real time Unreal Engine performance etc.

This is the one to buy, no more reason to sit on x86 machines.

Apple Silicon will never be on feature parity with Nvidia cards, ever. What you describe is performance parity, which might be or might not be there, but for certain workloads the lack of Cuda support is prohibitive.

 

[RigSatMe]

That’s insane!

It’s not insane, welcome inflation lane 😂

 

[0227114]

Have to say.. It’s really frustrating that they now don’t offer 64GB RAM upgrade on the base Max model.. but do offer 96GB?

 

[bousozoku]

In 1998, I spent US$2699 on my Wall Street 233 MHz G3 PowerBook with passive display and 66 MHz bus. The 292 MHz model with 83 MHz bus was over US$6000.

These prices aren't bad compared to those days.

 

[Even Longer]

The only thing scary fast is actually the time itself.

I remember the days of yore back in 2010 when I was a young research assistant rocking my old Sony Vaio, while being envious of my more senior colleagues, who could afford the black polycarbonate MacBook (which is actually just a fancy name for posh plastic).

I think that was the last time Apple introduced any black MacBooks ever since. And…Apple’s memory pricing debate was as alive at that time as it is now.

Some things never change, which by itself is a remarkable consistency. 🙂

Cheers and happy Halloween everyone! 🎃

 

[Axegrinder]

I don't know who Apple's target audience is anymore. People keep paying extortionate prices for the low-spec models never mind high-spec. 8GB RAM still on the base model. It's just a joke at this point.

I'd rather buy the upcoming Framework 16 and run Debian. Still expensive for most people but far more bang for your buck and likely far more useful for most.

 

[120FPS]

They said it would be scary

 

[Username-already-in-use]

I don’t understand the pearl-clutching when you configure the most highly spec’d device possible and see the price. People wish there to be drama where there is none.

 

[Klagarde]

Apple's top-of-the-line 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro costs $7,200 when you opt for all upgrades. Pricing used to top out at $6,499, but with support for 128GB Unified Memory, maximum memory now costs $1,000.

The highest-end 16-inch MacBook Pro has a base cost of $4,000 with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 48GB Unified memory, and 1TB SSD. Fully upgrading the memory costs $1,000, while opting for an 8TB SSD adds another $2,200. The 14-inch MacBook Pro can be purchased with the same upgraded specs for $6,899.

128GB Unified Memory is only available with the M3 Max chip. The M3 chip is limited to 24GB Unified Memory like the M2 chip, while the M2 Pro supports up to 36GB Unified Memory.

The new MacBook Pro models can be ordered now from Apple's online store. The M3 and M3 Pro models will ship out to customers next week, while the M3 Max models will be coming later in November.

Article Link: 16-Inch M3 Max MacBook Pro Now Costs $7,200 With All Upgrades

Scary expensive.

 

[Funky_Alphonzo]

Good. I hate external disks too, even SSD’s (Sandisk). Why only 4TB though? You’ll be maxed out in no time. And in a few months you’ll regret not pulling the trigger on the 8TB.


Says someone who uses entry-level MBPs for amateur use (Office and emails).

It is very wrong in the sense that you have to have your files in different places, quite annoying.

Also Dropbox stopped supporting external disk sync which further complicates things.

And lastly as already mentioned, even the fastest external SSDs are not as fast Apple’s internal SSD (which for heavy programming and music production / hires video editing is a deal breaker).

I only keep an external disk for my continuous TimeMachine backups + Dropbox Business. Multiplying external disks would be a waste of time and space (and ruining workflow).

When one can afford the best of the best with Apple, they certainly should settle for no less than 8TB.

8TB is not enough for me, my 30TB raid is full and two 20TB external disks as wel. Apple should at least offer 96TB internally… then It would be a real portable workstation. For hires video editing, only 8TB is a dealbreaker.

 

[garaig]

I bought new M1 Pro Max on 35% discount from the apple reseller one month before... I think it was a great deal :-D My rendering speed depends on external HDD or SSD and USB-C speed, not on the M1 Max chip. I work with about 200 GB final cut files per project, so it is no way to not use external HDD-s. The rendering speed not important for me, with this setup the 20 min video rendered during 5-6 min. Faster rendering is not relevant.
The brightness on the display is 60-70% generally (the 20% improving I think not important noticeable in every day using), when I adjust photo or video I use external monitor.
So I think M1 Max is enough for me for a long time. 👍👍👍

 

[Le0M]

Imagine accidentally dropping a 7000+ dollars mac on the floor 🤣🤣

 

[FastLaneJB]

Apple Silicon will never be on feature parity with Nvidia cards, ever. What you describe is performance parity, which might be or might not be there, but for certain workloads the lack of Cuda support is prohibitive.

Not everyone needs Cuda but if you do then of course for short to mid-term you are right. However to say ever is like Bill Gates saying you'll never need more than 640KB of RAM, none of us can predict the future. I suspect over time Cuda's dominance will drop. It's like the early days of 3D gaming where 3DFX Glide was dominate but after time DirectX took over.

 

[t0rqx]

They saved on memory bandwidth. How about thermal paste is it back on par?

 

[grose]

2012: Lightning Port Introduced
2012: 8GB MBP
2015: 8GB MBP
2017: 16GB MBP (base model)
2020: 8GB MBP
2021: 8GB MBP
2022: 8GB MBP
11/2023: 8GB MBP

No one will ever need more than 8GB

 

[MayaUser]

No one will ever need more than 8GB

i hope you are ironic

 

[bluecoast]

The prices for more ssd are just insane....

This is the first M series MBP where the gulf between pro and consumer is significantly widening.

Looking at these prices, the regular m3 MBP is definitely the one for people who just want a MBP because they will buy pro products from apple whenever there is a choice to (but don’t really need the power - they just think they do). Ditto for businesses.

And if you really must be a pack-rat and store everything locally - when it could be in a sweet (for apple) 1Tb recurring iCloud monthly subscription - ouch, you’re going to pay for it.

The pro and max models are priced for those who absolutely know that they need the power - and the storage.

 

[ondert]

I hope Costco brings back those M1 Pro 16” models back. They were selling for similar price to new M3 base model 14”. At this point, it doesn’t make much sense anymore and i have already gone back to Windows for the desktop after they literally killed the iMac for even more profit.

 

[DownUnderDan]

Pocket change if you need it for your profession and have achieved financial success. These computers will last 6+ years

Indeed. I wouldn't travel anywhere with a Space Black MacBook Pro without an employee in tow to remove the fingerprints as I type. I presume most MacBook Pro Max owners would be in a similar situation.

 

[Marty80]

Even more a reason to hang on to my m1 max for as long as i can. These prices are really starting to hurt my wallet.

Also after years of hoping they bring back a black macbook. I actually hate to say this, but I prefer my space grey.

 

[grose]

i hope you are ironic

yes

 

[bluecoast]

I'd imagine this isn't the sort of laptop the average consumer would be looking for. Rather more businesses for whom $7-grand is pocket change.

Totally.

You’re going to be claiming back the sales tax on this (or some sort of tax depending on where you are) because you are either a freelancer with a one person business - or an actual business.

For people on this forum screaming at the prices of the pro and max:

These machines just aren’t for you, even though you think they should be.

The big issue is apple’s misuse of the word ‘pro’ to sometimes mean ‘really nice’ and to sometimes mean ‘literally for professionals’, which has really muddied the waters.