Apple Unveils New Space Black MacBook Pro Color for M3 Pro and M3 Max

[rforno]

Per Joanna Stern of the WSJ last hour:

"Apple says the material is a “breakthrough chemistry that forms an anodization seal to greatly reduce fingerprints.” Key word: reduce. I definitely left some prints on the MacBook I tried out."

 

[baryon]

I like the black but I wonder if they are as easy to scuff up as every other dark aluminum color Apple has ever made. The dark blue MacBook Air scuffs up way too easily, for example.

 

[nortonandreev]

I like how the leaked box turned out to be real.

 

[Mazda 3s]

MKBHD just passed out 🤣

 

[Orange Bat]

It’s black. Not space black. Just call it black.

 

[geek36]

now this is SCARY BLACK!

 

[ThailandToo]

Looks like Space Black is tied to the M3 Pro and M3 Max only (on the new 14" MacBook Pro).

That’s absurd, really. How does the color get tied to the SoC??? Not the model of MBP.

 

[Ausali]

14 inch M3 Pro​

11-Core CPU​

14-Core GPU​

18GB Unified Memory​

512GB SSD Storage $3,499 in Australia​

14 inch M2 Pro​

10-Core CPU​

16-Core GPU​

16GB Unified Memory​

512GB SSD Storage $3,199 in Australia​

​

M3 pro chip has​

2GB more unified Memory​

1 Core CPU but 2 core GPU less​

What’s the difference ?​

 

[rforno]

That’s absurd, really. How does the color get tied to the SoC??? Not the model of MBP.

The color is tied to the SoC so it can be tied to us paying more for the privilege of this amazing new feature....

 

[uptownnyc]

was anyone else underwhelmed by the event. It most certainly was scary fast. This could have been a press release.

I mean ... we're nerds that post comments on a website about a computer company. The vast majority of Apple customers don't even know these "events" exist. They just order whatever laptop they think will let them browse Instagram the best.

Apple has some new stuff -- so they put this out there for the nerds that want to hear what's new. Take it or leave it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Beautiful. A shame I only need the basic m3.

Treat yourself to the Space Black. Life is too short to deny.

 

[erikkfi]

Ok Apple I’ll give it to you, this is way better than any “space gray” has ever been or ever will be.

 

[gugy]

Beautiful laptop. Damn, I was hoping for a XDR 2.0 stand alone display.

 

[MacBird]

Same! I was hoping for an iPad mini or an iMac Pro, but instead we got told how great 24" is for those who already have a 27" 😂

Same here, they announced a 2-hour event in the calendar invite and after the first 30 minutes I got really curious what's next, and 'good night' was next.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Ok Apple I’ll give it to you, this is way better than any “space gray” has ever been or ever will be.

True, this is the best thing about this announcement.

 

[Apple_Robert]

First look at space black

iJustine on Instagram: "Here’s a first look at the new M3 MacBook Pros in space black! #AppleEvent"

908 likes, 14 comments - ijustine on October 30, 2023: "Here’s a first look at the new M3 MacBook Pros in space black! #AppleEvent"

www.instagram.com

Very nice looking Mac. Reminds me of the Midnight Blue.

 

[jough]

That Space Black looks amazing, but I'm dismayed to find that the 16" MBP is still nearly 5lbs. They got the 15" Air down to only 3.3lbs. I guess they expect most 16" owners to just keep them on a desk all the time?

 

[kazmac]

M3 MBP in Space Black is an eventual purchase here. Awesome color, but that is the icing on the cake.

 

[840quadra]

Have a 14" M1 Pro for work, still rocking my 13" M1 for personal use and photo editing. Really tempted to upgrade to the M3 Pro for my personal use. That said, this little (typing on it now) M1 is as close as I can get to the 12" Powerbook G4 that I greatly miss.

Afraid if I sell / trade this in, I will regret it. I actually do use the Touchbar.... :/ .

 

[aleni]

Only looks pretty in video and render. Looks ugly in real life with those finger print oils all over the place.

 

[xantufrog]

I like that a lot

 

[Muceda]

It’s black. Not space black. Just call it black.

black is the thinkpad and it has been black since 1990 … and it is the best laptop… touch screen and trackpoint nothing more

 

[jujubi]

Of course I just bought my M2 Pro 16” in September. Wish I would’ve just waited…still happy with the M2 Pro

Here is what I think Apple is doing to keep the upgrade train going.
1. Increased the base RAM from 16Gb to 18GB.
2. Expanded on the GPU to add Raytracing, Neural engine performance.
3. 100nits more base brightness.
The above 3 features increase battery consumption significantly. How are they going to compensate for that without increasing the battery capacity?
They gut features of course. Like this...

1. Swap 2 performance cores with 2 efficiency cores.
2. Remove 1 GPU core.
3. Reduce memory bandwidth from 200GB/s to 150GB/s.

The 3nm process does help some here but not a lot. I suspect we wont see any improvement in benchmarks compared to the M2 Pro. I suspect they will add the cores back when M4 rolls out next year to keep the upgrade train going.
Here is the screenshot of the CPU comparison.

https://imgur.com/VgIGSuJ

 

[BreuerEditor]

Here is what I think Apple is doing to keep the upgrade train going.
1. Increased the base RAM from 16Gb to 18GB.
2. Expanded on the GPU to add Raytracing, Neural engine performance.
3. 100nits more base brightness.
The above 3 features increase battery consumption significantly. How are they going to compensate for that without increasing the battery capacity?
They gut features of course. Like this...

1. Swap 2 performance cores with 2 efficiency cores.
2. Remove 1 GPU core.
3. Reduce memory bandwidth from 200GB/s to 150GB/s.

The 3nm process does help some here but not a lot. I suspect we wont see any improvement in benchmarks compared to the M2 Pro. I suspect they will add the cores back when M4 rolls out next year to keep the upgrade train going.
Here is the screenshot of the CPU comparison.

https://imgur.com/VgIGSuJ

Wow great digging up the specs! I agree with your upgrade train thought. I think it'll be pretty comparable. A lot of my work is in Premiere Pro and After Effects but no ray tracing needed for my work (plus it's not my main machine) so maybe I should calm down lol

 

[segfaultdotorg]

I'm holding out for Space Black Pro.