Apple's M3 MacBook Pro Gets Up to $1,000 Off In Major New Sales, Starting at $1,299 [Updated]

[Pochi Hanaki]

I have an M1 Pro 16GB for home use and an M3 36GB for work use. (Development). In day to day operation , do not notice any difference whatsoever. Grab whatever makes sense financially, or for the port selection etc.

Try processing 1,000 photos in Lightroom and you will see the huge difference between 16 and 32. I have to break it down and just do 500 at a time because the computer slows way down and only swap memory is available.

 

[darngooddesign]

This has never been the case, and the existence of a smaller MacBook Pro since 2009 proves it.
The first several 13 inch MacBook pros lagged behind their 15 and 17 inch counterparts, it was basically a MacBook, but with aluminum instead of a plastic shell. Which is ironic, seeing as that’s literally what it started as, before the “Pro” was added.
There was absolutely nothing more “Pro” about those Core 2 Duo 13 inch MacBook Pros other than they were aluminum. Not exactly something helping people get their jobs done faster.
And this never really changed, therewas a 13 inch MacBook Pro in 2016 without the touch bar that was basically a MacBook Air in a MBP body, and the $1299 M1 and M2 MacBook Pro’s with touch bars, and the new M3 MacBook Pro are literally just MacBook Airs/iPad Pros just with the design of the MBP.

You're kind of right, but here were some noticeable differences; how great of a difference varied from generation to generation until the final 13" MacBook was basically a 13" MBP with a backlit keyboard. The MBPs had higher RAM limits; SSDs or the option for SSDs instead of only platter drives; FireWire and SD ports; faster processors (not that much fast initially but later has i3s and i5s instead of the regular C2Ds); backlit keyboards; and higher quality screens.

The 13" wasn't the powerhouse that the 15" with a DGPU was, but there were pro-related features which the plastic MacBooks didn't have.

There’s absolutely nothing an M3 MacBook Pro can do that an M3 MacBook Air can’t.

With a fan, it can sustain a higher load before throttling. For example, I compared the M1 MBA with the 13" M1 MBP and I could get Lightroom to throttle the Air, but not the Pro because the Pro had a fan. Sam will be true with the M3 MBP.

To Apple, “Pro” is nothing but a marketing term. Sometimes it refers to power users, most of the time it just refers to their most expensive model.
“AirPods Pro” for example, there is absolutely nothing “Pro” about them they’re just the more premium option with more features and more controls and the bigger price tag.
The iPhone Pro is just as capable at getting work done as the SE, it’s just better. Better screen, better battery, better camera. But anyone using a Pro could use an SE if they absolutely had to.

The base M3 really should have been called MacBook, but once you move above the base MacBook Pro obviously means Professional. For everything else Pro usually means the best specs or the most capable.

 

[IllegitimateValor]

I'm curious what apps you're using that are 1 TB?

I'm under the impression that apps that have a ton of assets in them generally have an option to offload the assets and make them only available on demand... and that most assets wouldn't be useful for most projects, so you wouldn't have much reason to really want them stored locally.

But maybe I'm totally wrong.

I live without reliable fast internet so I prefer it all on device. Happy to know it’s an inconceivable notion for some. I long for such days again.

Apps includes games, sound libraries I’m tired of toting around externals for… and then add the need to keep purchased movies downloaded as streaming is unavailable. A life of externals for everything is hell. Apple TV app sometimes breaks its link to the external movies so i have to repair it.

I don’t want to keep swapping out huge portions of space when I‘m needing to switch tasks. Not a good option when trying to keep recording sessions in order and small.

Feels like a house of cards I wish I hadn’t put myself into getting so deep in the Apple ecosystem when the options are a heavy price or dongle city.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

You're kind of right, but here were some noticeable differences; how great of a difference varied from generation to generation until the final 13" MacBook was basically a 13" MBP with a backlit keyboard. The MBPs had higher RAM limits; SSDs or the option for SSDs instead of only platter drives; FireWire and SD ports; faster processors (not that much fast initially but later has i3s and i5s instead of the regular C2Ds); backlit keyboards; and higher quality screens.

The 13" wasn't the powerhouse that the 15" with a DGPU was, but there were pro-related features which the plastic MacBooks didn't have.

With a fan, it can sustain a higher load before throttling. For example, I compared the M1 MBA with the 13" M1 MBP and I could get Lightroom to throttle the Air, but not the Pro because the Pro had a fan. Sam will be true with the M3 MBP.

The base M3 really should have been called MacBook, but once you move above the base MacBook Pro obviously means Professional. For everything else Pro usually means the best specs or the most capable.

Completely agree that mid-level version should just be called the MacBook, but unfortunately that won’t sell.
Especially because from my understanding, a lot of corporations will literally just buy the cheapest thing with the word “Pro” attached in bulk, which incentivize is Apple to make these lower end models that are basically just better Airs.
From comparisons over the years, though, the fan does not make that much of a difference in day-to-day usage, certainly not as big as going up to an M1Pro.

 

[Mac-key]

I took advantage of the $2,999 price. That’s way more computer than I need. The M3 MacBook will be replacing my 2013 MacBook Pro, which I avoid using because… well, it’s from 2013. My 2017 27-inch iMac is still going strong, and I’m hoping to replace it in the next couple of years.

I'm in the same boat - yes the M4 is around the corner, but I'm running on a 2015 15MBP and a 2017 iMac. I'm a professional photographer and videographer running north of $100K of revenue thru my shop. It's just me, and it's a modest amount, BUT at the end of the day - these 2 old computers have worked for me for YEARS! Time for an upgrade

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I live without reliable fast internet so I prefer it all on device. Happy to know it’s an inconceivable notion for some. I long for such days again.

Have you considered SpaceX's Starlink internet service? I used it on a flight to Hawaii and found it was superior to the service I get from Comcast at home (which sounds like it's a lot better than what you're getting.)

Starlink is $90/month vs Comcast is only $60/month, and Comcast is generally good enough, so I've stuck with Comcast for now, but if they keep raising their prices I'll switch.

 

[chakdey]

I'm in the same boat - yes the M4 is around the corner, but I'm running on a 2015 15MBP and a 2017 iMac. I'm a professional photographer and videographer running north of $100K of revenue thru my shop. It's just me, and it's a modest amount, BUT at the end of the day - these 2 old computers have worked for me for YEARS! Time for an upgrade

Did you end up ordering the M3?

 

[Mac-key]

Did you end up ordering the M3?

I actually just ordered the M2 Pro Mac mini 16/512 for 1199 thru B&H. Yes I know it's dang near 2 years since it came out BUT it will be a MASSIVE improvement over my 2017 iMac - which I sold for $300 btw