Apple MacBook Pro M3 review: beloved laptop is back in black

[CharlieH]

 

Laptop upgrade adds M3 chips, more power, longer battery life, brighter screen, lower price and darker colour

 

Apple’s latest upgraded MacBook Pro adds a wider range of chip options, a cheaper price and a new black colour option, alongside even greater performance and battery life.

The much-loved laptop now starts at £1,699 (€1,999/$1,599/A$2,699), which isn’t exactly cheap but is £450 less than its predecessor, lowering the barrier to entry significantly.

 

The outside of the machine has the same great-looking combination of retro and modern design of its predecessor, solidly made from aluminium with a precision worthy of the price. The port selection remains the same, including the very welcome HDMI port and full-size SD card slot.

The screen is still one of the very best on a laptop: sharp, smooth and super bright when working with or viewing HDR content. It is now 20% brighter in general use compared with its predecessor, which was noticeable when working on documents in bright winter sun.

 

New for 2023 is the space black colour option, which is more of a very dark grey but is about as black as you can make anodised aluminium. It looks great and repels fingerprints better than before. The new colour is limited to the mid- and high-end versions of the machine starting at £2,099 (€2,499/$1,999/A$3,499).

Specifications

• Screen: 14.2in mini LED (3024x1964; 254 ppi) ProMotion (120Hz)

• Processor: Apple M3, Pro or Max

• RAM: 8, 18 or 32, or up to 128GB

• Storage: 512GB, 1, 2, 4 or 8TB SSD

• Operating system: macOS 14.1 Sonoma

• Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD camera

• Connectivity: wifi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 2/3x USB/Thunderbolt, HDMI 2.1, SD card, headphones

• Dimensions: 221.2 x 312.6 x 15.5mm

• Weight: 1.55 to 1.62kg

 

FULL REVIEW ARTICLE

 

 

[spidermike007]

My guess is that the price is quite a bit higher for the 16-in screen, which for me is a lot more practical. I bought an M1 macbook pro about a year ago, and it's really a fantastic machine.