The M3 Pro MacBook Pros will have difficulty convincing, compared to less expensive M3s and much more powerful M3 Max. Even, in some cases, against M2 Pro.
Since the release of the new MacBook Pros equipped with M3 chips, the question of the relevance of the MacBook Pro M3 Pro has arisen. The 14-inch machine sold from €2,499 is caught between two references: a more affordable MacBook Pro M3 (€1,999) and a more expensive and more powerful MacBook Pro M3 Max (€3,999).
Does the M3 Pro make sense for professionals?
When we see the professional uses of these machines, we easily imagine two cases. The first doesn’t need crazy raw power, but allows you to get the most out of the experience of an Apple laptop. He will choose the MacBook Pro equipped with a normal M3. The second needs power and most likely, a boost compared to the previous generation which will allow it to last over time. This one can hesitate between the MacBook Pro M3 Pro and the MacBook Pro M3 Max (which we tested). If the financial investment is directly correlated to the productivity gained, putting a good sum of money into a work tool will not pose a problem.
And a new wave of benchmarks, released after the first press tests, confirm what we might have thought: it is the M3 Max which best responds to this second use case. YouTuber specializing in hardware Luke Miani added his stone to the building on November 9, in a video soberly named “ M2 Pro vs M3 Pro: we need to talk… », leaving little or no doubt about his conclusions. Watching the video, we see that the M2 Pro and the M3 Pro have almost the same performance. The power gain between the two “mid-range” MacBook ranges is really of no interest – the only notable difference is better autonomy of the M3 Pro range compared to the M2 Pro range.
Therefore, compared to the M3 Max and the normal M3, which respectively equip the most powerful and most affordable MacBook Pro and which have a notable power gain compared to the M2 versions, the M3 Pro pales in comparison. A good mid-range, certainly, but which could quickly be caught up in a generation by a much less expensive entry-level model. A detail that professionals looking for the best machines will not miss when choosing.
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