In many ways, this MacBook is my “what could’ve been.” Earlier this year, fed up with waiting for a larger iMac, I threw up my hands and traded in my personal laptop, a 13-inch Intel-powered MacBook Pro, for the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air. (Because, if you have the means, you should keep work and personal machines separate.) I briefly considered copping a 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro, but I was not keen to continue living that Touch Bar life and wanted a bigger display. The 14-inch had the M2 Pro chip, which was more chip than I needed for more dollars than I wanted to spend. In that context, the 15-inch made the most sense for my home setup.
If this 14-inch MacBook Pro had been around, I would have been a lot more conflicted.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599 with the new M3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. For this review, Apple sent me a step-up configuration with the same M3 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage, which bumps the price to $1,999.
This is just the base M3 chip — Apple also sells a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the beefier M3 Pro and M3 Max. The M3 Pro models also start at $1,999, while the Max starts at an eye-watering $3,199. On top of more powerful chips, those models will get you more (and faster) Thunderbolt ports, higher storage options, and more memory — starting at 18GB for the Pro (up to 36GB) or 36GB (up to 128GB) for the Max. Configurations can be a headache to sift through, but any way you slice it, it’s annoying that Apple’s base M3 starts so underpowered with just 8GB of RAM. And yes, I will get into why 8GB of unified memory is not enough.
Design-wise, there’s nothing to really write home about. If you’re a longtime MacBook follower, you know what to expect. The display is pretty, the touchpad works great, there sure is a notch, but you get used to it, and typing has been enjoyable ever since Apple did away with the butterfly switches a few years ago. The 1080p webcam makes you look like a human and not a potato on calls. Basically, it’s exactly what I’d want out of a MacBook Pro and includes all the good updates from the last few years. It’s still annoying that Apple doesn’t let you upgrade individual parts, but at this point, do we expect different from Apple?
But while I enjoyed using the 14-inch Pro overall, there was one thing that really irked me: ports.
Since the move to Apple Silicon, the MacBook Pro has generally had three Thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port, an SDXC slot, and an HDMI port. The base model 14-inch Pro with M3 processor only has two Thunderbolt 3 ports. That third port — and Thunderbolt 4 — are reserved for the M3 Pro and M3 Max models.
On the one hand, this is still a step up from the now-discontinued 13-inch and both Air models — all of which only have two Thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack, and nothing else. On the other hand, why?
Why is Apple gatekeeping that third Thunderbolt port to the M3 Pro and M3 Max? You could argue that’s because the M3 chip only supports a single external display, while the M3 Pro and Max chips support two. (Another feature Apple gatekeeps.) The third Thunderbolt port is sandwiched between the HDMI and SDXC slot of the M3 Pro and M3 Max models, so I suppose it’s the one Apple thinks you’ll use for external monitors. It still feels like an arbitrary line that’s drawn to encourage you to buy a more expensive model. Even if both of these limitations are due to the M3 chip, Apple designed these chips itself, and any limitations are intentional. It’s a choice Apple makes.
For me, the appeal of a Pro over the Air is that you get a ticket out of dongletown. I often find myself wanting to plug a third device into my 15-inch Air, which means I have to scramble for a dongle or unplug something I’d rather not. I’ve had that issue with this M3 MacBook Pro, too. Is it the end of the world? Of course not. There are ways to work around it, and not everyone will miss that third port. It’s just the principle of the matter.
While I’m griping, the base 14-inch doesn’t get the space black color option. This is Apple Apple-ing — introducing an arbitrary way to differentiate the upgrade models (and upsell you in the process). I got nothing against space gray, and I’ll have more thoughts on space black (and the M3 Max) in my forthcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro review. But from where I’m standing, just give everyone all the colors!
Faster — but not scary faster
The performance boost from Intel to the M1 chips was significant. Now that we’re well into the third gen of Apple Silicon, the improvements are more incremental. Just look at our benchmark chart comparing the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air and the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro.
(Note: Cinebench has updated its benchmark since we reviewed a similarly specced 15-inch M2 MacBook Air, so those scores aren’t really comparable. The rest of the tests are the same across platforms.)