RIP. Apple is officially discontinuing the 13-inch MacBook Pro, as it introduces a new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip. The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro is not a direct replacement, but it's the closest thing to one.
The MacBook Pro 14-inch formally started at $1,999, but Apple has introduced a new version with the M3 chip that starts at $1,599. MacBook shoppers have other options if they would prefer something as affordable as the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which started at $1,299.
For example, the 15-inch MacBook Air with M2 chip costs $1,599, while the 13-inch MacBook Air M2 starts at $1,099.
Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 power in 2022, but it had the same old design. That meant big bezels, a 720p webcam, the same ports, and the same Touch Bar that most people have found pointless. The 13-inch MacBook Pro did offer great performance and over 18 hours of battery life, but apparently Apple didn't want to fully update the design.
For my money, I would got for the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 chip, as it's more future proof than the MacBook Airs. You get a brighter Liquid Retina XDR display, up to 22 hours of battery life and a very powerful M3 chip with serious power. In fact, Apple says the M3 is up to 60% faster than the MacBook Pro 13-inch with M1 chip.
Other highlights of the M3 chip include 60% faster rendering performance in Final Cut Pro, 40% faster code compilation in Xcode and 40% faster spreadsheet performance.
And if you're into graphics and gaming, you'll be glad to hear that the M3 chip includes several new technologies to the Mac lineup, including Dynamic Caching of local memory in hardware, as well as hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing.
Is the MacBook Pro 14-inch $200 better than the MacBook Pro 13-inch? Stay tuned for our full review.
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