The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) is a premium workstation laptop. It replaces the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M2, 2023) from early 2023. In addition to the Pro and Max SoC configurations, this new model is available with a base M3 chip, similar to the discontinued 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. The M3 Pro/Max SoCs bring increased memory support (up to 128GB on M3 Max) as well as hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AV1 decoding. Also new is the Space Black color, replacing Space Gray on models with a Pro or Max processor. Memory and storage configuration max out at 128GB and 8TB, respectively, though there are restrictions depending on the chosen model. The port selection remains the same as its predecessor on the Pro and Max models; however, the base M3 model has one fewer USB-C and only supports Thunderbolt 3.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Pro M3 is excellent for school use. It's easy to carry around due to its compact size, and its battery lasts easily through a full day of light use with plenty of charge to spare. The display looks sharp and bright, the keyboard feels spacious and tactile, and the touchpad is large and responsive. It's a fantastic device for students in fields like 3D design, science and engineering, or filmmaking, as Apple's M3 SoCs can handle nearly every type of workload. It has an excellent 1080p webcam for those attending classes remotely and a wide port selection for peripherals and external displays.
- Easy to carry around.
- All-day battery life.
- M3 Pro and Max SoCs can handle demanding workloads.
- Great keyboard and industry-leading touchpad.
- Wide port selection.
- Short key travel might cause fatigue over time.
The Apple MacBook Pro M3 is decent for gaming. The M3 Pro and Max models have the processing power to provide smooth gameplay in demanding games; however, the performance will vary depending on the game, as most titles can only run via Rosetta 2 since they aren't designed for Macs with an ARM-based chip. Additionally, while its Mini LED display's 120Hz refresh rate helps provide a responsive gaming experience, its slow response time causes noticeable ghosting in fast-moving scenes. On the upside, it has a fast SSD to help shorten loading times and doesn't get overly hot or loud under load.
- M3 Pro and Max SoCs can handle demanding workloads.
- 120Hz refresh rate.
- No thermal throttling.
- Doesn't get hot or loud under load.
- Display has slow response time.
- Few games run natively on macOS.
- Soldered RAM and SSD.
- Short key travel might cause fatigue over time.
The Apple MacBook Pro M3 is excellent for media consumption. It's very portable, and its battery lasts over twelve hours of video playback, giving you plenty of time to get through multiple full-length movies and TV show episodes. Its Mini LED display looks incredibly sharp, gets bright enough to overcome glare, and produces inky blacks. The display is also well-calibrated out of the box, so you get an accurate and natural-looking image. The speakers sound well-balanced and full, with a good amount of bass, and they get very loud with minimal artifacts at max volume. The only downside is the display's slow response time, which causes ghosting in fast-moving scenes.
- Easy to carry around.
- All-day battery life.
- Sharp, bright display with full DCI P3 coverage.
- Display produces deep blacks.
- Loud, full-sounding speakers.
- Display has slow response time.
The Apple MacBook Pro M3 is an outstanding workstation laptop. Its M3 Pro and M3 Max SoCs can handle nearly every type of workload, including demanding tasks like video editing, programming, 3D graphics, and scientific simulations. You can also do all of your color-sensitive work, as the display has full DCI P3 coverage and superb factory calibration. There's no thermal throttling under load, and while the keyboard gets a little warm, the fans are only a whisper. Unfortunately, none of the components are user-replaceable, so you need to get the configuration that best suits your needs upfront.
- M3 Pro and Max SoCs can handle demanding workloads.
- Sharp, bright display with full DCI P3 coverage.
- Wide port selection.
- No thermal throttling.
- Doesn't get hot or loud under load.
- Soldered RAM and SSD.
- Short key travel might cause fatigue over time.
The Apple MacBook Pro M3 is excellent for business use. This well-built laptop is easy to carry, and its battery lasts over 15 hours of light use, so you can go almost two days without plugging it in. It has a sharp, bright display, a comfortable keyboard, and a large, responsive touchpad. You get an excellent 1080p webcam for video calls and a fingerprint sensor to log in quickly. Its M3 SoCs can easily handle productivity tasks like web browsing, text processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can even make graphics and edit videos for your business. Unfortunately, none of the components are user-replaceable, and there's no USB-A port, so you'll need an adapter for your wired peripherals or dongles.
- Easy to carry around.
- All-day battery life.
- Great keyboard and industry-leading touchpad.
- Outstanding webcam.
- Wide port selection.
- Soldered RAM and SSD.
- Short key travel might cause fatigue over time.
Changelog
- Updated May 07, 2025: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.8.3, which removes the viewing angle tests and adds a GPU Total Graphics Power comparison in the GPU section. The Pen Input test in the Extra Features section has also changed, as it now shows whether the laptop supports pen input rather than the inclusion of a stylus in the box. See the changelog for more details.
- Updated Jul 31, 2024: We've updated the Ports section because the macOS 14.6 firmware update has added support for an additional external display (with the lid closed) on the base M3 model.
- Updated Jan 22, 2024: We've updated the Battery section to specify that the base M3 model has a slightly smaller 70Wh battery.
- Updated Jan 18, 2024: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Apple MacBook Pro 14 M3 with an M3 Pro SoC (11-core CPU, 14-core GPU), 18GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The SoC, memory, and storage are configurable; the available options are in the table below.
| Screen |
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| SoC |
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| Memory |
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| Storage |
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| Color |
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See our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Pro M3 is one of the best workstation laptops on the market. Its build quality, as well as the quality of its display, touchpad, and speakers, are industry-leading. While you can find Windows laptops with faster CPUs and GPUs, none can match the MacBook Pro's battery life due to the power efficiency of Apple-made chips.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best workstation laptops, the best business laptops, and the best laptops for video editing.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M4, 2024) is a newer version of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). The 2024 model is largely the same design-wise, though there are a couple of upgrades and new features over its predecessor, including a higher display brightness of up to 1000 cd/m² when viewing SDR content (outdoors) and a nano-texture display option that further cuts down glare. There's also a new 12 MP camera with Center Stage support, a feature that keeps you centered in the camera frame when you move around. The base M4 model gains a third USB-C port with the same external display support as the M4 Pro models, and the Pro/Max models now support Thunderbolt 5, allowing for up to 120Gbps data transfer speeds. Performance-wise, the M4-series chips are considerably faster than the M3s, but unless you have an extremely intensive workload, you probably don't need to upgrade if you already own an M3 model.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) is a newer version of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M2, 2023). Except for a new Space Black color, the M3 model is identical to the M2 model in design, as the upgrades are internal. The M3 model has a slightly brighter display, longer battery life, and more configuration options, including a base M3 chip with 8 CPU and 10 GPU cores. The M3 chips bring better performance, as well as new features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing, AV1 decoding, and increased memory support up to 128GB.
While the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) is better than the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1, 2021) for most uses, they're very similar devices. The MacBook Pro 16 is a larger device, which gives you more screen space for multitasking, albeit at the cost of portability. You also get better-sounding speakers. On the other hand, the MacBook Pro 14 features Apple's M3 SoC, which is significantly faster than its initial M1 offering found in the 2021 Pro model and offers support for new features like hardware ray tracing and AV1 encoding. The Pro 14 also has better battery life.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) and the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) GU605 are very different. The MacBook Pro is a mobile workstation, while the ASUS is primarily a gaming model. Each has its pros and cons. The MacBook Pro is more portable since it's a smaller device, and it has a better haptic touchpad and webcam. It also has a much longer battery life, as Apple's M3 SoC is significantly more power efficient. However, the ASUS is more versatile; it has a 240Hz OLED display with a fast response time and VRR support to provide a smoother and more responsive gaming experience, and like the MacBook Pro, it can also handle demanding productivity tasks like video editing and 3D graphics.
Test Results
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