The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) is a 16-inch premium workstation laptop. It replaces the M2 Apple MacBook Pro 16 from early 2023. Except for the new Space Black color, this late 2023 model is identical in design to its M2 predecessor. The M3 Pro/Max SoCs bring increased memory support (up to 128GB) as well as features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AV1 decoding. It has the same but slightly brighter 120Hz ProMotion Liquid Retina XDR display. Its port selection remains the same with three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, a full-size SD card reader, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a MagSafe charging port.
You can see our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 is excellent for school use. It feels exceptionally well-built thanks to its full-aluminum chassis, and its battery lasts easily through a typical school day with plenty of charge to spare. Its 16-inch display gives you plenty of room for multitasking and gets bright enough to combat glare, even in well-lit settings. The keyboard feels great to type on, and the touchpad is large and responsive. Its M3 Pro/Max SoCs can handle nearly any workload, making it suitable for students in fields like graphic design or 3D animation. It isn't overly bulky for a 16-inch laptop but is fairly heavy.
- Not overly bulky for a 16-inch laptop.
- All-day battery life.
- M3 Pro/Max SoCs can handle demanding workloads.
- Comfortable keyboard and large, easy-to-use haptic touchpad.
- Wide port selection with Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI 2.1.
- No USB-A ports.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 has enough processing power to run demanding games; however, very few games are optimized for its ARM-based SoC, and running games through Rosetta 2 can result in poor performance or graphical glitches, depending on the game. Also, the display's response time is quite slow even though it has a 120Hz refresh rate, resulting in noticeable ghosting in fast-moving scenes. On the upside, its SoC doesn't throttle under load, and the laptop doesn't get hot or loud.
- M3 Pro/Max SoCs can handle demanding workloads.
- Wide port selection with Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI 2.1.
- Minimal performance loss under load.
- 120Hz display.
- RAM and storage aren't user-replaceable.
- Display has slow response time.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 is great for media consumption. It has a large, sharp, and colorful display that gets bright enough for a true HDR experience, and thanks to its Mini LED backlight, it can display deep, inky blacks, making it fantastic for dark room viewing. The speakers get very loud and sound full and well-balanced with a good amount of bass. Battery life is outstanding at nearly 13 hours of video playback, enough time to get through multiple full-length movies and TV show episodes. Portability is so-so; it isn't overly bulky for a 16-inch device but is fairly heavy.
- Not overly bulky for a 16-inch laptop.
- All-day battery life.
- Sharp, bright display with high contrast, 100% DCI P3 coverage, and superb factory calibration.
- Speakers get very loud.
- Full-sounding speakers with a good amount of bass.
- Display doesn't support touch input.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 is an outstanding workstation. Its M3 Pro/Max SoCs can handle even the most demanding workloads, including tasks like programming, video editing, Al development, and 3D rendering. Additionally, it has a sharp display with full DCI P3 coverage and superb calibration, making it suitable for color-critical work. Its excellent port selection includes a full-size HDMI, three USB-Cs/Thunderbolt 4s, and an SD card reader, so you can easily connect peripherals and external displays. It doesn't throttle under load, and while its fans are audible, they aren't overly distracting. The only downside is that the memory and storage aren't user-replaceable.
- M3 Pro/Max SoCs can handle demanding workloads.
- Comfortable keyboard and large, easy-to-use haptic touchpad.
- Sharp, bright display with high contrast, 100% DCI P3 coverage, and superb factory calibration.
- Wide port selection with Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI 2.1.
- Minimal performance loss under load.
- RAM and storage aren't user-replaceable.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 M3 is excellent for business use. It has a large, bright display, a comfortable keyboard, a gigantic haptic touchpad, and an excellent 1080p webcam. Its wide port selection includes a full-size HDMI and three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, so you can easily connect peripherals or an external display for presentations. Apple's M3 Pro/Max SoCs can easily handle tasks like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and presentations, and thanks to its power-efficient design, the battery lasts easily through a typical 8-hour day with plenty of charge to spare. Portability-wise, it isn't overly bulky for a 16-inch device, but it's on the heavier side.
- Not overly bulky for a 16-inch laptop.
- All-day battery life.
- Comfortable keyboard and large, easy-to-use haptic touchpad.
- Outstanding 1080p webcam.
- Wide port selection with Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI 2.1.
- RAM and storage aren't user-replaceable.
- No USB-A ports.
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 Sep 16, 2024: Added mention of the Dell Precision 5690 (2024) as a Windows alternative with more powerful GPU options for professional workloads in the GPU section.
- Updated Jul 26, 2024: We've retested the speakers, as we've mistakenly posted results from the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2019). The M3 model's speakers sound more well-balanced, with slightly more bass, but don't get as loud.
- Updated Dec 18, 2023: Review published.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Apple MacBook Pro 2023 with an M3 Max SoC (16-core CPU, 40-core GPU), 48GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The SoC, RAM, and storage are configurable; the available options are in the table below.
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| Memory |
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You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 is one of the best laptops on the market. It stands out for its exceptional build quality, as well as the quality of its display, touchpad, speakers, and webcam. Although there are faster CPUs and GPUs on the market, none are as power-efficient as Apple's in-house SoCs. Their efficiency gives the MacBook Pro a longer battery life than almost any other high-performance workstation.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best workstation laptops, the best video editing laptops, and the best laptops for graphic design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4, 2024) is the next generation of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023). Both devices share outstanding build quality and provide an industry-leading user experience. Notable changes include a new nano-texture Liquid Retina XDR display with superior reflection handling and the M4 Pro and Max SoCs. These new SoCs are significantly faster in both productivity and gaming workloads and feature significantly increased memory bandwidth. Finally, you get Thunderbolt 5 support on the newer model.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) is a newer version of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1, 2021). Except for a new Space Black color, they're identical in design, as all the improvements are internal. The M3 MacBook Pro 16 has a slightly brighter display, better performance, and longer battery life. The M3 Pro/Max SoCs also add hardware-accelerated ray tracing, AV1 decoding, and increased memory support (up to 128GB).
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) is a newer and bigger version of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M2, 2023). The MacBook Pro 16 is slightly better, as it has a brighter display, better performance, better-sounding speakers, and longer battery life. The MacBook Pro 16's M3 Pro/Max SoCs also add hardware-accelerated ray tracing, AV1 decoding, and increased memory support (up to 128GB). On the other hand, the MacBook Pro 14 is more portable due to its smaller size.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) is much better than the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M3, 2024) for most uses. The MacBook Pro is a much more powerful device designed for demanding workloads like content creation, while the MacBook Air is an ultraportable designed for general productivity tasks. While both devices sport a nice display, the MacBook Pro's is much more advanced, as it has a Mini LED backlight, allowing for local dimming, and it gets significantly brighter, up to 1600 cd/m² in HDR. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate (60Hz on the MacBook Air), improving motion smoothness and system responsiveness. Other improved features on the MacBook Pro include a wider port selection with better multi-display support, better-sounding, up-firing speakers, and a better active cooling system, allowing for better performance in heavy, sustained workloads.
Test Results
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