Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) vs Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

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MacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) compared with MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

	AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)	AppleMacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2023	June 2012
Display
Screen size
Screen size	14.2″	15.4″
Resolution
Resolution	3024 × 1964 (better)	1440 × 900 or 1680 × 1050
Panel
Panel	Mini-LED	TN LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	600 nits	–
HDR peak brightness
HDR peak brightness	1,600 nits	–
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	No	No
Display type
Display type	Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting	15.4-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, millions of colours; TN technology identified in Macworld's comparison test of its Mid-2012 non-Retina unit. Refresh rate and brightness unpublished by Apple.
Screen finish
Screen finish	–	Standard glossy screen; configurable to a 1680 × 1050 higher-resolution glossy or antiglare screen
Pixel density
Pixel density	254 ppi	–
Colour range
Colour range	Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours	–
Display features
Display features	1,000,000:1 contrast; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen HDR brightness; ProMotion adaptive refresh up to 120 Hz; fixed 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94 and 60 Hz rates; True Tone	–
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M3 Pro or Apple M3 Max	Intel Core i7-3615QM, Intel Core i7-3720QM or Intel Core i7-3820QM
CPU cores
CPU cores	11, 12, 14 or 16	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	8
Graphics
Graphics	14-core GPU, 18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (512 MB GDDR5) or NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (1 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB (better)	4 GB or 8 GB
Storage
Storage	512 GB to 8 TB (better)	128 GB to 1 TB
CPU
CPU	M3 Pro: 11-core CPU (5 performance, 6 efficiency) or 12-core CPU (6 performance, 6 efficiency); M3 Max: 14-core CPU (10 performance, 4 efficiency) or 16-core CPU (12 performance, 4 efficiency)	Quad-core Intel Core i7-3615QM at 2.3 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz and 6 MB L3 cache, or Core i7-3720QM at 2.6 GHz with up to 3.6 GHz and 6 MB cache; the higher base is configurable to Core i7-3820QM at 2.7 GHz with up to 3.7 GHz and 8 MB cache. Exact identities documented by EveryMac.
GPU
GPU	M3 Pro: 14-core or 18-core GPU; M3 Max: 30-core or 40-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing; H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW media engine with AV1 decode; M3 Max has two video encode and two ProRes encode/decode engines	Intel HD Graphics 4000 plus NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with automatic graphics switching; 512 MB GDDR5 on the 2.3 GHz base or 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.6 GHz base and its 2.7 GHz upgrade
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory type
Memory type	Unified memory; M3 Pro supports 18 GB or 36 GB; 14-core M3 Max supports 36 GB or 96 GB; 16-core M3 Max supports 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB	1600 MHz DDR3 memory; 4 GB on the 2.3 GHz base, configurable to 8 GB as two 4 GB modules; 8 GB on the 2.6 GHz base. Configurations retain the maker-supported 8 GB ceiling, excluding larger aftermarket upgrades.
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max)	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; M3 Pro starts at 512 GB and supports up to 4 TB; M3 Max starts at 1 TB and supports up to 8 TB	2.3 GHz base has a 500 GB 5400 rpm hard drive; 2.6 GHz base has 750 GB at 5400 rpm. Either offers 750 GB at 7200 rpm, 1 TB at 5400 rpm or 128/256/512 GB SSD; the lower base also offers 750 GB at 5400 rpm. Configurations list the distinct capacities; the two 750 GB rotational-speed options remain explicit here. Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive.
Battery and size
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	Up to 18 hours	Up to 7 hours
Battery capacity
Battery capacity	–	77.5 Wh
Weight
Weight	1.61 kg (better)	2.56 kg
Thickness
Thickness	15.5 mm (better)	24.1 mm
Width × depth
Width × depth	312.6 × 221.2 mm	364 × 249 mm
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 12 hours wireless web; Apple’s main specification states 72.4 Wh, but the generic footnote gives 69.6 Wh for the 14-inch model; capacity omitted from the main comparison because these figures conflict	Built-in 77.5 Wh lithium-polymer battery; up to 7 hours wireless web under Apple's test conditions. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Charger
Charger	70 W USB-C adapter with 11-core M3 Pro; 96 W adapter with 12-core M3 Pro or M3 Max, optional on the entry configuration	85 W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management
Fast charging
Fast charging	With 96 W USB-C Power Adapter	–
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium enclosure	Aluminium unibody enclosure
Colours
Colours	Silver, Space Black	Silver
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Thunderbolt, MagSafe, Ethernet, headphone jack, SD card slot
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	802.11n; compatible with 802.11a/b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	4.0
Webcam
Webcam	1080p FaceTime HD	720p FaceTime HD
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Port detail
Port detail	Three Thunderbolt 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone support	Two USB 3 ports up to 5 Gb/s, Thunderbolt up to 10 Gb/s with native Mini DisplayPort output, Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, SDXC, MagSafe and separate digital/analogue audio line input and output; Apple iPhone headset remote and microphone supported. Kensington lock slot and built-in SuperDrive; no HDMI port.
External displays
External displays	M3 Pro supports two at 6K 60 Hz over Thunderbolt or one at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz over HDMI; M3 Max supports three at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 4K 144 Hz, or two at 6K 60 Hz plus one at 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz; HDMI alone supports 8K 60 Hz or 4K 240 Hz	Built-in screen plus one external display up to 2560 × 1600, with millions of colours; DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI or HDMI audio/video through separate Mini DisplayPort adapters
Keyboard
Keyboard	Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys	Full-size backlit keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, 12 function keys, four arrow keys and ambient light sensor
Trackpad
Trackpad	Force Touch trackpad	Glass Multi-Touch trackpad with inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag
Speakers
Speakers	Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos	Stereo speakers with subwoofer
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming	Omnidirectional microphone
Biometrics
Biometrics	Touch ID	–
In the box
In the box	14-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W or 96 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m)	MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, 85 W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord and documentation; OS X Lion and iLife, with a free Mountain Lion upgrade offered to eligible launch buyers