Apple MacBook Pro 14″ (M3) vs Apple MacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMacBook Pro 14″ (M3) | AppleMacBook Pro 16″ (M3 Pro / M3 Max) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | November 2023 | November 2023 |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 14.2″ | 16.2″ |
| Resolution | 3024 × 1964 | 3456 × 2234 (better) |
| Panel | Mini-LED | Mini-LED |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Brightness | 600 nits | 600 nits |
| HDR peak brightness | 1,600 nits | 1,600 nits |
| Touchscreen | No | No |
| Display type | Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting | Liquid Retina XDR display with mini-LED backlighting |
| Pixel density | 254 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Colour range | Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours | Wide colour (P3); 1 billion colours |
| 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 | 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 | Apple M3 | Apple M3 Pro or Apple M3 Max |
| CPU cores | 8 | 12, 14 or 16 |
| Graphics | 10-core GPU | 18-core GPU, 30-core GPU or 40-core GPU |
| Memory | 8 GB, 16 GB or 24 GB | 18 GB, 36 GB, 48 GB, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB (better) |
| Storage | 512 GB to 2 TB | 512 GB to 8 TB (better) |
| CPU | 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores | M3 Pro: 12-core CPU (6 performance, 6 efficiency); M3 Max: 14-core CPU (10 performance, 4 efficiency) or 16-core CPU (12 performance, 4 efficiency) |
| GPU | 10-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing; media engine supports H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, video and ProRes encode/decode, and AV1 decode | M3 Pro: 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 |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory type | Unified memory; 8 GB or 16 GB, configurable to 24 GB | 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 |
| Memory bandwidth | 100 GB/s | 150 GB/s (M3 Pro); 300 GB/s (14-core M3 Max) or 400 GB/s (16-core M3 Max) |
| Storage type | SSD; 512 GB or 1 TB, configurable to 2 TB | 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 |
| Battery and size | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 22 hours | Up to 22 hours |
| Battery capacity | 69.6 Wh | 99.6 Wh (better) |
| Weight | 1.55 kg (better) | 2.14 kg |
| Thickness | 15.5 mm (better) | 16.8 mm |
| Width × depth | 312.6 × 221.2 mm | 355.7 × 248.1 mm |
| Battery life detail | Up to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 70 Wh, with actual rating 69.6 Wh in Apple’s footnote | Up to 15 hours wireless web; marketed as 100 Wh, with actual rating 99.6 Wh in Apple’s footnote |
| Charger | 70 W USB-C Power Adapter | 140 W USB-C Power Adapter |
| Fast charging | With optional 96 W USB-C Power Adapter | With the included 140 W USB-C Power Adapter |
| Materials | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure |
| Colours | Silver, Space Grey | Silver, Space Black |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, SD card slot, MagSafe 3, headphone jack |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Webcam | 1080p FaceTime HD | 1080p FaceTime HD |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Port detail | Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s; HDMI; SDXC slot; MagSafe 3; 3.5 mm jack with high-impedance headphone support | 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 |
| External displays | One external display with the built-in screen active; macOS Sonoma 14.6 or later supports two with the lid closed: primary up to 6K 60 Hz (or 4K 144 Hz), secondary up to 5K 60 Hz (or 4K 100 Hz), according to Apple’s updated display support page; original tech specs state HDMI up to 4K 120 Hz | 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 |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys | Backlit Magic Keyboard with 78 US or 79 ISO keys, including 12 full-height function keys |
| Trackpad | Force Touch trackpad | Force Touch trackpad |
| Speakers | Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos | Six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming | Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming |
| Biometrics | Touch ID | Touch ID |
| In the box | 14-inch MacBook Pro, 70 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m) | 16-inch MacBook Pro, 140 W USB-C Power Adapter, USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable (2 m) |
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