Before the iPhone was ubiquitous in daily life, Apple’s MacBook Pro was the gold standard for creative professionals and power users who demand top performance and premium build quality. While gaming was never the focus with Apple, if you wanted to be taken seriously, you invested in buying a Mac. With the latest iteration of their laptops, Apple is working to earn back professionals and show just what is possible with their latest M3 range of processors.
Now featuring Apple’s latest silicon, this iteration of the 14-inch model ushers in the new M3 chip, promising even more speed and efficiency and even boasting some exciting gaming abilities, making it much more interesting for people looking to make the switch from Windows. Despite some minor gripes, the MacBook Pro late 2023 model delivers a fantastic computing experience, especially for creators.
On the outside, the 2023 14-inch MacBook Pro looks nearly identical to previous versions from 2021 onward. You still get the same sleek, durable aluminum unibody chassis available in space gray or silver. For the higher-end configurations using the new M3 chip, there’s also a slick new space black colorway that gives off more professional, high-end vibes (sadly, I did not get to test that one for this review).
Once set up and powered on, you will find a stunning Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display, which stands as one of the best laptop screens money can buy. The bezels are still slim, there’s still a notch housing the 1080p webcam, and the speakers deliver immersive spatial audio that sounds better than many would expect from a laptop this small. Looking at the sides of the MacBook Pro, the port selection is unchanged from past years. You still get a useful assortment, including an SD card reader, HDMI, a headphone jack, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and MagSafe charging.
The only minor downside is the HDMI 2.0 port doesn’t support the latest HDMI 2.1 standard. So you can’t get 4K resolution at 120Hz refresh rates out of it. But overall, Apple finally addressed complaints about port scarcity. Most professionals should have all the wired connectivity they need for peripherals and accessories. On the wireless side, you get the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 as well.
While looks-wise, the late 2023 MacBook Pro looks similar to the last iteration of the laptop, the star of the show is, without a doubt, the new M3 and M3 Pro silicon. Built on an enhanced second-generation 5nm process, these chips deliver meaningful boosts in both CPU and GPU performance versus the already blazing-fast M2 models from earlier this year.
“The MacBook Pro’s blend of processing power, exceptional battery life, and stunning display set a new benchmark in the realm of premium, portable workstations.”
The 8-core M3 offers around 20% faster multi-core CPU performance based on benchmarks for day-to-day productivity and workflows. The GPU gains are even more substantial at over 30% faster graphics rendering versus the M2. For creative professionals running intensive applications, these speed bumps translate into huge real-world time savings. The best part is even with this increase in power, the M3 MacBook Pro is almost silent, with the fans only coming on when pushing pixels in rendering or gaming, making it a great option for travel.
In my testing, the 4K video export in DaVinci Resolve was noticeably faster on the M3 versus last year’s M2 model. Complex 3D rendering tasks like ray tracing also saw major performance leaps thanks to the upgraded graphics architecture. The M3 chips also have new dedicated media engines for video encoding/decoding, enabling lightning-fast ProRes and ProRes RAW workflows.
While I was skeptical when Apple moved over to their custom chips, this year’s MacBook Pro has shown how useful a creator-focused machine can be. The boosts in CPU and GPU power cement it as a truly portable workstation capable of handling the most demanding creative workloads. For most buyers, the M3 delivers fantastic performance for the price, but creative pros who can justify the cost should consider either the M3 Pro or the M3 Max configurations, which unlock even more graphics horsepower, allowing the slim machine to do even more.
While we are at it, 2023 also seems to be the year Apple gets serious about gaming, with some major pushes to make it possible and even performative compared to PC counterparts. The latest MacBook Pro 14 and 16 certainly have the raw horsepower to handle modern games, thanks to the upgraded M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max silicon. Equipped with up to 40 GPU cores, these chips deliver up to 30% faster graphics performance over previous generations.
In my testing, the M3 model could run titles like Fortnite at 1080p while exceeding 60 fps. More demanding games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II were very playable at 60 fps in 1440p, too. I even managed to run games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Lies of P., and indie darling Stray with high graphical fidelity, and all managed to look and play fantastically on the MacBook Pro. The fans ramped up but remained quieter than most gaming laptops, and it delivered playable experiences I would not have thought possible on such a small machine.
Now, don’t get me wrong, while Apple has made major strides, the MacBook Pro would not make a great dedicated gaming laptop. It may be improved, but Apple doesn’t optimize macOS for AAA gaming like Windows, with many aspects suffering as a result. Games may run well, but performance varies widely depending on native Apple Silicon support versus running through translation layers, and it can differ from game to game.
“Despite its unchanged exterior, the 2023 MacBook Pro’s heart beats with the powerful new M3 silicon, making it a silent yet formidable force in both creative and gaming realms.”
For someone looking to play some games and either has a dedicated gaming machine or a console, the new MacBook Pro is a very capable machine that is a good complement to other devices. But, even with this laptop’s major improvements, it still can’t match similarly priced gaming PCs in areas like frame rates, game compatibility and overall optimization. So hardcore gamers should still look to Windows platforms. But the M3 range of processors does push Mac gaming to new heights in terms of raw power and capability.
One thing Windows machines can’t match is the battery life the new M3 chips afford. The latest 14-inch MacBook Pro models deliver excellent battery life, with Apple claiming up to 22 hours of Apple TV app movie playback and 15 hours browsing the web on the 14-inch model, which is very impressive for a pro laptop, and thankfully, they are not that far off.
In my testing, I easily achieved over 12 hours of normal productivity work, including web browsing, Office apps, messaging, etc. With light use, these laptops can potentially last all day without needing a charge. That will decrease when you actually play some games, but even then, with light gaming, productivity and even some video editing, I managed to last over 10 hours without needing to run to grab the charger. The 96W fast charger can also provide a 50% charge in just 30 minutes for quick top-ups, so it is never a major issue when you start running low.
However, it is worth noting that battery life does take a hit if you opt for the more powerful models, with that benchmark dropping noticeably when either the M3 Pro or M3 Max are pushed to their limits with intensive creative workloads. This is expected, but it is worth keeping that in mind when you are deciding between models, especially if you are looking for longevity over performance.
Having two Thunderbolt 4 ports allows you to connect high-speed peripherals like external SSDs without needing hubs or dongles. Although, as with any laptop you want to use to create, a small USB-C hub can be invaluable, especially when out in the field or at events. Creative pros will appreciate the UHS-II SD card reader for quick photo/video transfers. And the HDMI port makes it easy to connect an additional monitor without an adapter. The Thunderbolt 4 ports support charging, DisplayPort, and USB 4 as well up to 40Gb/s, so you should have all the flexibility you could need to make it your go-to machine when away from home.
The latest 14-inch MacBook Pro models start at $1,999 and $2,499, respectively. While not cheap, these prices are better values than the 13-inch MacBook Pro (M2) they replace in Apple’s lineup. You now get the power of the M3 chip, a mini-LED display, and more flexibility at the 14-inch starting price.
As with any machine with limited upgrade options, I would honestly recommend at least 16GB of RAM for professional use cases like video editing, music production, and gaming. This can be configured on even the base M3 model. The higher-end CPUs and GPUs in the M3 Max do enable better performance, but come with steep price premiums and diminishing returns.
If you really want to push your system, the top-tier MacBook Pro configurations go all the way up to 96GB RAM, 8TB SSD, and the M3 Max chip with a 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU. But very few buyers actually need that much power in a laptop. That being said, it is good to see Apple not neglecting the pro audience and giving content creators the option to build a powerhouse should they need that.
One advantage of Macs is you can equip them to last 5+ years. So I’d recommend at least 1TB storage and upgrading other components as your budget allows. Going from 512GB to 1TB SSD is $200 but makes a big difference long term, for example. Just be careful not to overspend just for bragging rights on benchmarks. Evaluate your actual needs and workflow requirements.
The latest iterations of the 14-inch MacBook Pro cement their status as the ultimate pro-level laptops. While the exterior design remains familiar, the upgraded M3 silicon unlocks a new tier of performance perfect for demanding creative workflows.
For most buyers, the 14-inch model with the M3 chip delivers excellent speed boosts over previous generations at a friendlier starting price. Creative professionals who can justify the premium should consider the 16-inch for the extra screen real estate and graphics muscle of the M3 Pro or M3 Max. But beware, configuring these to the max gets extremely expensive with diminishing returns.
No other laptop combines sheer processing power, exceptional battery life, stunning display quality, and premium build quite like these new MacBook Pros. If you need a truly portable workstation, the MacBook Pro is easy to recommend this year. Just be prepared to pay the Apple tax. As configured with higher-end specs, these laptops can rival the price of a desktop PC. But for creative professionals who may want to game and demand desktop-class performance in a slim, enduring package, the latest MacBook Pro delivers in spades.
