2023 m3 MacBook Pro and 24” iMac buyers thread (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

This looks pretty tasty to me

 

[DaveF]

iMac with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage is my speed. Window shopping for now. But serious consideration next year.

 

[DaveF]

This looks pretty tasty to me
View attachment 202609

Wow that seems an amazing price compared to the lower spec’d if larger screen iMac!

 

[DaveF]

But when shopping be sure to ask the right questions

 

[Sam Posten]

Wow that seems an amazing price compared to the lower spec’d if larger screen iMac!

500 nits vs 1600.

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[Sam Posten]

https://x.com/daniel_rubino/status/1719194673464422865?s=46

 

[DaveF]

Do you have link to Threads or other not-twitter place, for those of us who don’t use that service anymore?

 

[DaveF]

minor bummer. Wanting to go all USB-C.

Apple’s keyboard, trackpad, and mouse still have Lightning ports. - The Verge

That’s right: despite finally bringing the iPhone over to the world of USB-C, Apple still only sells its Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse with Lightning ports. Also, you still have to charge the Magic Mouse from the bottom in 2023.

www.theverge.com

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Believe you me, I love it when new Macbook Pros are released

This year I am not impressed

It's probably because I have the best of all worlds right now. I have an M1 studio which fits my desktop needs. I have a M1 16" Macbook Pro which hasn't even pushed its limits. I have an M2 13" Macbook Air which portability-wise has been fantastic whenever I go traveling.

Had this new Macbook Pro been a redesigned I would have been all-in

However, outside of a faster chip, there's nothing new here. Still no face ID (if that's possible with these machines). Same retina display. Overall, the same form factor that we have had for several years now.

I am tired of having this huge, heavy 16" MBP sitting on my lap. I would love to move to the 14" MBP.

I had briefly considered selling my current AIR and 16" MBP for one of these new 14" PRO or MAX models in Space Black. However, something tells me that if I wait another year, there could be a redesign that would bring an MBP that's a little thinner and lighter than currently available.

It's a shame Apple can't do a PRO model in AIR form. I am assuming the needed thermals are what prevent that. I am hoping that one day there will be a silicon chip that can outperform the M3 without needing thermals at all.

Still, remarkably, mulling this all over. I have to see the weight difference between the 14" MBP and the 13" AIR. I really, really love the nearly weightless feel of a 13" AIR in my hand and on my lap.

And one more thing...

Sometimes I wonder why I need a PRO machine anymore. I haven't done video editing for years. The only reason I moved to the PRO line is for 32-64GB RAM capability. Give that kind of RAM capability to the AIR and I am done buying PRO machines.

Edit: If I am correct, here is the difference in weight. 13" AIR: 2.75lb. 15" AIR: 3.3lb. 14" MBP: 3.5lb. 16" MBP: 4.8lb.

 

[Thomas Newton]

Looks like Apple took steps to bring the low-end MBP closer to the other ones.

The 13" M1 and M2 MBPs were very similar to 13" M1 and M2 Airs. Same processors, same RAM options, same number of USB4 (TB3) ports (two), same limit on external monitors (one). The 13" M2 MBP was a lot like a 13" M2 MacBook Air without a MagSafe 3 port, and with a Touch Bar.

Now the 13" MBPs are gone. There is a 14" M3 MBP alongside the 14"/16" M3 {Pro/Max} MBPs. The {Pro/Max} MBPs seem to be drop-in replacements for their {M1/M2} {Pro/Max} predecessors.

Relative to the 13" M2 MBP, the 14" 'base' M3 chip MBP picked up:

• A M3 chip
• A 14" Liquid Retina display with 3024x1924 pixel resolution, mini-LED backlighting, and support for playing HDR video content
• A HDMI port and a SDXC slot
• Improvements to the sound system and FaceTime camera

It didn't pick up:

• A third USB4 (Thunderbolt) port
• Support for more than one external monitor
• The option to buy more than 24 GB of RAM

It also lost the Touch Bar (R.I.P.).

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Here is the answer Marques was looking for...

 

[Ronald Epstein]

One of my favorite vloggers gets knee-deep into the chips

 

[Robert Saccone]

Here is the answer Marques was looking for...

I wonder if Jeff Wozniak is Woz’s son?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Relative to the 13" M2 MBP, the 14" 'base' M3 chip MBP picked up:

• A HDMI port and a SDXC slot

In this aspect, I could definitely use a XQD/CFexpress slot instead, if they can only fit one or the other.

_Man_

 

[DaveF]

The new iMac would be a great upgrade from a 2017 27” Intel i5 iMac in every way except for the screen. I’m interested in upgrading next year. And that gives me time to see if the mini gets an m3 update and then I can have analysis paralysis over which way to go.

 

[Sam Posten]

Do you have link to Threads or other not-twitter place, for those of us who don’t use that service anymore?

No

 

[DaveF]

No

Surprised. Lots of takes on last nights announcement on Threads. Mastodon had lots of tech nerds when I was using it this summer. Blue sky…I don’t know probably but I haven’t bothered to find people to follow there.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Surprised. Lots of takes on last nights announcement on Threads. Mastodon had lots of tech nerds when I was using it this summer. Blue sky…I don’t know probably but I haven’t bothered to find people to follow there.

I have had a Mastodon account for at least 5 years, long before Twitter/X was supposed to be bad (IMO, in many ways X has actually improved from years ago lately -- excellent live video support that did not exist before; better quality For You, etc.). But I am always open to others. Threads: continues to not have iPad support -- IMO this dates all the way back to Facebook buying Instagram and deciding to stick it to Apple by refusing to support the iPad. That's where I do most of my social media stuff -- never on the iPhone.

BlueSky, I'd love to try, but nobody has invited me to join. If anybody can invite me to BlueSky, please do -- I am open to try it out. Same with Threads -- the moment it has a native iPad app, I'd be interested, but I seriously doubt Meta's owner will change his mind.

 

[Ted Todorov]

So I am definitely going to get the 14" MacBookPro: I am still using a (by now) ancient intel MacBook Pro (and will continue to use for Aperture and MPEGStreamclip). Because of my vast amount of photos/videos that I still actively edit/view I need the 8TB SSD version -- and have been too scared to find out exactly how much it costs.

The problem, as far as I can tell, is that you are forced to pay for the M3 Max CPU so is to be eligible for the 8TB SSD. This was not the case with the Mac Studio -- I got the 8TB storage with the low end CPU, thus definitely saving big bucks.