The most recent MacBook Professional laptops are right here powered by the brand new M4, M4 Professional, and M4 Max Apple Silicon. Along with extra highly effective and environment friendly CPUs/GPUs, these MacBook Professional machines have longer battery life, Thunderbolt 5 (with M4 Professional/Max chips), a nano-texture show choice, a brand new webcam, and extra. Learn on for an in-depth have a look at what’s new with the M4 MacBook Professional vs M3 MacBook Professional lineup plus a purchaser’s information.
M4 MacBook Professional vs M3 MacBook Professional laptops
CPU, GPU, reminiscence, neural engine
The brand new M4 Apple Silicon household options choices starting from 10 to 16-core CPUs, 10 to 40-core GPUs, and 16 to 128GB of unified reminiscence.
A pleasant transfer right here is the bottom machines beginning with 16GB reminiscence.
Right here’s the breakdown of the brand new M4 specs vs M3:
| M4 MacBook Professional | M3 MacBook Professional | |
| Chip/CPU | M4, M4 Professional, or M4 Max – as much as 16-core | M3, M3 Professional, or M3 Max – as much as 16-core |
| Storage | As much as 8TB | As much as 8TB |
| Unified reminiscence | As much as 128GB | As much as 128GB |
| Reminiscence bandwidth | As much as 547GB/s | As much as 400GB/s |
| GPU | As much as 40-core with hardware-accelerated ray tracing | As much as 40-core with hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| Media engine | {Hardware}-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, Video decode engine, 2x video encode engines, 2x ProRes encode and decode engines, AV1 decode | {Hardware}-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, Video decode engine, 2x video encode engines, 2x ProRes encode and decode engines, AV1 decode |
| Neural engine | 16-core | 16-core |
| Apple Intelligence | ✅ | ✅ |
Apple says “The CPUs throughout the M4 household characteristic the world’s quickest CPU core, delivering the business’s finest single-threaded efficiency, and dramatically quicker multithreaded efficiency.”
And “The GPUs construct on the breakthrough graphics structure launched within the earlier technology, with quicker cores and a 2x quicker ray-tracing engine.”
We’ll dig into I/O extra beneath however the brand new M4 MacBook Professional laptops carry Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, reminiscence bandwidth as much as 574GB/s, and a Neural Engine as much as 2x quicker than the M3 household.
With M4 Professional, Apple says duties like 3D visualization are as much as 30% quicker than M3 Professional, and the M4 Max CPU and GPU are as much as 20% quicker than the M3 Max.
Show
The brand new M4 MacBook Professional fashions share a lot of the similar options that we’ve seen since 2021 with the Liquid Retina XDR Show, ProMotion with as much as 120Hz refresh charges, a 254 pixel per inch density, and slim bezels.
In 2023, the M3 MacBook Professional fashions had one foremost enchancment – a 20% brighter display that shows SDR content material at as much as 600 nits which matches the Studio Show for constant brightness.
New for 2024 with the M4 MacBook Professional laptops is the choice for the nano-texture show plus an out of doors SDR brightness of as much as 1000 nits (beforehand at 600).
| 14″ M4 MacBook Professional | 14″ M3 MacBook Professional | 16″ M4 MacBook Professional | 16″ M3 MacBook Professional | |
| Precise display dimension | 14.2″ | 14.2″ | 16.2″ | 16.2″ |
| Nano-texture choice | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Decision | 3024 x 1964 | 3024 x 1964 | 3456 x 2234 | 3456 x 2234 |
| Facet Ratio | 16:10 + notch | 16:10 + notch | 16:10 + notch | 16:10 + notch |
| PPI | 254 | 254 | 254 | 254 |
| Nits (brightness) | 1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak for HDR; SDR as much as 1000 outside | 1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak for HDR; SDR 600 | 1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak for HDR; SDR as much as 1000 outside | 1000 sustained, as much as 1600 peak for HDR; SDR 600 |
| Liquid Retina XDR show | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| ProMotion (as much as 120Hz) | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| mini-LED backlit | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| True Tone | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| P3 large colour | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
The newest MacBook Professionals include a notch on the high heart of the show for the 12MP Heart Stage digital camera similar to earlier fashions.
Sadly, Face ID has nonetheless not arrived with the M4 MacBook Professional laptops.
MacBook Professional I/O
The M4 MacBook Professional fashions characteristic the identical ports with the identical format because the M3 and M2 MacBook Professional.
That features an HDMI port, SDXC card reader, and MagSafe. There are additionally 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C 4 ports.
Nonetheless, the M4 Professional and M4 Max MacBook Professional fashions have been upgraded with Thunderbolt 5:
These ports can ship as much as 120GB/s efficiency. The opposite main I/O improve is a 12MP Heart Stage digital camera.
| 14″ M4 MacBook Professional | 14″ M3 MacBook Professional | 16″ M4 MacBook Professional | 16″ M3 MacBook Professional | |
| Magic Keyboard | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Contact ID | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 12MP Heart Stage digital camera with Desk View | ✅ 1080p | ❌ | ✅ 1080p | ❌ |
| FaceTime digital camera | – | 1080p | – | 1080p |
| Thunderbolt/USB-C ports | 3x Thunderbolt 5 (3x Thunderbolt 4 for M3 fashions) | 3x Thunderbolt 4 (2 for M3 fashions) | 3x Thunderbolt 5 | 3x Thunderbolt 4 |
| HDMI | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| SDXC card reader | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| MagSafe charging | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) |
| Exterior show help | M4 and M4 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 1 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI
or 1 exterior show at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI M4 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows: As much as 3 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI or As much as 3 exterior shows: As much as 2 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI |
M3: One exterior show at as much as 6K/60Hz
M3 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 1 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI M3 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows: 3 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or |
M4 and M4 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 1 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI
or 1 exterior show at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI M4 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows: As much as 3 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI or As much as 3 exterior shows: As much as 2 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI |
M3 Professional: As much as 2 exterior shows at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt, or 1 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or 1 at 8K/60Hz or 1 at 4K/240Hz over HDMI
M3 Max: As much as 4 exterior shows: 3 at 6K/60Hz over Thunderbolt and 1 at 4K/144Hz over HDMI, or |
Colours, dimension, and weight
Bodily dimensions are the identical between the M4 and M3 MacBook Professional laptops.
Whereas Apple saved the brand new Area Black colour for the high-end in 2023, the entire M4 MacBook Professional laptops are available in Silver or Area Black.
Right here’s the breakdown of colours, dimension, and weight:
| 14″ M4 MacBook Professional | 14″ M3 MacBook Professional | 16″ M4 MacBook Professional | 16″ M3 MacBook Professional | |
| Weight | M4: 3.4 kilos (1.55 kg) M4 Professional: 3.5 kilos (1.60 kg) M4 Max: 3.6 kilos (1.62 kg) |
M3: 3.4 kilos (1.55 kg) M3 Professional: 3.5 kilos (1.61 kg) M3 Max: 3.6 kilos (1.62 kg) |
M4 Professional: 4.7 kilos (2.14 kg) M4 Max: 4.7 kilos (2.15 kg) |
M3 Professional: 4.7 kilos (2.14 kg) M3 Max: 4.8 kilos (2.16 kg) |
| Thickness | 0.61 inch (1.55 cm) | 0.61 inch (1.55 cm) | 0.66 inch (1.68 cm) | 0.66 inch (1.68 cm) |
| Width | 12.31 inches (31.26 cm) | 12.31 inches (31.26 cm) | 14.01 inches (35.57 cm) | 14.01 inches (35.57 cm) |
| Depth | 8.71 inches (22.12 cm) | 8.71 inches (22.12 cm) | 9.77 inches (24.81 cm) | 9.77 inches (24.81 cm) |
| Show dimension | 14.2 inches | 14.2 inches | 16.2 inches | 16.2 inches |
| Finishes | Silver or Area Black | Silver or Area Grey for M3, Area Black or Silver for M3 Professional and M3 Max | Silver or Area Black | Silver or Area Grey for M3, Area Black or Silver for M3 Professional and M3 Max |
Battery life
Battery life will get a bump throughout the board with the M4 MacBook Professional laptops providing the longest runtimes but:
| | 14″ M4 MacBook Professional | 14″ M3 MacBook Professional | 14″ M4 Professional/Max MacBook Professional | 14″ M3 Professional/Max MacBook Professional | 16″ M4 Professional/Max MacBook Professional | 16″ M3 Professional/Max MacBook Professional |
| Wi-fi internet battery | 16 hours | 15 hours | 14/13 hours | 12 hours | 17/14 hours | 15 hours |
| Video playback | 24 hours | 22 hours | 22/18 hours | 18 hours | 24/21 hours | 22 hours |
| Energy adapter | 70W or 96W | 70W or 96W | 70W or 96W | 70W or 96W | 140W | 140W |
| Battery capability | 72.4Wh | 70Wh | 72.4Wh | 70Wh | 100Wh | 100Wh |
| Quick charging | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Value
The bottom configurations begin on the similar $1,599 and $2,499 for the 14 and 16″ M4 MacBook Professional fashions.
However customized builds may be costlier with the brand new nano-texture improve that runs $150.
| Mannequin/worth | 14″ M4 MacBook Professional | 14″ M3 MacBook Professional | 16″ M4 MacBook Professional | 16″ M3 MacBook Professional |
| Base | From $1,599 | From $1,599 | From $2,499 | From $2,499 |
| Customized builds | As much as $7,049 | As much as $6,899 | As much as $7,349 | As much as $7,199 |
M4 MacBook Professional vs M3: Purchaser’s information
Causes to purchase
When you’re knowledgeable (or aspiring professional) who wants the most recent and best from Apple, the improve could also be price it. And the M3 MacBook Professional laptops can be very spectacular for these coming from an Intel or an M1 MacBook.
M4 MacBook Professional upgrades:
- Newest and best Apple Silicon
- Thunderbolt 5
- Nano-texture show choice
- 12MP Heart Stage digital camera
- Longer battery life
Causes to go
For individuals who have already got an M3 or M2 Professional/Max MacBook Professional and/or don’t have workflows that require the best possible efficiency, it’s doubtless one of the best match to maintain what you will have or go for a MacBook Air.
Deciding on specs
For these uncertain about which M4 MacBook Professional specs to choose, you will get the identical CPU/GPU with the M4 Professional and M4 Max within the 14 and 16-inch fashions. The principle distinction in value is the upgraded GPU energy together with the extra succesful media engine and elevated exterior show help with the M4 Max chip.
In relation to unified reminiscence, in case you have medium to heavy workflows and/or plan to maintain your new MacBook Professional for a number of years (or extra), going with 24GB or extra will doubtless be definitely worth the improve.
Yow will discover the brand new MacBook Professional at Apple and shortly at Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and extra.
Thanks for studying our M4 MacBook Professional vs M3 MacBook Professional comparability!
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