M3 MacBook Pro: Apple Needs To Stop Doing This. 

If you're curious about the differences between 8GB vs 16GB vs 24GB of RAM on these MacBooks, I did a deep-dive comparison video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jEbdbuzZCXE.html

The lack of 12GB of base memory on the M3 Macs is a huge shame :(

Finally a tech channel standing up for the consumer against this 8GB ram robbery, i was feeling gaslit by other tech channels telling me the 8GB m-chip ram is enough at $1600.

The M1 macbook air from 2020 is still the way to go for 90% of users.

No pro device should come with 8gb of ram, for the price of any of the pro line should come with an entry level 16gb - To do anything less is just taking the piss

2000€ in Europe for the base MacBook Pro with just 8 GB is a fukin joke

I cannot even add additional 8 gb or ram in my country… so, all depends on which models retailers will sell…

Pretty typical Apple ladder pricing, the next step in features and performance is "so close" that "I might as well get the upgrade right?" If anyone that's been using Apple laptops for years doesn't know exactly what they're gonna need by now, then by all means, get that maxed out 16" M3 max....to watch Netflix and answer emails.🤷🏽‍♂

What Apple is doing is smart. They know that most people will pay $200 for another 8GB. That's why they are the most valuable company in the world.

Im going to wait until next year and see what they do with the air…

Even my old 2014 MacBook Pro came with 16GB RAM. And it runs out of RAM with simple tasks as it’s using Intel processor and had a dedicated video card.

The low spec RAM and SSD for the price is very scummy. The upgrade prices are criminal. I was seriously looking at Apple for the efficiency. But it just doesn't make sense.

There is also the 14" M2 Pro as well which should be about the same price or a refurb as you note which might be the same price or cheaper!

I would love to see how the Base M3 14” compares to the M2 Pro 14” - specifically on performance and battery life for every day tasks - not power user - but like a normal business/consumer may use.

In Europe it is even worse ... where I live the starting price for MacBook Pro 14 inch M3 is 2049 euro .. for only 8Gig or unified memory and 512 SSD .. too little for the money

8GB is fine, but not for 1600 It should have been an 800 or 900 dollars machine, it is entry level for casual users, should even pass the 1000 mark because in some markets, like Europe, it is always more expensive

I guess Apple wants another quarter of poor Mac sales.

Me: Laughs in Dell G15 gaming laptop with 32 GB of user upgradeable RAM

8GB of ram on the M3 and fewer performance cores on the M3 Pro has made me really hesitant to which of the new MacBooks to even go for, making me wait for the reviews to come in instead.

personally I think if I were to get the new MacBook Pro 14" id just upgrade the RAM to 16gb and get the base m3 14" MacBook Pro. if you're someone that really wants the 14" due to getting the ram and SSD needed, along with the bigger size, port selection, ray tracing, dynamic caching as well as mesh shading, and add in the extra 4hrs battery life in comparison to say the m2 MacBook Air, so for me this option is actually great as long as I'm upgrading the ram, so I do agree, but I think this is still the best available option for quite a few users out there

I really hoped they will release M3 Macbook Air with 12GB RAM in base configuration next year. But this M3 Macbook Pro with 8GB RAM tells us the opposite...

Not sure 8GB is enough for daily tasks these days. I got 4 communicators opened cause I got people on each of them exclusively. 4 maybe 5 tabs in google chrome. And I got already almost 2GB of swap used. Whey I want to edit anything in Davinci (like 30 seconds short) I have to close all other apps ... the rumor about 12GB has been sweet, but unfortunately haven't been fulfilled :(.

8gb for an Air, quite ok. But 8gb for a Pro device in 2023, unacceptable…

It’s ridiculous that Apple sells any pro model without a minimum 12GB RAM and 512GB SSD.

I have no proof to support this idea, but it's likely TSMC yields for 3nm and binning makes this the best option right now. TSMC and Apple figured out how to best use chips with defects. As 3nm yields get better, M4 base model should come with more memory. The other option is to throw away chips with defects, which feels dumb and wasteful. There are plenty of people that just want a simple macbook for web and email.

Of course, I would prefer that Apple includes a standard 12 GB, or even 16 GB of memory. If someone is an advanced user (video editor, developer, runs virtual machines, etc.), it's clear that they will need more than 8 GB. But I wouldn't be surprised if that represents less than a third of users (a number completely plucked from thin air without any survey basis). But to be honest, a business owner, a salesperson, an accountant, an HR person are professionals just as much as the others, but they might not necessarily have such high requirements. However, a better screen, improved speakers, longer battery life, and more ports are very significant features that could sway them to choose an M3 MacBook Pro over an Air. As a tech enthusiast, we might complain, but only the sales figures in a year will tell if this was indeed a problem and only the feedback from users will determine if it was actually an issue. I don't wish to defend Apple; again, I would prefer more RAM by default, but I'm not sure that our opinion as tech enthusiasts isn't biased.

My MacBook Air m2 has lost its maximum battery capacity from 100% to 95% in 4 months please tell how can I improve my battery health.

Is the anodized paint finish (especially the space black version) have the same issue with scratches as the new iphone 15?

Glad to know I'm not the only one who saw a problem with that price reveal lol

Does the anodized space black finish scratch as easily as the one on the new iphone 15s?

While not everyones workflow can use the power of m3 pro/max chips, any workflow can benefit from more ram. 12 gb at the least. While yes 16 *should* be the default start, 12 is a decent starting point for most ppl who may not be tech savvy but have enough needs to buy a laptop over buying an ipad. An ipad can have 8gb memory and be satisfied with that. Its meant to be a one application at a time device. Not running multiple resource intensive applications simultaneously. Where as the needs of a laptop can vary and spike drastically.

Really thought we were going to get 12GB M3 base this time around...

1) 1600 for 8GB is VERY expensive 2) Apple is known for overpriced upgrades, they can charge 4x what real RAM costs on upgrades 3) with those two you can conclude that all MacBooks are overpriced, skip this generation, the base is too expensive and upgrades are too expensive making everything unjustifiably high priced

I’m so incredibly disappointed in what apple did and I hope they listen to the masses. This was seriously such a greedy move I feel. I wish I could grab an M2 pro 14 inch now, refurbished are an excellent deal atm. But I can’t 😑. Waiting for next year, and really hope it gets better. I’m a huge apple fan too but this… Edit and being in Australia- the prices & differences are massive

you made me feel better for buying 18GB memory Space Black MBP! totally agree on your points

I just opened the system monitor and checked my current RAM usage (Linux), and it was 14.4GB of RAM and 4.7GB of Swap. I have opened a couple of FireFox windows and two IDE's and some other things. Yeah, for a computer priced above $1000, it should come with 16GB by default in 2023.

This situation is very similar to when Apple released the M2 MacBook Air. It was a small spec bump over the M1 MBA but it had the new form factor that was the real selling point. But when you started spec'ing it up the price was soon in Pro territory. As you pointed out, the refurbished M1 MBP 14 is a great option. I picked one up on eBay from one of their certified sellers, an A+ model that is in like new condition and has great specs, and saved a bucket of money.

Seems extremely dumb for them to sell it as a Pro laptop without the Pro branded CPU. Imagine buying a Pro iPhone and it came with a gimped CPU. Apple’s product stack is getting way too convoluted for their MacBooks. Give the Air models the base M chips with upgrades to the Pro chips. Give the Pro models the M Pro chips with upgrades to the Max chips. Do the same thing with the Mac Mini vs Mac Studio. I know this probably won’t happen but the default RAM should be 16GB across the lineup. This still allows Apple to do their bogus RAM pricing scheme while not screwing over the masses. Charge $200 for 32GB, $400 for 64GB, and $800 for 128GB. This definitely will not happen because Apple wants to sell iCloud. But default storage should also be 1TB, and again they can still continue their scam. $200 for 2TB, $400 for 4TB, $800 for 8TB. There’s just too many ways to configure the MacBooks at the moment most of which don’t make sense anyways.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro, powered by the M3 chip, would be better suited with the name "MacBook" without the "Pro" label. The most enticing configuration, in my opinion, is the high-end variant featuring a 16-Core CPU and a 40-Core GPU. This SKU offers uncompromised performance and truly harnesses the capabilities of Apple Silicon. The new M3 APU places a strong emphasis on Ray Tracing, which promises significant benefits for gaming and 3D rendering (I can't wait to see the Blender test results). However, it's worth noting that the M3 and M3 Pro chips don't exhibit substantial differences when compared to their M2 and M2 Pro counterparts. In some aspects, they might even represent a downgrade from the previous generation. It's reasonable to suspect that Apple may be taking this approach to reduce manufacturing costs, increase their profit margins, and encourage "professional" users to opt for the pricier configurations.

Just go to the education store. Still expensive, but far more reasonable. I ordered the M3 Pro with 32ram/1tb with AppleCare and Pro Apps (far over spec’d but I had the cash for future-proofing) for the price of the regular model with the same specs without AppleCare or Pro Apps and it’ll be my first Macbook, so I’m interested in comparing it to my alternative (Lenovo Leg. Slim 7i) but my work uses Apple, so it’ll be much easier for me to just get an Apple computer… I did have an M2 Pro for a couple weeks but changed my mind… then changed it again and was literally walking into the Apple Store when I saw the Scary Fast event announcement, so I waited and ordered… I think I’ll really like it when I get used to MacOS (which is not much diff than Windows tbh).. anyway… Point is… SHOP AROUND! Different stores have different discounts and other savings options, even on Apple products. And I don’t encourage going into debt, but I also think you should get the best specs you can afford.. even if that’s the base option, future proof as much as possible.

Curious to see how Snapdragon Elite X laptops measure up to Apple's ARM based machines.. but 8GB in a modern "Pro" laptop this expensive is disgusting.

Any thoughts on the new MacBook Air M3 chip?

Imagine they decide to start the air at $999 😭😭

Apple always did a trick to face people's criticism. May be Mr. Tim Cook loves to hear public criticized 😂

The M3 memory has 150GB/s memory bandwidth, compared to 200GB/s on the M1 Pro and M2 Pro, why is that??

My MacBook I have has 8GB ram. That was 10 years ago...

Just a heads up: the thumbnail says $1699 but it's $1599

Yeah, this just suggests the M3 Ipad Pro with 12-16 gb base memory is off the table already.

RAM and hard drive size are where Apple rips off its customers. It makes me dislike Apple intensely.

m3 pro base model is the real deal , 11 core cpu, 14 core new gpu, 3 thunderbolt 4 ports, bigger battery, 18 GB ram, 512 GB SSD , either buy this or save all your money and buy $700 m1 air

I would rather pay but it depends what I’m paying for. Family subscriptions are so helpful

Trying to scam people by advertising the 14 inch MB Pro M3 starting at $1600 is just classic Apple behaviour, when the true price is $1800. And I DO NOT agree that 8 GB RAM is enough in 2023. Having 8GB will likey 90% of the time result in using SWAP memory which is part of a reserved storage on the actual SSD and will further decreas its lifespan. And when the SSD dies, the MB Pro is just an expensive paperweight. At the end its Apple that is the actual winner, not its beloved consumer base.

8GB in 2023 is just insanely stupid especially when you consider its unified memory e.g. shared with the GPU as well

poor people who needs the XDR display to work

If you take the 15-in M2 MacBook Air and bump its spec to match the 14-in M3 "Pro" you're looking at A$200 difference. For that extra $200 you get quite a bit more capability in the M3. Then going for 16GB memory in both adds A$300 each, there's still a $200 difference. There are currently no 14-in MacBook Pros available on the Apple Certified Refurbished store in Australia.

Would be awesome if you can review 14 in macbook pro m3 max!!! not pro version but the max one! interesting how it performs at a heavy load. Cause i use now 16 inch m1 max , because my last 14 inch m1 max was overheating very very fast on my daily use (i use many MANY chrome tabs with heavy graphics on them also some third party browsers for my work, so it is ridiculus for me when reviewers tell that macbook pro m1 max is not heating on daily usage! i would say it is overheating! i couldn't stay my hands on the keyboard comfortable on 14 inch max version, now on 16 inch m1 max i use a program called TG pro which allows meto adjust the fans accoding the temperatures of the laptom, and i would say that 99% of the time my fans are from 2300 to 2800 rpm when i use it on a daily bases. And average cpu temp is from 60 to 70 . I am very interested if new 14 inch m3 MAX would be more COOL or as hot as previous 14 inch.....

8gb is not fine. Just see the disk swapping amount on 8gb machines vs 16gb, even with light tasks such as 10 tabs in safari, excel, word etc.

8 gbs can be fine but it depends on the price in this case it is not.

You 200% correct.

Is anyone else having performance issues with MacOS Sonoma and a Macbook Air M1 (16 gigs of ram and 512 gig ssd)? My problem is every time an app updates (Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Office etc) they take forever to open each time going forward until I run a manual Time Machine backup. The next day after a full shut down of the system and boot up all apps open again with one bounce of the icon. So not sure what is going on.

For someone eyeing the base M3 MacBook Pro and doesn't want to downgrade to the 15" MacBook Air, just go for the M2 Pro MacBook Pro. The performance should be better or similar but with more RAM and support for one extra display.

I love my Mac mini m2 base model and 8 is enough for my use case but its just so ridiculously greedy to force people to upgrade the overpriced ram on an already premium device with the name pro.

All valid points on the M3 Pro. Just as the outgoing 13” Pro was a throwback misfit so the new 14” M3 is neither fish nor fowl. Worth pointing out as well that the M3 Pro has been downgraded both in terms of core count and memory bandwidth. How this affects performance etc we don’t yet know but it does look as though Apple is reducing value as steadily as they’re increasing prices.

Macbook "Pro" with a non-pro M3 chip and 8Gb of memory... Come on Apple 😅

I agree that more ram is better, and I agree that these computer main reason to exist it's to be bad value that drives you to the m3 pro, however the amount of people that I see that got macbook pros with 16, 32 even 64gb on the premise that they would do extremely demanding projects, and end up editing a couple 10 minute 4k videos and a few pictures, it's fairly high. And to be fair a better screen it's a good reason to consider this i instead of an air, also macbook air with 512gb storage are super close in price to this macbook 14. And let's face it, if you bought a macbook pro with 8gb ram, you probably don't need more RAM , anyone that actually works with heavy tasks that I've met understands basic stuff, at least something like, RAM needs to be at least X amount for my tasks not to suck, everyone that don't even know that much, probably don't actually work with tasks that need that much power. I'm sure there are some exceptions like teens getting into it, but the 300 bucks they'll lost reselling their new computers that don't actually do what they expect will be their stupidity and lack of research tax.

honestly makes me feel a little better about my 8gb ram m1 macbook air lol

Just maybe there are consumers out there that are shopping the 15” Air. $1499 US. But wait! You mean I can get an M3 chip with a better screen, pro-motion, HDMI and SD card slot for $1599 US? Why wouldn’t I spend the extra $100 and get the Pro M3 base. I think you might be looking at this model from the wrong perspective.

LOL sure took a while for someone to talk about this 😂

Make a video on m3 ultra 192gb and try running gta5 in parallels desktop I want to see if it is better than before and I don't mean crossover just parallels.

I live in NZ and the base m3 MacBook Pro with 8gb for $3200 is just rubbish!

can someone explain to me the limitation of it ?

I luv it. Orange Works, Inc. has pulled another fast one: A $1,500 Chrome book with no chrome--just space black, no touch screen-good ole fashioned Non touch screen (keeps finger print count low on this model). Just like the good ole' Carnival-Carnie days. Now u can get the same thrill for $1599 to be exact. Hurry, hurry, ladies & gentlemen. Get yours before the show leaves town! 😎😎

8GB of RAM is not fine and a normal user does use much more. If you have 16GB your system will cache more and it will be more responsive. What would a normal person use? Microsoft Word and safari boom 8GB is already used up. Anything more and your system is swapping the whole time to disk.

The only reason the MacBook Pro 14" base config exists is for businesses who want to buy MacBooks BUT want “Pro” in the name without paying a higher price or getting an “Air” because we all know “Air” isn’t “Professional” and “I’m a professional and I need a Professional laptop to write emails” look at my leather bound briefcase 💼.

What you’re paying for here are the upgraded display, speakers, cooling system, and the name pro. Remember that there are some people who want a MacBook Pro just to have a MacBook Pro.

I am fed up with that 8 GB!

Everything is pushing users to the max model. Once you spec the M3 a little you might as well buy a M3 pro. Oh wait the M3 pro got nerfed this year and is almost no better than a M2 pro. Guess i better upgrade again to the max to get real performance gains I couldn’t get on any last gen M chip

They did it because today’s investors meeting didn’t do so hot. There was a rumor about just that (forgot who the source was), turns out, they may have been correct on that.

I think the only one external screen is its bigger sinn then the 8GB storage. Either get a proper Pro/Max or buy an MacBook Air (either wait for the M3, but the M2 is not a bad deal either, 13" or 15" depending on your size preference, hack Apple even still sells the M1 Air themselves, it does not have this introduding notch and upgrading memory is cheaper).

The new 14” pro makes zero sense. The 2021 base is better.. how’s that work. And they are asking $1,600 for 8/256 That’s messed up. No one buying a pro machine should even have 8gb as an option.

Apple should really be embarassed for offering 8 gb of ram and 512gb of storage for 1600. Any windows laptop for that price comes with a high end 30 series gpu like a 3080ti or a 40 series, 32gb of ram and easily 2tb. Apple needs to be called out more and shamed for their outrageous price gouging and greed. Any machine over 1k should start at 16gb of ram and 512gb of storage, arguably 1tb honestly.

Apple should just release a 14” and 16” shell and let customers choose the specs they want at the price they want, instead of launching different ranges of laptops. Apple is a computer manufacturer after all!

The speed/power upgrades with the new M3 and the better screen make it worth while.

A pro machine without a pro chip, and only 8GB of ram, so Apple.

If the standard is 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD I am inclined to switch. With this once again dumb nickel and diming move I am sticking with Lenovo/Windows. When that day comes when I do plan to get a Mac I am going to get it used. I am not submitting to Apple.

Why buy a pro for everyday tasks though? Bloody should’ve been 12gb

It’s devious but it’s their marketing ploy to upsell the next (the real) 14” MBP model. Wish Apple didn’t do this though as it just attracts bad press

Apple talks about being environmentally friendly and then builds intentionally under specced computers that will need to be replaced sooner.

Apple lost me with the notch. I love their products, but the notch is just… ghetto

They should’ve just given us 16GB of RAM instead of 512GB of storage

2012 macbook pro 8gb 2023 macbook pro 8gb

A laptop called "pro", but use 8g memory, that is…funny

They don't care. Pay to play

It's just a MacBook Air with extra steps.

M3 MBP have 22hrs battery life. XDR display, People will still complain. LOL If you just do programming (non GPU intensive), light video work, and browse the web ... do you really need M3Pro? Battery life is a big win.

I was waiting for the next generation to hopefully get an m3 pro 14, now I realise they removed 2 performance cores and one got core from the m3 pro so its not even much of an upgrade from the m2 pro 😂

Better be ready to pay the apple tax and cough up another $400 for that 24Gbyte of memory. I mean you are a PRO right.. Seriously Apple... 8Gbyte on a PRO model?

I priced the M3 base with my military discount and can get if for $1,439 and 1,619 with the 16gb memory upgrade or I can get the M3 Pro for 1,799 with the discount. You can't get the base in black but you can with the pro and max.

Ok but for what it is, subtract 700$.

I ask people in my circle not to buy any Apple products. They are selling 3 year old 16gb/512gb MBA M1 almost at twice the price of 8gb/256gb in India.