Upcoming MBP13 with M3 going to have more Pro features with higher price

[TigeRick]

Current MacBook lineup are following:-

• MBA 13" with M2 (8+256) @ $1,099
• MBA 15" with M2 (8+256) @ $1,299
• MBP 13" with M2 (8+256) @ $1,299 ---> MBP 13" with M3 (12+512) @ $1,499 ???

It is actually very un-Apple to have lineup with similar price points, and I think we can expect Apple to address the issue with M3 MacBook Pro 13" by upselling it. M3 actually has lots of new features beside performance (CPU and GPU) upgrade:

• max of 32GB LPDDR5x-8533 support (my speculation) Seem like Apple will continue using LPDDR5
• dual display output
• > 20 TOPS neural engine
• better sustained performance than Air thanks to cooling fan
• longest battery life
• Ray tracing support

Above are features come from M3 SoC, below are my thoughts of specs Apple could change:

• MagSafe
• 13.6/14.2" LED with notch
• removal of Touch Bar
• 1080p Facetime HD
• Face ID?
• More speakers
• Wi-Fi 6E and BT5.3
• HDMI
• SDXC

As you can see, Apple has lots of potential features could add to MBP13 to make it more "Pro" and thus higher base price. I would expect Apple to price it at $1,499. The only question is does it comes with 8+256 config?

What do you think of upcoming MBP 13???

 

[kitKAC]

They'll get rid of it.

 

[gpat]

You're basically asking for a lower spec of MBP 14" with M3 instead of M3 Pro.
Sure, wouldn't be the craziest idea, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[slythfox]

I would expect them to get rid of it. They've also got to consolidate the iPad product line, too. Apple has this habits of letting some product lines slip, and then sometimes reintroducing them again later.

 

[DHagan4755]

It might make more sense for Apple to plop the regular M3 in the 14" MacBook Pro & offer that at a $1,699ish price point. That way you get the active cooling for the M3 + Mini LED + possibly promotion. They could even keep the SD card slot & HDMI ports too.

Should Apple revamp the 13" though it'll probably be a thicker version of the 13" MacBook Air to accommodate the cooling fan. Personally the 14" idea seems more appealing.

 

[TigeRick]

It might make more sense for Apple to plop the regular M3 in the 14" MacBook Pro & offer that at a $1,699ish price point. That way you get the active cooling for the M3 + Mini LED + possibly promotion. They could even keep the SD card slot & HDMI ports too.

Should Apple revamp the 13" though it'll probably be a thicker version of the 13" MacBook Air to accommodate the cooling fan. Personally the 14" idea seems more appealing.

Interesting thought....if Apple opt for 14.2" MBP chassis, then Apple will make upcoming MBP slot in between 13.6" and 15.3" with Pro features to justify higher price. Although I don't think Mini-LED and Promotion will be included; these are features remained exclusive for $2K above MBP....

 

[TigeRick]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/gurman-apple-to-announce-new-macs-this-month.2408323/

Let's hope Gurman is right about Mac this round; He also mentioned about low supply of 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro. This fit my speculation of first MacBook to feature M3 would be MacBook Pro 13, just how many Pro features would be available is up in the air....

One thing Gurman never understands is when Apple announced price cut for MBA 13 last June, Apple is expecting at least one year before making changes to MBA lineup, thus my prediction is we should be expecting new MBA lineup in WWDC next year....

 

[CrankyHermit]

I think it's a safe bet that the MBP 13" will quietly fade into the sunset.... The MBP 14" with a base M3 is an interesting idea, though!

 

[OrenLindsey]

I think this would be super cool, although I can't see them giving it ProMotion. Bt5.3 is already on all the M2 machines except the 13" Pro by the way, although Wifi 6e is only on the 14" and 16" Pros. Also, I don't see them putting extra ports in, though it would be cool. They would probably keep the same number of ports and upgrade them to thunderbolt 4 (maybe 5? fingers crossed).

 

[nph]

If there is a M3 13" tomorrow I will upgrade right away!

 

[donawalt]

Gurman has been pretty specific recently that there will NOT be a 13" introduced Monday...

No M3 13-inch MacBook Pro at 'Scary Fast' event, says Gurman

Despite previous predictions of an M3 refresh for the 13-inch MacBook Pro at Apple's October event, a new report says it's still in development and is unlikely to be unveiled soon.

appleinsider.com

 

[DHagan4755]

Gurman has been pretty specific recently that there will NOT be a 13" introduced Monday...

No M3 13-inch MacBook Pro at 'Scary Fast' event, says Gurman

Despite previous predictions of an M3 refresh for the 13-inch MacBook Pro at Apple's October event, a new report says it's still in development and is unlikely to be unveiled soon.

appleinsider.com

So what if... What if the 14" MacBook Pro is getting the regular M3 replacing the 13" MacBook Pro altogether? A man can dream, right?!

 

[Chancha]

So what if... What if the 14" MacBook Pro is getting the regular M3 replacing the 13" MacBook Pro altogether? A man can dream, right?!

You can dream, but according to that link above, Gurman says the 13” is in the pipeline, already has a codename even.

 

[TigeRick]

I didn't know about codename J504 until Gurman said there won't have new MBP13 in the event.

Clearly there are reasons for Apple to redesign MBP13 and I have listed all the possible features above, you could pick your choices

So far we know upcoming iMac and MBP 14/16 are not getting hardware redesign, mainly the upgrades are on the M3/Pro/Max SoC and bigger RAM. That's why redesign MBP13 should be star of the show, let's hope Apple managed to fool Gurnam once again.....we should know by tomorrow

 

[TigeRick]

Damn, MBP14 with M3, we are right about 14" chassis with M3, now waiting for prices

 

[CalMin]

13" MBP is gone from the line-up. It was an older pre-Apple silicon design, so that's no surprise. It had only sustained performance advantages over an M2 Air anyway that that's a very niche differentiator.

 

[TigeRick]

Yeah, Apple fooled Gurnam once again with MBP14 with M3 SoC