Will the 14 inch MBP come into its own with M3?

[tommyparadise]

I'm in an almost never-ending research phase on next laptop to get - moving between 14 inch M2 Pro, 16 M2 Pro and 15 Air. I don't expect to land on an answer soon as I figure out what are must haves or things I can compromise on. I have this ridiculous notion of eventually owning a 16 and 14 to somehow recreate the glory days of 12 and 17 inch powerbooks.

Anyway, something I wondered reading about some of the reported challenges around battery and 14 - will the M3 processors potentially unlock better battery life? What are the thermal implications? Having a small footprint pro grade laptop with a battery that rivals current 16s would be ideal. Honestly the M3 thing is one of the main barriers to making a call on the 14 without really understanding too much about it. Is that a silly mindset?

I know no one actually knows the answer but keen to hear others' predictions and thoughts on m3 into the 14 body...

 

[dmr727]

I go the other way with it - I'm hoping Apple prioritizes performance, even if that means battery life doesn't improve. M3 still feels like a long way off, though - early to mid 2024?

 

[McScooby]

If battery concerns you, no question get the 16". I was pretty much the same way & got the 14" M1, but also have access to a 16".
If you haven't got a M powered MacBook yet, any one will be a major step up.
I got a refurb M1 as couldn't stomach the 25% price increase when the M2 launched earlier this year, but in relatively quick succession the M2 refurbs came available approx 2-3mths after launch - could I have waited sure, but my previous was on its last legs & despite knowing that the M2's are faster, the only thing I'm missing is the U1 chip in them for "find my".
Once you buy one, you'll never look back aside from kicking yourself that you waited this long, if it's that big a deal, get a M2 refurb now & punt it in a year for a M3 refurb but, if like me, you'll probably come to realise it's not that big an issue & keep it for longer.

 

[tommyparadise]

If battery concerns you, no question get the 16". I was pretty much the same way & got the 14" M1, but also have access to a 16".
If you haven't got a M powered MacBook yet, any one will be a major step up.
I got a refurb M1 as couldn't stomach the 25% price increase when the M2 launched earlier this year, but in relatively quick succession the M2 refurbs came available approx 2-3mths after launch - could I have waited sure, but my previous was on its last legs & despite knowing that the M2's are faster, the only thing I'm missing is the U1 chip in them for "find my".
Once you buy one, you'll never look back aside from kicking yourself that you waited this long, if it's that big a deal, get a M2 refurb now & punt it in a year for a M3 refurb but, if like me, you'll probably come to realise it's not that big an issue & keep it for longer.

Good points, cheers.

I have a MacBook Air M1 - the first ones that came out. And the battery in my opinion is still incredibly good a few years in. I just need an upgrade for bigger storage, bit more horsepower (I have a M1 Max studio now which despite recognising is a desktop high performance machine, has spoilt me a bit), and at least as good battery life as the first gen m1 MacBook Air.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Come into its own" ??
What's that supposed to mean?

My 2021 MBP 14" is just fine with the m1pro CPU...

 

[Chancha]

If I didn't read you wrong out of the many words you used, the one thing you are wondering is "battery life"?

The M2 Pro M2 Max gen actually differs from the M1 gen that they share the same number of e-cores as vanilla M2. Meaning with the "right" usage you are going to get battery life proportional to the battery size across all models. Then there is the macOS built-in low power mode when you need it, which essentially disable P-cores and reduce screen refresh rate to 60Hz or less. The result is the 14" went from "Intel-ish" battery life to "M1 Air-ish". Then the 16" M2 Pro, the 13" M3 touchbar, and the 15" M2 Air get ridiculous run time.

It is hard to imagine how much this can improve with the supposed 3nm efficiency, but you may be right that the 14" can see the biggest boost, since it right now it still a bit shy. The design choice Apple made on the 14" is to compromise battery amount in exchange for volume in the 2nd fan, speaker subwoofer chamber etc but still maintain the letter-size footprint. IMO they strike a particular sweetspot and I don't think they should change that.

So for you, you should look into the hard numbers in M2 Pro 14" battery life real world tests to see if you are satisfied with the current combination of this gen's chip efficiency vs its component distribution. If you don't then either wait for the 3nm, or use the 15" Air for now.

 

[Basic75]

@tommyparadise If you need more horsepower than an M1 Air then the M2 Air should not be on your list. I'd wager that in day-to-day use you wouldn't notice a difference in performance. Or, if that's not the case and you keep the M2 Air on your list, you might as well keep the M1 Air. Unless storage is a pressing issue.

Next, if you need a computer now, buy it now. If not, then not. Nobody outside of Apple really know how much better the M3 will be. Plus, picking the current 16" MBP as yardstick for battery life feels arbitrary. The 16" will always have more space for a battery, so the 16" M3 Pro will always last longer than a 14" M3 Pro.

 

[Siliconpsychosis]

Im pretty certain that apple silicon macs are at the point of very diminishing terms in the sense of battery life, as of now. If, for example, they stick with the same chassis and battery sizes as the current offerings for M3, we are already at the point that for light use (internet, youtube, word, excel type stuff) the Screen is already the main consumer of power, not the cpu. Sure, making the cpu more efficient will improve things overall, but it wont be a dramatic change like intel to M1 was at all.