Last generation aesthetics
The 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro is a fantastic laptop that will get all of your daily tasks done with ease. The last MacBook Pro with Apple's old design language, so you won't get the notched display or that industrial look that adds extra ports like HDMI. You will, however, get a Touch Bar, so it depends if you love the feature or loathe it. The M2 Base model MacBook Pro is now discontinued at Apple, so you'll be able to find some great deals, especially during shopping events like Black Friday.
For
- Cheaper
- Lighter
- Has the Touch Bar
Against
- No Liquid Retina XDR display
- Slower than M3
- Fewer ports
- Has the Touch Bar
Everything you could ever need
The 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro is an excellent upgrade that adds the faster M3 chip, a notched Liquid Retina XDR display, more ports, and Apple's newer hardware design language. It's more expensive than you'll find the previous generation's base model, but it may be worth the extra cash.
For
- Bigger screen
- Faster chip
- Excellent design
- More ports
- No Touch Bar
Against
- More expensive
- No Touch Bar
Apple announced the brand new M3 MacBook Pros at its "Scary Fast" event and, in doing so, replaced the base model MacBook Pro. The new M3 chip is the fastest chip Apple has ever made and includes some huge new performance additions like Dynamic Caching.
If you're in the market for a new MacBook Pro, there are a few options to choose from, and one of those might be to pick up the previous generation M2 13-inch model to save some cash.
We’ve put together a comparison so that you can make an informed decision and make sure that you purchase the right base model MacBook Pro for you.
13-inch MacBook Pro M2 vs 14-inch MacBook Pro M3: Specs
The M3 14-inch MacBook Pro replaces the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 as the base model MacBook Pro available via Apple. There's a lot to compare, including the brand-new M3 chip and the design differences, like the notched display.
| Specs | 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro | 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $1,299 | From $1,599 |
| Colors | Space Grey/Silver | Space Grey/Silver |
| Display | 13.3" Retina Display | 14.2" Liquid Retina XDR Display |
| Resolution | 2560x1600 pixels | 3024x1964 pixels |
| Chips | M2 | M3 |
| CPU | 8-core | 8-core |
| GPU | 10-core | 10-core |
| Unified Memory (size) | 8GB 16GB 24GB | 8GB 16GB 24GB |
| Unified Memory (speed) | 100GB/s | 100GB/s |
| SSD Storage | 256GB 512GB 1TB 2TB | 256GB 512GB 1TB 2TB |
| Battery life | Up to 20 hours | Up to 22 hours |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Touch Bar | Yes | No |
| FaceTime Camera | 720p | 1080p |
| Speakers | Stereo | Six-speaker sound system with woofers |
| Mic | Three-mic array | Three-mic array |
| 3.5mm headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard | 65 U.S. keys | 78 U.S. keys |
| Wireless | 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Ports | Thunderbolt/USB 4 x2 | Thunberbolt/USB 4 x2 |
| HDMI | No | Yes |
| SD Card Slot | No | Yes |
| Fast-charge | No | Yes |
The older M2 model is great for users who need power but don't need all the bells and whistles of the M3 chip and newer design. If you're looking for a powerful machine with a better display, better connectivity, more ports, a bigger display, and more power then it's a no brainer — Pick the M3.
13-inch MacBook Pro M2 vs 14-inch MacBook Pro M3: What's new?
Processor
One of the main differences between the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 vs 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 is the processor found inside. With the brand-new M3 chip you'll get better performance alongside Dynamic Caching, Mesh Shading, and Hardware- accelerated ray tracing. Apple estimates 20% better CPU and GPU performance on the M3 compared to the M2.
| Specs | M3 | M2 |
| CPU cores | 8-core | 8-core |
| GPU cores | 10-core | 10-core |
| Unified Memory | 8GB (Up to 24GB) | 8GB (Up to 24GB) |
| Neural Engine | 16-core | 16-core |
| Memory bandwidth | 100 GB/s | 100 GB/s |
| chip process size | 3nm | 5nm |
| Dynamic Caching | Yes | No |
| Mesh Shading | Yes | No |
| Hardware-accelerated ray tracing | Yes | no |
| AV1 Decode | Yes | No |
Design
The newer M3 MacBook Pro has a larger, squarer design compared to the M2 MacBook. It's also a bit heavier, and naturally larger because of the bigger screen sizes. The larger design enables more ports for connectivity and MagSafe charging.
The 14-inch M3 model is larger in terms of both width, and depth, and also heavier. The newer 2023 models also don't come with a Touch Bar, whereas the 2022 13-inch Pro is the last Mac to feature the ill-fated but loved-by-some design.
Display
The M3 14-inch MacBook Pro boasts a significantly improved display over the M2 13-inch model. The M3 has a Liquid Retina XDR display, which means you're getting a larger display with more pixels, and it's also brighter at 1,000 nits of sustained brightness compared to just 500 nits on the 13-inch M2.
Even more importantly, the M3 MacBook Pro has a 120Hz ProMotion display which will make the user experience feel far smoother than the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro
Speakers, audio, and ports
The M3 MacBook Pro offers a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-canceling woofers to stop your Mac from vibrating while playing audio. The M2, on the other hand, only has stereo sound.
There is no difference to be found in the "studio-quality" mic array, and both come with a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can plug in your favorite wired headphones.
The M3 MacBook Pro also offers more ports, including an HDMI for video, and an SDXC slot for your memory cards.
Connectivity
The M3 14-inch MacBook Pro has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, while the M2 13-inch has slightly older connectivity technology with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
13-inch MacBook Pro M2 vs 14-inch MacBook Pro M3: Battery life
The M3 chip is more efficient than its predecessor which means the 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro has slightly better battery life than the M2 13-inch despite being more powerful. Apple says you can get up to 22 hours of battery life in the M3 compared to up to 20 in the M2, we'll need to test the new MacBook out to confirm this.
13-inch MacBook Pro M2 vs 14-inch MacBook Pro M3: Which should you buy?
The decision is pretty simple. If you want the best base model MacBook Pro Apple has ever made, purchase the M3 14-inch MacBook Pro, as it has awesome specs, an amazing design, and a beautiful display. That said, the M2 13-inch MacBook Pro is no slouch, and if you want to save some cash, you'll be able to find some great deals on the now-discontinued MacBook, especially in the run-up to Black Friday.
If you are looking to buy a new MacBook Pro, be sure to check out the best MacBook Black Friday deals, as iMore is your best friend when it comes to finding a bargain.
