M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: What are the variations?

An M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional face-off is a should after Apple’s large week of Mac bulletins.

The brand new M4 MacBook Professional is right here, unsurprisingly together with a extra highly effective M4 chip than final yr’s M3 mannequin. Nonetheless, there are additionally bonuses to port choice, RAM, and even colour alternative this yr. Here is how the M4 MacBook Professional stacks as much as the M3 model.

(Be aware: We’ll be specializing in the 14-inch fashions for this comparative evaluation.)

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Worth and specs

Just like the M3 MacBook Professional at launch in 2023, the 14-inch M4 model begins at $1,599.

Listed below are the essential specs that you simply get for that value:

The largest distinction between M3 and M4 that must be famous instantly is the RAM. Final yr’s MacBook Professional supplied 8GB RAM within the base mannequin, placing it behind some rivals. This yr, there aren’t any 8GB fashions; you get 16GB at minimal, which may go as much as 24GB should you really feel like paying extra. Storage choices haven’t modified from final yr to this yr, nevertheless.

On high of that, the brand new M4 chip ought to give efficiency boosts to the 2024 MacBook Professional, however since we’ve not examined it but, it is not possible to say for certain.

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Show

These two shows are practically equivalent:

• 3,024 x 1,964-pixel decision

• 16:10 facet ratio

• 254 pixels per inch

• ProMotion (i.e., as much as 120Hz refresh fee)

Much like the M3 MacBook Professional, the brand new M4 MacBook Professional continues to sport a notch (that also does not have Face ID).

Nonetheless, there are two variations to notice. The height SDR brightness on the M4 mannequin is 1,000 nits, whereas the identical metric got here in at 600 nits on the M3 MacBook Professional. Plus, the M4 MacBook Professional provides the nano-texture show possibility that is additionally accessible on the iPad Professional, Professional Show XDR, Studio Show, and iMac.

What’s a nano-texture show? It is designed to dramatically scale back glare. As such, this feature is greatest for customers who usually cope with difficult lighting circumstances like sun-drenched workplaces.

I’ve had some expertise with the nano-texture show on the iPad Professional, and whereas it does, certainly, considerably scale back glare and manages vibrant lighting circumstances like a champ, there’s an opportunity that you could be discover a drop within the panel’s vividness.

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Design

So far as visible design, the most important distinction between these two MacBooks is that you may get the brand new one in Area Black in addition to silver.

Against this, the M3 mannequin is silver or bust. Listed below are the bodily dimensions of the brand new M4 MacBook Professional:

• Peak: 0.61 inches

• Width: 12.31 inches

• Depth: 8.71 inches

• Weight: 3.5 kilos

These are, actually, the very same dimensions because the M3 mannequin. Chances are you’ll be pondering, “So they really just changed some internals, added a new color, and called it a day, huh?” Nicely, not precisely.

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Ports

One other bodily differentiator between the M3 and M4 MacBook Execs is the addition of a 3rd Thunderbolt 4 port.

The M3 mannequin solely had two, whereas the M4 mannequin has three, giving customers extra flexibility with exterior shows. Apart from that, the port choice is identical throughout each gadgets: an SD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an HDMI port, and a MagSafe port for charging.

No, there aren’t any USB type-A ports.

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Efficiency

We examined the 14-inch M3 MacBook Professional’s Geekbench rating, which exams for CPU efficiency, and it notched a multi-core rating of 11,998, which supplied an 18% efficiency uptick over the M2 chip.

Apple did not reveal efficiency delta figures between the M2 and M4 chips, nevertheless it did evaluate the M4 chip to the M1 chip. The Cupertino-based tech large claims that the M4 chip is 1.8 instances quicker than the M1 chip for duties like “editing gigapixel photos.” On the subject of rendering advanced scenes through Blender, the M4 chip is reportedly 3.4 instances quicker.

For AI workloads (e.g., Apple Intelligence), the M4 chip is 3 instances extra highly effective, in keeping with Apple.

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Battery life

As famous earlier, the M4 MacBook Professional guarantees 24 hours of battery life on a single cost.

It is a score by Apple that may’t be verified but, as we’ve not gotten the brand new MacBook in for testing on the time of writing. Nonetheless, Apple rated final yr’s mannequin for 22 hours, that means the M4 MacBook Professional ought to theoretically beat the M3 mannequin when it comes to battery longevity.

We examined the 14-inch M3 MacBook Professional and it lasted 16 hours and 23 minutes. As soon as we check the battery lifetime of the 14-inch M4 MacBook Professional, we’ll replace this face-off.

M4 MacBook Professional vs. M3 MacBook Professional: Which must you purchase?

Battery life is a crucial facet of constructing a purchase order choice concerning shopping for laptops. We do not know the runtime of the 14-inch M4 MacBook Professional simply but, however even with out this determine, the M3 MacBook Professional is spectacular at 16 hours and 23 minutes.

If snagging a nano-texture show, getting three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and having a minor enhance in energy is not sufficient to sway you, the M3 MacBook Professional must be adequate sufficient to satisfy your wants.