I spent one month with the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro — here’s what I think

When I wrote my MacBook Pro M3 review a little over a month ago, I tested both an M3-equipped 14-inch model and an M3 Max-based 16-inch version. Of course, I knew which would be the better of the two on paper. The latter, far more expensive, laptop was always going to be one of the best MacBooks (and overshadow its little brother). What I didn’t expect, though, was how much I’d come to see the bigger 2023 MacBook Pro — the biggest laptop I’ve ever actually used in my lap — as my new ideal notebook. Especially since I’d never considered it before.

I was wrong about 16-inch laptops

My previous belief that a laptop was defined by its portability — and that one doesn’t need a big screen on a laptop — steered me wrong. When I bought my 14-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro in 2021, I didn’t even give the 16-inch model a moment’s consideration. That’s possibly because there was a $500 price gap, and I was already feeling the squeeze with my upgraded $2,799 14-inch model. I also simply thought, “That’s too much machine for me.”

Enter the sleek Space Black 16-inch MacBook Pro I reviewed earlier this month, which quickly became my favorite child and had me relegating my personal MacBook Pro to my bedroom desk. Yes, it might weigh me down a little more when it’s plunked in my lap — much like my friend’s French bulldog when she takes residence during TV time — but it’s more than worth it.

Why? It’s all about multitasking. Specifically, the fact that I can focus on two things at once — sometimes more — when juggling things like multiple web pages. My two frequent habits are reading two separate articles in split-view mode in the upstart Arc web browser or researching in one half of the screen while drafting my personal newsletter in Ulysses on the right side of the screen. In both situations, the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s higher-resolution display gives the perfect amount of space I need, whereas the 14-inch MacBook’s 3024 x 1964 screen feels cramped.

The use cases keep coming, such as the ability to easily discuss a story with my editor in Slack on the left while editing said story with them in Google Docs on the right side. And when I want to watch video while I do something else (for which I use my beloved Rectangle app to split my screen into four quadrants), everything gets that much more room to breathe. I had the Knicks losing on Hulu + Live TV in the bottom left corner, below HBomberguy’s epic-length documentary about plagiarism on YouTube. And on the right side of the screen? I’m talking about both, in Discord and Messages.

The joy of multitasking, seamless productivity and consumption of data and conversation is so satisfying that this heavier 16-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t feel like much more of a burden than its little sibling, even though it is 41% heavier. It also fits in both my backpacks’ laptop sleeves, despite my never intentionally buying a bag made for that display size. Oh, and the bigger screen makes that display notch up top even easier to forget about.

Gaming performance on Apple’s M3 chips

Another major reason to go big when you go home with your new MacBook is in the specs. The latest 16-inch MacBook Pros are only sold with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, eschewing the entry-level M3 chips in the 14-inch MacBook Pro. So, while you’ll spend an extra $500 to go from that 14-inch display to the 16-inch panel, you also get a better chipset (plus 10GB more memory and a third, and better, Thunderbolt USB-C port).

And while raw data that compares the M3 to the M3 Pro to the M3 Max is scarce, Ars Technica’s testing demonstrates how the M3 Max outpaces the M3 Pro on many tests, including graphics. And graphics performance — particularly for gaming — is one of the biggest stories that Apple tells about the M3 series chips, which add hardware-based ray tracing and mesh shading for better visuals.

I saw the giant gap between the M3 and M3 Max in my testing, as the 14-inch MacBook Pro’s vanilla M3 chip (with 16GB RAM and 10 GPU cores) proved only decent on the popular Game of the Year award-winner Baldur’s Gate 3. Even with near-1080p resolution and medium graphics, I noticed screen tearing, and I still saw some visual glitches after turning on VSync to fix that tearing issue. This all resulted in slightly less-smooth performance I couldn’t ignore. And obviously, a game won’t look as detailed or pristine at medium graphics as it will on ultra graphics. Baldur’s Gate 3 wouldn’t even let me play on the big monitor I had connected to my 14-inch M3 MacBook.

On the super-spec’d up M3 Max MacBook Pro, though? Baldur’s Gate 3 ran comfortably at near-Full HD resolution and ultra graphics, so I was able to focus strictly on how bad I am at traditional Dungeons and Dragons role-playing games as I led a trio of weirdos into battle against the undead in a decrepit church. Yes, it got a little warm, but nothing that was overly concerning. And the MacBook was running the game without being plugged into a power source.

That said, you can also get a M3 Max-based 14-inch MacBook Pro, so the 16-inch form factor isn’t theoretically required to game.

The hidden performance case for the bigger MacBook Pro

Since the MacBook Pro models we tested run on very different configurations, I looked to outside testing to learn more. Then, the Accidental Tech Podcast pointed out the work done by the Max Tech YouTube channel, which showed off something a bit surprising for these laptops. In its testing, the 14-inch MacBook Pro performance dipped at times under the same tests during which the 16-inch MacBook Pro sped along.

Both laptops were configured with a M3 Max chip with 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU, with 48GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, but the 16-inch MacBook Pro proved better at managing performance because of its substantially bigger fans and vents that help disperse heat. The fans inside the 14-inch MacBook Pro, for those who care, got much louder than its big brother’s internal fans. So, if you are buying an M3 Max MacBook Pro that you expect to push to the limit (especially if you prefer a quieter laptop), that extra cash you invest in a larger model appears to be worth it.

All the other great hallmarks and features

Display and performance differences aside, don’t expect a ton of trade-offs when choosing between the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Both blast stellar audio with six-speaker sound systems, though I did notice stronger bass on the 16-inch model when jamming LCD Soundsystem’s “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House.”

The actual quality of the visuals coming out of these 14-inch and 16-inch displays are also virtually tied, as I observed while watching the eye-popping visuals of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” in 4K in the Apple TV app.

Lastly, as noted in my MacBook Pro M3 review, the battery life on our tested models is pretty close. The 14-inch M3 model hit nine hours 55 minutes on our looping 4K video test, and the 16-inch M3 Max model hit 11 hours and 14 minutes.

A bigger MacBook Pro makes for a bigger price tag

While there are many M3-based MacBook Pro configurations you can build online, there are four I’d suggest to start with:

Now that the vanilla M3 chip isn’t stuck in the poorly aging 13-inch MacBook Pro (RIP), the current 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros have a really wide price range. It even goes as high as $7,199 for those who max out memory and storage.

Which brings me to the question many potential MacBook Pro shoppers might not want to ask: “Do you really need a MacBook Pro?” Because my dilemma with the 14-inch MacBook Pro’s screen not feeling big enough should really be pointing me down the price chain, not upward.

The 15-inch MacBook Air costs $1,499 after you upgrade its RAM to 16GB (friends don’t let friends spend over $1,000 on a laptop with less memory), and is a pretty compelling option. But while you get a bigger screen than the 14-inch MacBook, you get lower resolution, as the 15-inch Air’s panel is actually less sharp than the 14-inch Pro’s display. There goes my desire for more space for better multitasking.

The 15-inch Air introduces another question: What kind of external displays and ports do you need? Just like the entry-level M3 MacBook Pro, the M2 Air only allows for one external display at a time. And unlike the MacBook Pro, the Air doesn’t have integrated HDMI and SD card slot connections.

That limited external display support isn’t a big deal for me, but it would be when I come into the office, where I plug into two monitors. At home, I only have one external screen and don’t see a future where I have two.

Bottom line

After a lot of time with both these models, and after looking at all the coverage out there, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are two main buying decisions to make when getting a new MacBook Pro. We start with choosing the right M3 chip for you:

Then, as I’ve emphasized above, screen size is your next big question. If you’re a heavy screen-splitter, I truly believe the 16-inch MacBook Pro is best for your workflow. The same goes if you’re the kind of person considering an M3 Max.

So, while it might be too rich for my blood, I think the biggest MacBook Pro is a regret-free purchase for those who have the cash.