There are few things in tech writing that feel as good as booting up a powerful computer.
It boots and runs like a dream.
Possibilities buzz with electricity around your fingertips as you move to start using it.
The M3 Max-powered MacBook Pro comes in black, and that’s really the only thing that’s changed with the laptop’s outward appearance.Photo: Angel Fajardo / Gizmodo
Yes, the MacBook Pro is still good.
16-Inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max
Apple’s latest MacBook Pro now uses Apple’s most powerful M-series chip.
The M3 Max is the most capable of the bunch.
The notch continues to haunt the MacBook Pro.Photo: Angel Fajardo / Gizmodo
The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip is the most powerful laptop Apple has ever produced.
DISLIKE
There’s nothing outwardly new about the latest MacBook Pro.
Mac promotes gaming despite a lack of supporting titles.
The notch continues to haunt the MacBook Pro.Photo: Angel Fajardo / Gizmodo
Apple declared its newest M3-powered products were scary fastduring an event bearing the same name.
They are, indeed, powerful machines, and all the benchmarks we were able to run prove that.
It can effectively power some heavy-duty rendering programs with ease.
Whether you’re rendering objects, transcoding video, or simply topping out settings in games, the M3 Max is easily the most powerful M-series chip so far.Photo: Angel Fajardo / Gizmodo
The M3 is, indeed, a more powerful chip than the M2.
I would modify that now.
This is Apples burgeoning use case for Mac.
Apple promoted Lies of P as available on Mac, but don’t look too hard for some of this year’s other big gaming releases.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The problem is the Mac ecosystem still lacks the support of the most major game makers.
The camera notch is still annoying.
Theres still no touchscreen or many overt display improvements over past generations.
The Space Black shell on the MacBook Pro is a real purty color for Apples laptops.
The new color includes an anodized seal on the sides and back, which Apple promises will reduce fingerprints.
Whos to say how long that will last?
But for now, Apples latest coat of paint is easily my favorite.
Apple still has the best automatic brightness parameters in the business.
Looking and listening to music on the MacBook Pro is still a pleasure.
Were still working to test the brightness and battery life of the machine.
The same goes for the low-profile keyboard and large trackpad.
The M2 MacBook Pro moved to HDMI 2.1, and that support remains unchanged on this new unit.
My ultra-expensive M3 Max laptop came with the 140W charging brick and braided cable.
Charging from near-empty to full took about an hour with the fast-charging cable.
Plus, after doing our own tests, Apple seems to have been telling the truth.
In low-power mode, that will likely get even better.
It is slightly better than the M2 MacBook Pro, which lasts about 19 to 20 hours.
But the battery does get hit much harder during more intense tasks.
In this regard, the M3 Max chip is some of the best in its class.
Theres a bit of confusion with what comes with each chip at each price point.
The core values are the same if you opt for the sub-$3,000M3 Pro-powered 16-inch MacBook Pros.
The M3 Max Chip scores well into the top 20% of CPUs for the Blender 3.6 benchmark.
We last recorded that the M2-powered laptop took around two minutes and 30 seconds to complete.
It took an older M1 Max chip more than four minutes to render the same.
The latestMacOS Sonoma added a new Game Modeto offer better FPS in-game by scaling back all unnecessary tasks.
Windows already offers similar features, and its something thats to be expected on any OS meant for gaming.
Note those games havent been explicitly optimized for the M3 chip.
I would still recommend the latest MacBook if you want to see all the fuss with Apples M-series ecosystem.
Want more of Gizmodos consumer electronics picks?
Check out our guides to thebest laptops,best TVs, andbest headphones.
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