With Apple’s recent release of the M3 CPU family, the M3 Pro chip gained prominence. While it did not represent a major improvement over its predecessor, it did offer certain strategic changes to key features. In switching from the M2 to the M3 Pro, this is the first time Apple has decided to lower some specifications, including transistor count, CPU and GPU core count, and memory bandwidth.
Despite not being a performance indicator per se, transistor count is nonetheless an important consideration when developing new chips. The number of transistors in the M3 and M3 Max increased significantly, however the M3 Pro’s transistor count dropped from 40 billion to 37 billion when compared to the M2 Pro.
Similar to the M2 Pro, the M3 Pro retains a total of 12 cores in its CPU design, but its makeup is different. Compared to the eight P-cores and four E-cores of the M2 Pro, the M3 Pro has six high-performance cores and six smaller efficiency cores. Together with a drop in memory bandwidth from 200GB/s to 150GB/s, the M3 Pro’s GPU also experiences a little fall in core count, going from 19 to 18.
The M3 Pro offers a noteworthy 15% increase in single-core CPU performance, which can be attributed to improvements in architecture and higher clock speeds. Still, multi-core performance is on pace with the M2 Pro, demonstrating equal speeds across a range of tests.
Performance of the M3 Pro’s GPU varies, with advances vs the M2 Pro ranging from statistically insignificant to almost 15%. Unlike its predecessors, the M3 Pro offers improved media capabilities and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.
The M3 Pro, in spite of its slight performance improvements, is consistent with Apple’s approach of reducing the difference between the M3 and M3 Pro and increasing the difference from the M3 Max. Customers can choose from a variety of alternatives depending on their performance needs with the same pricing for the M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBook Pros.
The M3 Pro stands out in Apple’s portfolio for its superior energy efficiency when it comes to CPU-intensive workloads, surpassing the performance of other Pro, Max, or Ultra CPUs. By lowering production costs and preserving competitive pricing in the face of inflation, this refinement helps Apple.
The M3 Pro may not be a revolutionary change, but Apple’s strategic alterations indicate that the company is committed to improving its processor lineup. Future Pro chips, which are anticipated in 2024 or 2025, should provide users with simpler generational performance increases.
