Apple is lastly transferring on from the Contact Bar. The corporate has simply introduced a brand new entry-level model of the 14-inch MacBook Professional, changing the 13-inch MacBook Professional with the Contact Bar keyboard. This new mannequin has the usual M3 chip; the 14-inch mannequin beforehand was solely obtainable with the higher-end Professional or Max chips.
The largest information about this new MacBook Professional is the M3 chip. As rumored, the M3 is a 3nm chip, and Apple is promising some large efficiency enhancements over the 13-inch M1 MacBook Professional, together with Remaining Reduce Professional rendering that’s as much as 60 % quicker. As regular, Apple solely shared some selective efficiency stats, so it’s not completely clear how a lot of a bounce this new chip may need in comparison with the {old} M1 mannequin, not to mention the M2.
As a result of Apple’s new base-level MacBook Professional makes use of the identical exterior design as its different 14-inch MacBook Professionals, it has a 14-inch display screen and a notch.
Nonetheless, the brand new specs imply the next beginning value, too. This M3 MacBook Professional will begin at $1,599, which is up $300 from the M2 MacBook Professional’s beginning value of $1,299. It additionally consists of simply 8GB of RAM in its base configuration, which is low contemplating the laptop computer’s premium value. You can also’t get it in Apple’s new house black colour; that’s reserved for the higher-end 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professionals with the M3 Professional and M3 Max, which nonetheless begin at $1,999.
The Contact Bar hung round for a very long time, as Apple first added it to MacBook Professionals in 2016. Whereas it had its followers, it wasn’t well-liked sufficient for Apple to stay with in the long run; the corporate dropped it from the redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Professionals it launched in 2021. Apple continued to refresh the 13-inch Contact Bar mannequin with the M1 and M2 chips, preserving it round till Monday.
The brand new MacBook Professional might be obtainable for preorder on Monday and might be launched on November seventh.