Apple’s M3 Max is the company’s fastest custom silicon powering the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. With its notable improvements over the M2 Max in both CPU and GPU categories, it is evident that if consumers want the best SoC for their portable Macs, they have to pay a higher sum. This is why the fully unlocked chipset with its 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU will cost you $500 extra, assuming you are configuring the bigger 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The fully unlocked M2 Max found in the previous-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro could be configured with a price of $3,499; new model will cost you $3,999
On Apple’s website, there are two variants of the 16-inch MacBook Pro being displayed that can be purchased with the M3 Max powering its innards. The less powerful among them costs $3,499 and offers a 14-core CPU grouped with a 30-core GPU. While these specifications will be more than sufficient for users who wish to engage in the most demanding of tasks, there are some who demand the best of the best, and if that is their preference, then they have to fork over a large sum for it. That said, jumping to the top-end M3 Max is a $500 premium.
Likely, the higher-binned versions of the M3 Max with the 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU mass produced on the cutting-edge 3nm process are more expensive to make, but charging $500 just for an increase in cores can be deemed as nothing more than the ‘Apple Tax.’ Of course, it is unnecessary to equip the 16-inch MacBook Pro with this chipset, as some customers prefer portability. Thankfully, even the 14-inch MacBook Pro can be kitted out with the M3 Max, but that $500 premium is consistent between both models.
Fortunately, there is a $300 price gap between the two MacBook Pro models while using the same fully unlocked version of the M3 Max paired with 48GB of unified RAM. However, the larger Mac has a 140W USB-C power adapter bundled in the packaging, whereas the 14-inch MacBook Pro offers a 96W charger, so that is something to keep in mind, assuming the accessories matter to you.
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