Apple discontinues 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro in favor of 14-inch M3 model: Checkout the Price Difference

On Tuesday, Apple unveiled a new range of MacBook Pro models powered by the company's newest M3 CPU. On the eve of Halloween, the Cupertino, California-based business unveiled 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro notebooks powered by the new 3nm processor at its 'Scary Fast' demonstration event. The new Apple laptops are currently available for pre-order in 27 countries, including India, and will be available for purchase on November 7. Meanwhile, Apple has already retired its M2-powered MacBook Pro series.

While the M3-powered Mac models are now available for pre-order, the M2 relatives of the new laptops are no longer featured on Apple's website. This is hardly surprising given that Apple typically discontinues some older-generation items after releasing new versions. For example, production of iPhone 14 Pro models was ceased when the firm unveiled the iPhone 15 series at its 'Wonderlust' event in September. Similarly, when the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions were announced at the same event, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra were removed from Apple's website.

However, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro computers have replaced three earlier versions this time. The 14-inch and 15-inch M2-powered MacBook Pros, which were released earlier this year in January, have been expectedly retired. Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro M2 model is likewise no longer available on the company's website. On Tuesday, tipster Ishan Agarwal noticed the trend and commented about it on X.

This also implies that the starting price for a MacBook Pro in India has climbed significantly. The 256GB SSD storage model of the now-discontinued 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro cost at Rs. 1,29,900. The 512GB storage model, on the other hand, cost Rs. 1,49,900. With no 13-inch MacBook Pro model available, the range now begins with the lowest form of the new 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro, with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD storage, priced at Rs. 1,69,900 on Apple store. This is a Rs. 40,000 difference in beginning pricing between prior and current entry-level MacBook Pro models in India.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are available in M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max configurations. The 14-inch model with an M3 Pro processor starts at Rs. 1,99,900, while the M3 Max model costs Rs. 3,19,900.

While the price of an entry-level MacBook Pro has risen, Apple's new 14-inch laptop is a significant boost over its M2-powered 13-inch predecessor. The M3 series, which is based on 3nanometer technology and has a redesigned GPU architecture, offers processing and graphics enhancements over the previous generation.

 

The M3 processor series from the firm has up to 16 CPU cores, up to 40 GPU cores, and up to 16 Neural Engine cores. All new Apple laptops include Liquid Retina XDR (3,024x1,964 pixel) screens with a refresh rate of 120Hz. According to Apple, the standard 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 processor may provide up to 22 hours of battery life on a single charge.