Barely four months after it was first unveiled, one of the most exciting MacBooks you can buy is now available at a discount through Apple’s refurbished store online.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 is one of Apple’s most unique and capable products, and my personal favorite Mac in the lineup. Historically, Apple reserved the base model “M” chips for cheaper, more portable models like its best MacBook for students, the M2 MacBook Air. However, with the M3, Apple brought the base model to its more potent 14-inch MacBook Pro chassis, finally retiring the tired old 13-inch Touch Bar model.
The M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch model boasts an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, as well as 8GB of Unified Memory. Prices usually start at $1,599 but Apple’s refurbished discount means you can get one of these for $1,359, saving $240 in the process on the 512GB version. If you want more storage, you can save even more ($270) when you pick up the $1,799 1TB model for just $1,529.
Why choose M3?
Apple’s 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro is currently the cheapest way to get your hands on an M3 MacBook, and this refurbished discount makes the deal even sweeter. The M3 chip is an important step in the Apple silicon lineup. Built on the more efficient 3nm process, it delivers more power and efficiency than previous models, making performance snappier than ever and battery life longer.
Because of the 14-inch model’s bulkier, square design, the battery life of this model is considerably more than even the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air. Apple says the former is good for up to 22 hours, while the latter will manage just 18.
The M3 14-inch MacBook Pro is also a handier machine when it comes to gaming thanks to hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The real reason you should pick this model, however, is the display. The larger 14-inch M3 mode boasts a much brighter Liquid Retina XDR display than the M2 MacBook range. Peak brightness clocks in at 1000 nits or 1600 for HDR, compared to just 500 on a 15-inch MacBook Air. It also has better SDR brightness and, most importantly, a 120Hz ProMotion display with adaptive refresh rate. The M3 model also boasts more connectivity than previous M2 models, offering an SD card slot, USB-C ports, and a headphone jack. When you package all that up with a refurbished discount, the M3 14-inch MacBook Pro looks a lot like the best MacBook money can buy right now.
Buying refurbished from Apple doesn’t mean secondhand. All models come completely refurbished, cleaned, and with Apple replacement parts where needed. You also get a one-year warranty and all the requisite charging gear. It’s not quite brand new, but Apple’s refurbished products are notoriously excellent, and stand head and shoulders above similar offerings from outlets such as Amazon.
