BGR
Hours before Apple’s big Mac event on Monday, I wondered whether the M3 MacBook Pro models will deliver significant battery life gains over their predecessors. It’s not that the M2 MacBook Pro battery life estimates were bad. But the M3 chips are faster and more efficient than the previous generation. That’s what made me cautiously hope for better battery life from the Pros.
At the same time, I knew better than to set expectations. I predicted that Apple would keep the 18-hour and 22-hour battery life quotes it gives for the M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pros, respectively. And Apple delivered that.
What I didn’t see coming was the M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch surprise. Apple discontinued the base M-series MacBook Pro model and replaced it with a cheaper 14-inch version. The new M3 MacBook Pro is the big battery life winner, getting a 22-hour estimate, just like the larger 16-inch model.
Apple’s battery life estimates for M3 MacBook Pro models
Before we get started, you should know that battery size has not changed significantly compared to the early 2023 MacBook Pros that run on the M2 Pro/Max chips. We’re looking at 70-watt-hour and 100-watt-hour batteries for the M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch and M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro 16-inch.
The only difference concerns the M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pro 14-inch, which gets a slightly larger 72.4-watt-hour battery.
A quick look at Apple’s comparison tool for the MacBook Pros will get you two battery life estimates. One of them gets prime treatment, as seen below:
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Scroll down, and you’ll see that Apple registers the maximum battery life for the MacBook Pros when playing movies via the Apple TV app. The M3 MacBook Pros can, therefore, play video content continuously for up to 18 hours (14-inch M3 Pro and M3 Max models) and up to 22 hours (14-inch M3 and 16-inch M3 Pro and M3 Max models).
The second battery life estimate concerns web browsing while connected to Wi-Fi. You get up to 15 hours for the 14-inch M3 and 16-inch M3 Pro and M3 Max models. And up to 12 hours for the 14-inch M3 Pro and M3 Max models.
Real-life laptop use is different. It involves a combination of video streaming, web browsing, and other app usage. Since these are laptops targeting professionals, we have to assume that pros would use lots of apps, including the kind that require lots of processing and, therefore, lots of energy juice.
