Following Monday’s launch of the M3-powered MacBook Pros, Apple discontinued the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It was the last MacBook in the company’s lineup with a Touch Bar, a thin, customizable OLED strip at the top of the keyboard that replaced the usual row of function keys.
A cheaper 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip replaces the older Touch Bar model.
Time to say goodbye to the 13-inch MacBook Pro
Apple last refreshed the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 chip at WWDC22. The laptop was among the first Macs to transition to Apple silicon chip in 2020. However, the model always stood as the odd one out in the MacBook lineup with its dated design. It was also the only Mac in Apple’s lineup to feature a Touch Bar.
Compared to the sleek, redesigned M2 MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro made little sense. Go through our M2 MacBook Air versus MacBook Pro comparison to understand why the Pro was not worth your money. The only advantage the Pro model had was an active cooling solution (and a Touch Bar, maybe), but that was not a good enough reason to buy it.
M3 14-inch MacBook Pro now starts at $1,599
Replacing the 13-inch MacBook Pro in Apple’s lineup is the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip. It has the same boxy design with a dedicated HDMI port, SD card reader and MagSafe 3 slot as its M3 Pro and M3 Max-powered siblings. Plus, it ships with a bigger 120Hz Liquid Retina XDR display, a considerable step up from the 13-inch Retina panel.
All these upgrades will cost you, though. The 13-inch MacBook Pro started at $1,299, but the new 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,599. That’s $400 cheaper than the early 2023 model but still a considerable jump in price.
If that’s too expensive for you, consider an M2-powered MacBook Air. The 13-inch variant starts at $1,099, while the 15-inch is available for $1,299.
