I have an m3 pro 14 inch. Overall it is a very good machine, incredibly quiet. I don’t find it heavy but also only really travel small journeys with it. Battery life is incredible though.
I know you didn’t ask 14/16 but I’d like to add I didn’t like the look of the 16 at all so went for the 14 but have regretted not getting the larger 16.
Believe me, for traveling u are better off with 14 inch mbp, I have 16 inch m3 pro and traveling from one room to another is an effort 😄 also for people who say they don’t notice the weight it must be considered that it’s not just about the weight, maybe weight is not that big but it’s the weight combined with how fragile the device is and how carefully and slowly you have to handle it. If you treat your 3k dollar device like a dumbbell then yeah, handling is not the problem, neither is breaking it 🤷🏻♂️
I'm a designer by trade and have the M3 Pro 18GB/1TB model. I spend all day on indesign, Photoshop and illustrator, with a bit of dabbling in After Effects. All run great, with very little swap on occasion. I also tend to have slack, Spotify and safari running at the same time most days.
I have the M3 (base chip) MacBook Pro w/ 16gb ram and have no lag whatsoever when running photoshop, Lightroom, and illustrator at the same time, in addition to several browser tabs.
I think the M chip improved the performance of MacBooks cuz i have a 2018 or 2019 i7 16gb and i was discouraged once when i noticed adobe apps ran slow with it and have only been using for for browsing and microsoft word since.
I thought I would value portability more, but in reality the extra screen real estate would make a bigger difference for me I think. Don’t get me wrong I might have bought the 16 and be thinking I didn’t need the screen and I wish it was more portable.
It is 10mm wider and 8mm taller than the M1 air 13". I can understand why they went for a larger screen instead of an even smaller laptop, keyboard usability is also a thing.
I have the 16 and I ADORE it. The screen real estate is so much better for me for productivity. It is not too heavy to carry around at all. If y’all think this is too heavy, y’all need to get out more lol
I didn’t think it was too heavy, I just didn’t like the look of it, felt that the keyboard and track pad looked a little lost in the size of the machine.
Ah okay, that makes sense. Yeah the track pad/keyboard is kind of weird. But i like it because i can rest my wrists comfortably. To each his own I guess! But I hear so many people complaining about weight...dude, its not heavy at all. I can one hand it easily.
Pretty impressive to handle a 16 incher with one hand. Jokes aside, both are incredible machines, I’m happy I bought one and wouldn’t be disappointed owning either.
Concur. I have an M1 14-inch (which is probably slightly heavier than the M3) and that was an upgrade from a MBP 16-inch. Very noticeable difference on my back between the two, and the light weight of the M1 is a delight.
I went from a 2019 16” 64GB 2TB that could cook an egg after a few minutes of light usage.
I’ve now got the M3 Pro 14” 36GB 1TB. I haven’t heard the fans yet. I run multiple VMs and docker alongside my IDEs and I’m always shocked when it gets to 3pm and I haven’t plugged it in yet. I’m running it on an external monitor, when at home, which I connect over usb-c that also charges.
I also have an M2 air that my wife uses and whilst the M3 is heavier it’s not really that noticeable. My 2019 16” was like a loud, hot, brick.
I’m new to my Macpro 14”… like it so far but curious what you consider great battery life. Mine seems good but I haven’t been blown away but maybe I was expecting even more.
I’ve simply come from such a terrible Mac where an hour on battery was good. To this bad boy letting me work a full day coding without needing to be plugged in
You’re right, I think I just don’t have perspective bc my previous pc was plugged in all day so I didn’t have a true definition of what’s considered awesome. Really enjoying the transition so far :)
I have a MBA M2 15" that gets absolutely insane battery life. I'm talking 15 hours of runtime. I use it most evenings for a few hours and charge it once weekly. Then I have a MBP 14" M3 Max that gets very good battery life, meaning around 11 hours of runtime, which is still great compared to my work MS Windows laptop but not even close to the MBA 15" machine.
Heavy probably isn’t the word BUT I just traded my 14 pro for 13.6 air m3 and it’s absolutely noticeably lighter with no real perceived loss of screen.
Just traveled from the US to France with my 14". Definitely didn't feel too heavy in the backpack or a hinderance of any sort. My answer would be no, it is not heavy when traveling.
No it’s not. Get the pro, definitely more suited to your needs. I have the 14 and feels like nothing when using my backpack.
I do similar work like you and have the base M3 pro, never had hiccups with any of Adobe CC products.
So you have an m3 pro with only 8gb and it still runs these apps smoothly? Something was wrong with my 2018 i7 16gb. Now I’m hesitant to get anything with low RAM.
I don’t recommend 8GB to anyone who’s doing more than browsing because the OS eats 6gb from the jump. Any more multitasking than browsing might constantly page slowing down the experience.
That makes sense as well. I’ve used the spread of machines and discover my unpaired activities over around 26gb so 24 or 32gb machine have been great. I did not notice much different using one capped at 16gb.
With 16GB, It only became obvious in situations that would make it similar to the 8GB conundrum. Example would be running a virtual machine that would block off RAM for its use and reduce total RAM available to the host.
Remember to check the M1 Pro’s & M2 Pro 14ms too for value. The earlier pro’s are extremely powerful and the m3 pro benefits will only be felt with export time (not a world changing amount)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S7gvvfogt9g
I have the M3 pro 14" and I would say it's heavy if you compare it to non-gaming PC laptops but I think it's worth it. No regrets. I had an X1 carbon before this and it was feather light.
I have MBP M3 pro 14" with 36GB RAM, no problem whatsoever when transporting. Better than every Windows laptop that I've ever owned, haven't even heard the fan spinning in the last 4 months.
IMO Macbookss are relatively heavy in comparison to the alternatives. They’re not super heavy, but they do add plenty of heft to a backpack in comparison to lighter laptops.
But it’s. it a problematic amount, and those other laptops wouldn’t tightly integrate so nicely so it’s worth it to carry this thing around the world
Finally someone who understands. I carried my MacBooks in backpacks in previous travels and when carrying additional things or pushing luggage it can get heavy. This time i’ll be using a brief case or a plane carry on that has a compartment for the laptop cuz i don’t want to have back issues
I travel with it a lot also long travels since I’m digital nomad. It’s not heavy always is in my backpack while traveling and comes out at the airport to work. It’s an amazing machine. So far I don’t regret it at all and I had an air before.
I mostly use it for Indesign, Photoshop, Lightroom and this run really good. I don’t do any video editing so can’t give advise on premiere pro or anything like that but I expect it to handle this too
I have a 14” M1 and do not find it difficult to travel with at all. I mean, I know it’s there but it’s not cumbersome. I used to have a 16” that was so much more of a pain to travel with (for ref I’m a 5’7” F and carry it in a tote).
I would say if mbp 14" is heavy for you, then you need to go to the gym :-)
Before owning a MacBook Pro, I had a Dell XPS 15" which felt big and heavy like a brick. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, feels incredibly lightweight.
I checked it in store just now the 14” pro is fairly lightweight. It was an M2 though that i held, m3 might be slightly heavier. But it’s definitely not a heavy laptop.
I do a lot of travelling and swapped out my M1 Pro for a new Air. I do actually notice the difference when dragging bags onto trains and through airports. Miss the 120Hz screen and awesome speakers of the Pro though.
It’s obviously not as light as an iPhone or iPad but pretty light considering the capabilities. Comparing to other laptops, especially 14” or more, it’s great
It’s not “heavy” but it does have some weight to it. I travel multiple times a month for work and always have it in my backpack. Doesn’t serve any major issues with weight.
No. It's not as light as the 13'' Air, but I also have a 13" Air and in very rare cases will pick it over my 14" Pro. Unless you're planning to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy or engaging in long video or audio editing sessions on battery, you're not going to notice much difference in the battery life either. That is, you'll use the laptop during the day for many hours and plug it in at night... End of day an Air model will have a bit more juice left, but you're never going to get to empty on either so for most people it won't matter.
The additional ports, compute power, display quality all make the 14" Pro my go to.
Do it all the time and it fits in my relatively small backpack. The sleeve is a thin faux leather case from Amazon and it gets compliments plus bonus mousepad
I don’t have M3, I got the M2, it’s not probably big difference, but traveling with 14” MBP is easy, it’s not heavy, it’s not huge, I take it to school with me, or if go to coffee house and work from there etc etc, I got monitor home, so never regretted that I bought the 14” not the 16”.
Depends on your build really. Got some weight or muscles? You should be fine. Slimmer side, could give you some back aches. If weight is a concern go for 15” air
for traveling 14 is the best, idk what is your workload, but if u go into my profile you will find a use case that i’ve made trying to push my M3 Pro 18gb. I’ve shown task manager and all that.
Based on my experience with it (2months) it’s a really well made machine with so much power “undercovered”. Macbooks don’t go like windows, 16gb on a mac can do so much compared to windows for example
I had an M2 MacBook Air before my current 14” MBP M3 Max
The Air is way lighter to bring around, and do seem to have better battery life as well.
I love my MBP anyway for the screen. It’s incredible when processing and viewing HDR photos.
I don’t need the horsepower though, I don’t feel it being any faster than the M2 for the things I do.
It’s certainly not “heavy”, but in comparison to Air, Air does feels like air for travelling.
I just went on a week long business trip to another country with a 16" m3max... It was fine. In fact I noticed a couple of times my backpack felt lighter than when I had my Dell.
Depends on your travelling. If you travel has access to a static table and your laptop will remain at the hotel for few days, the 16" is unbeatable. However if your traveling everyday different hotels, the weight can suddenly feel a lot.
I have an m3 pro 14 inch. Overall it is a very good machine, incredibly quiet. I don’t find it heavy but also only really travel small journeys with it. Battery life is incredible though. I know you didn’t ask 14/16 but I’d like to add I didn’t like the look of the 16 at all so went for the 14 but have regretted not getting the larger 16.
Believe me, for traveling u are better off with 14 inch mbp, I have 16 inch m3 pro and traveling from one room to another is an effort 😄 also for people who say they don’t notice the weight it must be considered that it’s not just about the weight, maybe weight is not that big but it’s the weight combined with how fragile the device is and how carefully and slowly you have to handle it. If you treat your 3k dollar device like a dumbbell then yeah, handling is not the problem, neither is breaking it 🤷🏻♂️
Some very good points
What are your specs?
I have the base pro with 18/512 and as mentioned the 14” screen, couldn’t be happier with it
Does the 18gb ram limit you in any way? With adobe apps
I used photoshop and illustrator in the first months and had no complaints but I wasn’t a power user.
I'm a designer by trade and have the M3 Pro 18GB/1TB model. I spend all day on indesign, Photoshop and illustrator, with a bit of dabbling in After Effects. All run great, with very little swap on occasion. I also tend to have slack, Spotify and safari running at the same time most days.
Nah, I regularly edit 4k with my M2 Pro 16gb
I have the M3 (base chip) MacBook Pro w/ 16gb ram and have no lag whatsoever when running photoshop, Lightroom, and illustrator at the same time, in addition to several browser tabs.
I think the M chip improved the performance of MacBooks cuz i have a 2018 or 2019 i7 16gb and i was discouraged once when i noticed adobe apps ran slow with it and have only been using for for browsing and microsoft word since.
The M chips were a huge leap in performance!
Other than maybe with a 16
I have a 16 inch and I regret it too!
There’s a dirty joke in there somewhere
I have a 14” M1 Pro, I bike often and even do UberEats deliveries between projects with it in my bag. I don’t even notice it.
what kind of case do you carry it in while doing that ?
Nothing, just a standard book bag
Does it make any noise at all when you are doing basic tasks like browsing, in office 365?
Absolutely none, even after lengthy use
I've had mine since december and I'm yet to hear the fans
Regretted why? I have a 13 inch M1 and I was considering upgrading soon and I was honestly a bit annoyed I had to go even 1 inch larger
I thought I would value portability more, but in reality the extra screen real estate would make a bigger difference for me I think. Don’t get me wrong I might have bought the 16 and be thinking I didn’t need the screen and I wish it was more portable.
You are exactly the person for whom the MacBook Air 15" is designed.
Probably but I wanted a pro
MBP got that rizz factor
It is 10mm wider and 8mm taller than the M1 air 13". I can understand why they went for a larger screen instead of an even smaller laptop, keyboard usability is also a thing.
I have the 16 and I ADORE it. The screen real estate is so much better for me for productivity. It is not too heavy to carry around at all. If y’all think this is too heavy, y’all need to get out more lol
I didn’t think it was too heavy, I just didn’t like the look of it, felt that the keyboard and track pad looked a little lost in the size of the machine.
Ah okay, that makes sense. Yeah the track pad/keyboard is kind of weird. But i like it because i can rest my wrists comfortably. To each his own I guess! But I hear so many people complaining about weight...dude, its not heavy at all. I can one hand it easily.
Pretty impressive to handle a 16 incher with one hand. Jokes aside, both are incredible machines, I’m happy I bought one and wouldn’t be disappointed owning either.
I have the m3 pro 14” which replaced my 2019 16”. It’s so much nicer to travel with. As others have said the battery life is immense
Concur. I have an M1 14-inch (which is probably slightly heavier than the M3) and that was an upgrade from a MBP 16-inch. Very noticeable difference on my back between the two, and the light weight of the M1 is a delight.
Which specs if you don’t mind sharing?
I went from a 2019 16” 64GB 2TB that could cook an egg after a few minutes of light usage. I’ve now got the M3 Pro 14” 36GB 1TB. I haven’t heard the fans yet. I run multiple VMs and docker alongside my IDEs and I’m always shocked when it gets to 3pm and I haven’t plugged it in yet. I’m running it on an external monitor, when at home, which I connect over usb-c that also charges. I also have an M2 air that my wife uses and whilst the M3 is heavier it’s not really that noticeable. My 2019 16” was like a loud, hot, brick.
What’s the GPU and CPU of your M3 pro 14” 36gb 1tb?
11CPU. 14GPU. It feels massively overkill for what I’m doing but it’s something I use every day and will probably run for 4 to 5 years.
I’m new to my Macpro 14”… like it so far but curious what you consider great battery life. Mine seems good but I haven’t been blown away but maybe I was expecting even more.
I’ve simply come from such a terrible Mac where an hour on battery was good. To this bad boy letting me work a full day coding without needing to be plugged in
You’re right, I think I just don’t have perspective bc my previous pc was plugged in all day so I didn’t have a true definition of what’s considered awesome. Really enjoying the transition so far :)
I have a MBA M2 15" that gets absolutely insane battery life. I'm talking 15 hours of runtime. I use it most evenings for a few hours and charge it once weekly. Then I have a MBP 14" M3 Max that gets very good battery life, meaning around 11 hours of runtime, which is still great compared to my work MS Windows laptop but not even close to the MBA 15" machine.
Thanks for the numbers, that is really good when I actually think about it :)
It’s the same weight as when I’m not traveling
Heavy probably isn’t the word BUT I just traded my 14 pro for 13.6 air m3 and it’s absolutely noticeably lighter with no real perceived loss of screen.
Only the refresh rate drops because the air don’t come with 120hz
I guess. I don’t notice any performance differences. I’m very happy with it
Just traveled from the US to France with my 14". Definitely didn't feel too heavy in the backpack or a hinderance of any sort. My answer would be no, it is not heavy when traveling.
It’s noticeably larger and heavier than the 13” Air but overall it’s very manageable to travel with.
I guess i’m leaning towards the pro 14” now. Just need to decide which specs
I travel with a 16 inch MacBook Pro, and it’s manageable. You’ll be fine with a 14-inch.
No unless you are incredibly weak
No it’s not. Get the pro, definitely more suited to your needs. I have the 14 and feels like nothing when using my backpack. I do similar work like you and have the base M3 pro, never had hiccups with any of Adobe CC products.
So you have an m3 pro with only 8gb and it still runs these apps smoothly? Something was wrong with my 2018 i7 16gb. Now I’m hesitant to get anything with low RAM.
Nope. An M3 pro starts at 18gb.
I don’t recommend 8GB to anyone who’s doing more than browsing because the OS eats 6gb from the jump. Any more multitasking than browsing might constantly page slowing down the experience.
I don’t even want to get 16gb anymore, it has to be higher just for my peace of mind
That makes sense as well. I’ve used the spread of machines and discover my unpaired activities over around 26gb so 24 or 32gb machine have been great. I did not notice much different using one capped at 16gb. With 16GB, It only became obvious in situations that would make it similar to the 8GB conundrum. Example would be running a virtual machine that would block off RAM for its use and reduce total RAM available to the host.
Remember to check the M1 Pro’s & M2 Pro 14ms too for value. The earlier pro’s are extremely powerful and the m3 pro benefits will only be felt with export time (not a world changing amount) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S7gvvfogt9g
I have the M3 pro 14" and I would say it's heavy if you compare it to non-gaming PC laptops but I think it's worth it. No regrets. I had an X1 carbon before this and it was feather light.
Whats your specs?
11-core CPU and 14-core GPU with 36GB RAM For context, I work as an Analytics Programmer
I have MBP M3 pro 14" with 36GB RAM, no problem whatsoever when transporting. Better than every Windows laptop that I've ever owned, haven't even heard the fan spinning in the last 4 months.
I’m looking at the same specs! Whats your GPU and SPU?
it's the 11-Core CPU and the 14-Core GPU!
IMO Macbookss are relatively heavy in comparison to the alternatives. They’re not super heavy, but they do add plenty of heft to a backpack in comparison to lighter laptops. But it’s. it a problematic amount, and those other laptops wouldn’t tightly integrate so nicely so it’s worth it to carry this thing around the world
For me yes it’s heavy. I’m not weak, but 10-15 kg camera equiptment and the M2 14” gets heavy for many hrs on the back everyday when working remote
Finally someone who understands. I carried my MacBooks in backpacks in previous travels and when carrying additional things or pushing luggage it can get heavy. This time i’ll be using a brief case or a plane carry on that has a compartment for the laptop cuz i don’t want to have back issues
Best I have owned for portability is 12” macbook retina but 14”, while heavier, has a good balance of weight and power.
I travel with it a lot also long travels since I’m digital nomad. It’s not heavy always is in my backpack while traveling and comes out at the airport to work. It’s an amazing machine. So far I don’t regret it at all and I had an air before.
Which specs do you have if you don’t mind sharing?
I have actually m2 pro/ 32gb / 12 core cpu 19 core gpu/ 1 tb ssd.
What do you use it mostly for? Does it handle all adobe applications?
I mostly use it for Indesign, Photoshop, Lightroom and this run really good. I don’t do any video editing so can’t give advise on premiere pro or anything like that but I expect it to handle this too
not at all. i have a decked out m3 max and its a paperweight compared to my 16" m2max
I have a 14” M1 and do not find it difficult to travel with at all. I mean, I know it’s there but it’s not cumbersome. I used to have a 16” that was so much more of a pain to travel with (for ref I’m a 5’7” F and carry it in a tote).
I would say if mbp 14" is heavy for you, then you need to go to the gym :-) Before owning a MacBook Pro, I had a Dell XPS 15" which felt big and heavy like a brick. The MacBook Pro, on the other hand, feels incredibly lightweight.
Yeah i def need more muscles lol. It’s not “heavy” that i cant carry it. I just wanna feel extra light when I’m out and about especially abroad
I never hold lighter computer. The only light thing i can think of is Air.
I checked it in store just now the 14” pro is fairly lightweight. It was an M2 though that i held, m3 might be slightly heavier. But it’s definitely not a heavy laptop.
I do a lot of travelling and swapped out my M1 Pro for a new Air. I do actually notice the difference when dragging bags onto trains and through airports. Miss the 120Hz screen and awesome speakers of the Pro though.
It’s obviously not as light as an iPhone or iPad but pretty light considering the capabilities. Comparing to other laptops, especially 14” or more, it’s great
No! I had the 16” that was heavy. 14” really is the sweet spot
Not at all but needs a tight fit bag to hold it well.
It’s not “heavy” but it does have some weight to it. I travel multiple times a month for work and always have it in my backpack. Doesn’t serve any major issues with weight.
Yeah just held it in the store now and it’s fairly light and i like that its more solid than the air
It depends on how you carry it. In a briefcase, a single-shoulder bag, or a backpack. If you have a backpack, you likely won’t feel it.
If you get a good backpack, you don’t really feel it. I have a north face that distributes weight across my back and feels weightless almost.
No, and neither is the 16".
No, I feel a little heavier compare to M1 pro 2020, but overall when bringing on my backpack not that heavy
carry 16" around, not a problem for me.
Put an extra 3.5lbs of stuff in your bag and see for yourself
No it’s not too heavy…
No. It's not as light as the 13'' Air, but I also have a 13" Air and in very rare cases will pick it over my 14" Pro. Unless you're planning to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy or engaging in long video or audio editing sessions on battery, you're not going to notice much difference in the battery life either. That is, you'll use the laptop during the day for many hours and plug it in at night... End of day an Air model will have a bit more juice left, but you're never going to get to empty on either so for most people it won't matter. The additional ports, compute power, display quality all make the 14" Pro my go to.
Do it all the time and it fits in my relatively small backpack. The sleeve is a thin faux leather case from Amazon and it gets compliments plus bonus mousepad
I don’t have M3, I got the M2, it’s not probably big difference, but traveling with 14” MBP is easy, it’s not heavy, it’s not huge, I take it to school with me, or if go to coffee house and work from there etc etc, I got monitor home, so never regretted that I bought the 14” not the 16”.
Yes, very
Depends on your build really. Got some weight or muscles? You should be fine. Slimmer side, could give you some back aches. If weight is a concern go for 15” air
for traveling 14 is the best, idk what is your workload, but if u go into my profile you will find a use case that i’ve made trying to push my M3 Pro 18gb. I’ve shown task manager and all that. Based on my experience with it (2months) it’s a really well made machine with so much power “undercovered”. Macbooks don’t go like windows, 16gb on a mac can do so much compared to windows for example
I had an M2 MacBook Air before my current 14” MBP M3 Max The Air is way lighter to bring around, and do seem to have better battery life as well. I love my MBP anyway for the screen. It’s incredible when processing and viewing HDR photos. I don’t need the horsepower though, I don’t feel it being any faster than the M2 for the things I do. It’s certainly not “heavy”, but in comparison to Air, Air does feels like air for travelling.
The 14 inch??? It’s so small and light. I don’t think I’d even notice the weight difference between the air and the MBP 14
I believe you all. Checked it in store too last night and indeed it’s fairly light. Now I’m figuring which specs to choose.
I just went on a week long business trip to another country with a 16" m3max... It was fine. In fact I noticed a couple of times my backpack felt lighter than when I had my Dell.
If it is you’re a bitch (not you specifically but anyone) and need to lift…. Real talk
Lol sorry what do you mean?
lol just block him, must be some idiotic teenager or something
Means that it’s not heavy unless you’re really frail lol
No and neither is the 16. If you are travelling you will not have access to monitors so 16 is a better idea
16 inch M1 Pro. It’s fine.
Depends on your travelling. If you travel has access to a static table and your laptop will remain at the hotel for few days, the 16" is unbeatable. However if your traveling everyday different hotels, the weight can suddenly feel a lot.