I was composing a rave review for my new MacBook Pro M3 Pro (18GB/512GB/11 cores) last night when I realized I needed to address an issue with the sound quality. Despite arriving only yesterday, my laptop’s speakers appear to be defective.

The laptop came via UPS and was exposed to freezing temperatures overnight due to a cold front, although my area typically has a moderate climate. After letting it warm up to room temperature and charging it, I noticed a significant dip in battery life from 100% to 57% due to the cold exposure during transit. While this didn't initially concern me, I was dismayed to discover severe distortion in the midrange frequencies when I tested the sound with Apple Music. The distortion was apparent even at moderate volume levels, suggesting the speakers might have been damaged.

In my attempt to troubleshoot, I found several key insights:

1. **Speaker Break-In**: It's known that speakers often need a break-in period at mid-level volumes to prevent damage and achieve optimal sound. However, even after playing music for several hours, the distortion persisted.

2. **Fragility of MacBook Speakers**: MacBook speakers are prone to damage, and even if they sound good initially, they can deteriorate if handled improperly. There are even DIY videos on how to repair them if they fail after the warranty period.

3. **Performance Cores in the M3 Pro**: Contrary to the M1 and M2 models, the M3 Pro with 11 cores has fewer performance cores. Specifically, the M3 Pro has 5 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores, compared to the M1 Pro’s 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores, and the M2 Pro’s 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. This change might impact performance in tasks that rely heavily on performance cores, such as music production.

Aside from the sound issues, I encountered a few operational glitches: I can't use the “Share” feature to email or message from Safari, as these options are disabled in System Settings. Additionally, Apple's “Stocks” app crashed while running in the background despite no other third-party apps being active.

Overall, the MacBook Pro M3 Pro represents a significant power and speed upgrade from my M1 iMac and iPad Air 5th gen. However, I advise against opting for any "Pro" version with less than 18GB RAM or 512GB SSD. For general use, a MacBook Air M2 might be a more suitable choice. While I appreciate the new Space Black color, I wish there was a Midnight (dark blue) option.

For better sound quality, I recommend using Apple HomePod Minis. Although they don’t support Bluetooth, they connect via AirPlay to Macs and the Amazon Music app. One of these tiny speakers offers superior sound compared to the MacBook’s built-in speakers and is also better than other home speaker options. Additionally, adjusting the Apple Music app’s equalizer settings can enhance sound quality and volume. For most songs, settings like “Lounge” or “R&B” work well, improving both clarity and loudness.

Powerful laptop with typical excellent Apple build quality. I upgraded from a MacBook Pro M1 Max with 32GB of RAM simply because I was pushing that RAM into the yellow range too often with my workflow. The GPU on this laptop is about as powerful as the M1 Max but the CPU is significantly faster. I don't notice it in my day-to-day basic activities, but it makes a noticeable difference when working with audio plugins and rendering out finished projects compared to the M1 Max (which was already quite fast).

The one downside to this is that the small form factor of the 14 laptop means the fans run frequently. I have a fan monitor installed and often see 1500-2200 RPM fan speeds at lower temps (around 45-50 Celcius). You can't hear this with the naked human ear, but if it's in a studio with sensitive mics like my own those mics may pick up on this and increase the noise floor. Unfortunately I am a voice actor and have my laptop in my booth with me when recording, and this can be an issue, so I am going to have to get out from under this laptop and stick with my M1 Max for now (whose fans do not come on under around 70-75 Celsius).

B&H BUYER BEWARE: before buying this laptop, or any electronic from B&H, you need to go read their return policy. If you open this machine there is no return possible, unlike almost every other laptop vendor on the internet. Only purchase if you are 100% certain you will keep it. I was not, and I am now stuck with a $3k machine I will have to flip in the private market because it's not quite what I had hoped for. If you are anything less than absolutely certain you will keep the laptop purchase it from another vendor to allow for an open-box return if needed. I didn't check this before purchasing since, as I said, every other vendor I have come across on the web accepts returns on open-box laptops. Don't make my mistake. As a company B&H is excellent, but this was a surprising upset. I have shared this with many in my industry and all were caught off guard by the policy.

Aside from using the migration assistant from your windows PC( Do not do this but instead take your files manually if needed from your old PC ). I made a mistake and used the migration assistant and it messed up the macOS so bad that I had to factory reset the MacBook. After that this thing only gets bogged down if you are doing a ridiculous amount of file transfers and some applications you have to be mindful that they don’t start to bleed out your memory so you should keep activity monitor open as some websites while the user is using safari can cause this but no issue as long you keep a close eye on activity monitor as if you are doing video editing you can watch the CPU usage( if you are into that type of thing) cold boot to after login screen is around 5 seconds which is impressive. You can play games don’t try to download the other game store apps and install games as Rosetta 2 probably supports the CPU side of things but not the GPU side. Games work from the Apple Store but I temper expectations since the Apple silicon been around for less than 5 years and developers are still poking at it. The only time the fans kick on is when I am playing a game but I’m sure someone who does 3D modeling would not look at this configuration. Storage is 1TB which should be enough for most people but try to get an external storage solution. The Battery life is the best battery life I have ever experienced in a laptop, I have gotten two days for heavy use and 4 days for light use. Display is nice but refrain from using a screen protector as it would increase the reflection from a light source. Glad I didn’t get the 32GB of RAM version since the only fan spinning thing I do is play a game here or there. If you own a lot of legacy devices, I suggest a dock. Overall, if you require a powerful, portable and battery efficient laptop, this is a proper choice

For my previous job as a software engineer, I had used the M1 Macbook Pro and I was impressed by the overall build quality and power efficiency. This new model I have bought for personal use is a huge step up from that. Despite having the ‘minimum’ RAM for the M4 Pro chip configuration, it is more than enough to handle my need. The 1TB SSD space also gives me peace of mind for using lots of data and assets for any software development I intend to do on this machine.

Regarding screen size, if you feel doubtful about screen size, go for the 16 inch model. The 14 inch model is perfect for me because I prefer a workflow not dependent on space (i.e. small cafe table or on the plane). However, if that is not a dealbreaker, the 16 inch model is better to comfortably open multiple windows of code with split screen. Personally, the 14 inch model without an external monitor is not suitable to have more than 1 window of code open at the same time.

Also, if this is your first Macbook with a notch, note that the Menu bar items will be hidden and practically are inaccessible when they are extended to the notch area. Having used a Macbook without a notch before, this was somewhat frustrating.

Despite this, the pros of this device are outstanding enough for me to keep this for multiple years as my daily driver. Unless you need to perform graphics intensive work that may require more RAM or SSD space, this is the best value laptop in the industry with this level of computing power for personal software development, alongside its industry leading build quality and power efficiency that allows a workflow away from the charger basically all day long.