RIP Touch Bar -- Apple sends the 13-inch MacBook Pro to the grave
It's official -- the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 has slain the 13-inch MacBook Pro, bringing an end to the Touch Bar.

13-inch MacBook Pro is no more
The 13-inch MacBook Pro stuck around in Apple's lineup for years after anyone expected it to. The aging design and Touch Bar served as a reminder to Apple's historically bad butterfly MacBook Pro era.
That changes with Apple's Scary Fast event held on October 30. The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at a lower price with the M3 processor.
Apple chose the most obvious path available. Rumors suggested the 13-inch MacBook Pro would get some kind of redesign and continue to be sold at its entry $1,299 price point. Instead, the company ditched the outdated model entirely and brought its $2,000 14-inch MacBook Pro down to $1,499 with M3.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is truly removed from Apple's lineup too. It isn't hidden away on the website to hold some kind of awkward price point for education, it's just been buried.
Apple has commented before that the MacBook Air is its most popular MacBook, but the 13-inch MacBook Pro was the most popular pro model because of its price. People who didn't know better bought it for the pro name, not knowing its feature set was limited and any other Mac would be a better option.
Customers interested in the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 can pre-order starting October 30. Initial shipments begin the week of November 6.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
MBA15 with M2/M3 would be better machine than this MBP14 with M3 imo, for most people. Imo, small niche of folks who want the miniLED, ports, and fan. I'm still mystified that a ~$1500 MBP model is primarily bought because it has the word "Pro" in its name, among enterprise customers they say. In the next 6 months, the M3 models will have advantages its advantages, but for regular web browser workflow and office app consumers, MBA15 is a better machine.
The one thing having a Touch Bar taught me was that I didn't use the Function Keys very often, as I never missed them. A physical Escape key, I did miss, and they at least fixed that in later models.
Of course, the one thing I really miss is the extra TB port they sacrificed for the HDMI and SD-Card slot on the current models. I mean the reason I didn't consider the 13" Apple Silicon MBP was that it only has two ports, which is just not enough.
In short, if you need the 512 Drive you would be foolish to go with a MBA. The prices on the two M2 MBAs need to come down by $100 each to leave enough room for the 15" MBA. Perhaps when they finally drop the aging 13" MBA with M1.
I’ll probably be getting a 16” M3 MBP! So, adios TouchBar! Hello, F-Keys!
a problem is that people have muscle memory from buttons and buttons that have had fixed functions for decades. I used to try to stab a button before realizing it wasn’t there, and that function was an inch or two left or right. So I can imagine people getting frustrated. But if it were programmed properly by developers, people might have gotten over it. Oh well, Apple did have to try after all.
as for the computer itself,yes, it definitely needed MagSafe and another port. Actually, just MagSafe would have opened up one port and would have been enough most of the time. So I use a small hub which allows me to attach power, Ethernet, my USB to SPID/f converter, SSD for my music and a backup drive for that drive. It works well enough. I’ve been using it for what, three years now?
the new 14” is 4200 more expensive. You’re getting $200 worth of extra computer, but some people will still want a smaller, lighter model. The Macbook won’t cut it for them.
When the M2 Air came out, all that was done to the 13" Pro was get the new processor- the M2 Air has a better, brighter screen, better webcam, speakers, MagSafe charging. The only thing the 13" Pro had was that TouchBar and a fan that never really came on with the M series processors.
The new 14" M3 Pro will serve those who need the better display (Mini-LED, ProMotion), the HDMI port and better speakers/microphones than the 13" Air.