Can the MacBook Pro (M3, 2023) charge with USB-C?

Summary

• Apple's M3 MacBook Pro units were unveiled at the "Scary Fast" event, with the base model 14-inch priced at $1,599, making it more affordable.
• The M3 MacBook laptops come with a MagSafe 3 port and Thunderbolt/USB-C ports that support charging, so you can charge them using a USB-C cable.
• The M3 MacBook Pro features improved performance with the new M3 chipsets, offering faster video rendering and increased battery life compared to previous models.

Apple unveiled the M3 MacBook Pro units at its "Scary Fast" event in October, and there were two major highlights. The first is the Space Black color option, which looks pretty slick, but more importantly, there’s a price drop for the base model; you can get your hands on the 14-inch model for just $1,599.

While there are obvious differences between the M3 and M2 in terms of chipset performance, we found the laptops to be largely similar during our hands-on experience. It’s still a shoo-in on our best laptops list, though. Since Apple is all about USB-C now, the recent launch event has people asking if the M3 MacBook series is MagSafe-only or if they can charge these laptops using a USB-C cable

Charging the M3 MacBook Pro with USB-C

The M3 MacBook laptops come with a MagSafe 3 port, but they also feature Thunderbolt/USB-C ports that support charging. So, to answer your question, you can charge your MacBook Pro (M3, 2023) with USB-C. While the M3 has two USB-C 4 ports supporting Thunderbolt 3, the Pro and Max variants have three ports with USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 support. These USB-C ports also support DisplayPort if you want to connect to an external monitor, or you can use the HDMI port on the right side.

Back to the charging bit, your 14-inch MacBook comes with a charger. The M3/M3 Pro with an 11-core CPU comes with a 70W charger, while the M3 Max/M3 Pro models get a 96W. If you go for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, you get a 140W USB-C power adapter. All models come with a USB-C to MagSafe cable.

The history of MacBooks and USB-C ports

Since when have MacBooks featured USB-C ports? With all the jargon Apple uses for its various devices (Lightning, Thunderbolt, MagSafe), it’s understandable if you assumed it was a new feature.

The first Apple computer to ship with the USB-C was the 12-inch MacBook from 2015. It came with a USB Type-C port, which took on a multipurpose role: You could connect your accessories, including a display, and, of course, charge your Mac. This was the last we saw of the chunkier Thunderbolt 2 port; all MacBooks since feature USB-C ports on the sides.

The USB-C ports on MacBooks still support Thunderbolt 3 or 4 technology, so if you want to connect Thunderbolt-compatible accessories, plug them right in.

What’s new with the M3 MacBook Pro?

The M3 MacBook Pro is available in three M3 chip configurations with a familiar naming scheme: M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. While the 14-inch model is available with any of these chips, you must pick between the M3 Pro or the M3 Max if you buy the 16-inch model.

The new 3nm M3 chipsets deliver superior performance when compared to its predecessors, as expected. Apple purports that they're about 60% faster than the M1-powered MacBook Pro when tackling video rendering jobs. There is also a slight bump in SDR brightness — it’s now at 600 nits compared to 500 nits on M2 MacBooks.

And if you weren’t already impressed with the battery life on MacBooks, Apple worked on that, too. On a single charge, you now get 22 hours of video playback on the M3 Pro/M3 Max versions of the 16-inch MacBook Pro. In comparison, the M2 Pro/M2 Max models offered 21 hours. The 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro puts up even better battery stats — it can run videos for 22 hours on a single charge, compared to 17 hours on the M2 Pro/M2 Max versions of the 14-inch MacBook Pro.