The M3 Pro: A Rare Misstep in Apple Silicon’s Performance Arc

Apple’s M-series chips have typically delivered strong generational improvements—but the M3 Pro breaks that pattern in surprising ways. In single-core performance, the M3 Pro achieves a Geekbench 6 score of 3,093, which is a respectable bump from the M2 Pro’s 2,689 (a ~14% gain). However, the real trouble begins when looking at multi-core performance: the M3 Pro scores just 14,632, while the M2 Pro outperforms it at 14,949. This regression is visualized in Screenshot 2, where the M3 Pro’s multi-threaded capability fails to surpass the previous generation.

The story becomes more concerning on the GPU front. In Geekbench Metal benchmarks, the M3 Pro posts a score of 73,908, while the M2 Pro comes in significantly higher at 89,032. That’s a 17% drop in GPU compute performance from one generation to the next. Combined with the M3 Pro’s reduced GPU core count (14 vs. 19) and memory bandwidth downgrade (150 GB/s vs. 200 GB/s), it’s clear the chip was engineered with different priorities—likely thermals and efficiency—at the expense of raw power. As shown in Screenshot 3, even real-world synthetic tests reflect this compromise.

Across multiple configurations in our dataset, the M2 Pro consistently outclasses the M3 Pro in both GPU and multi-core tasks. The M3 Pro only edges out in single-core performance—but even there, the lead is narrow and situational. For a chip aimed at professionals, this kind of performance tradeoff is hard to justify—especially considering both chips launched at a similar MSRP of $1,999. Users expecting a true next-gen boost may find the M3 Pro a disappointing plateau rather than a progression.

Thankfully, Apple seems to have rebounded with the M4 family. The new M4 Pro scores 3,802 single-core, 22,025 multi-core, and 113,185 on Metal GPU — a significant leap in every category. Other M4 variants in our dataset show consistent performance improvements across the board, particularly in GPU compute. These gains reaffirm Apple’s trajectory and suggest the M3 Pro’s underwhelming showing was a brief misstep, not a lasting trend.