It’s time to decide how much you really need a new M3 MacBook Pro for work. Local pricing is available and pre-orders are live. Even if you get in on the ground floor, you can expect to spend at least R37,500 for one of Apple’s latest machines. The worst part? That price won’t even get you the new Space Black colourway.

Pricing for the new M3 24in iMac is also out and about. It starts at R33,800 and goes as high as R44,300. That’s less a testament to the machine’s affordability and more an indication of the lack of customisation options. There are a couple of base M3 chipset options, either 256GB or 512GB of storage, and a mere 8GB of RAM. The chipset supports up to 24GB but that’s not an option here. If you’re after customisation, the MacBook Pro lineup is where you should look.

M3 goes faster, costs more

Local pricing for the new 14in MacBook Pro starts, as mentioned, at R37,500. That’s for the basic version of Apple’s new chipset. The M3 Pro model begins at R47,000 and the Max version starts at R75,500. If you go balls to the wall then the stock version will set you back R42,000, the Pro costs R56,500 (with 18GB of RAM), and the Max version with 36GB of RAM… actually doesn’t have any greater or lesser options. You’re just choosing colour for that model.

There is only a Pro and Max version of the 16in MacBook Pro. Pricing begins at R58,500 and R82,000 respectively but there are a couple of options you can select when setting your new ‘work machine’ up. The 16in M3 Pro only ships with 512GB of storage but you can specify 18GB or 36GB of RAM. Go for the latter and your price climbs to R68,000.

The 16in Max includes a 1TB SSD and has two processor options. The larger of the two features a 16-core CPU and a 40-core GPU and you’ll also have 48GB of RAM. The price, before you opt for Apple Care and insuring the blasted thing? R94,000. Good luck convincing your IT department that you really need one of these to make your Excel spreadsheets move faster.