This is hardly full cost cutting. M3 and M3 Max are still good improvements over their M2 counterparts. Full cost cutting would have them nerfing their entire l

This is hardly full cost cutting. M3 and M3 Max are still good improvements over their M2 counterparts. Full cost cutting would have them nerfing their entire line to target M1 upgrades only. Clearly, Apple has decided that it has mispositioned the Pro line and decided to take the hit on adjustment now. Yes, it won't help their M3 sales, but this will probably be better for them in the long run. Apple wants to keep their SKU chart simple. If they keep it to only three models, and considering computer purchasing habits (ie, your high end will be quite flexible on pricing), then it makes sense to have "basic/anchor", "get people who want to splurge" and then "take everything you can from people who can actually quantitatively justify the price for performance". "Pro" isn't primarily for professionals. It just cannot be in a 3 SKU system for a product as complex as a CPU plus GPU soc.