NEWS – Apple used its “Scary Fast” event to announce a new M3 series of Apple Silicon chips, updated 14” and 16” MacBook Pros, and the first update to the 24” iMac since its release in 2021. Starting with the M3 processors, they are the industry’s first chips based on a 3-nanometer process. Featuring performance cores that are 15% faster than M2 and 30% faster than M1, and GPU performance that’s 2.5x faster than M1, Apple says M3 “represents the biggest leap forward in graphics architecture ever for Apple silicon.”
Apple announced three chips in the series – M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. All three chips come with an advanced media engine, including hardware acceleration for h.264, HEVC, ProRes, ProRes RAW, as well as AV1 decoding for the first time, for more efficient playback of streaming services. M3 Pro features more CPU and GPU cores for graphics-intensive applications. M3 Max includes even more CPU and GPU cores and support for up to 128 GB of unified memory. The M3 series also feature hardware raytracing for the first time, increasing the Mac’s graphics rendering capabilities, pushing gaming support even further.
The first Macs announced with the new M3 processors are the 14” and 16” MacBook Pros. The entry level 14” MacBook Pro features an M3 processor and replaces the 13” M2 MacBook Pro in Apple’s lineup. 14” and 16” MacBook Pros are also available with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, supporting advanced performance and media capabilities. The screens in all the new MacBook Pro models include Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR technology with up to 20% brighter SDR display. With up to 22 hours total battery life, they feature the same performance whether plugged in or running on battery, so users can do their work from anywhere.
The M3 Pro and M3 Max MacBook Pros are also available in a new finish Apple calls Space Black. Apple is using a new chemistry which, according to Apple “forms an anodization seal to greatly reduce fingerprints.”
Finally, Apple announced an update to the 24” iMac, the first update since its release in May 2021. The new M3 chip makes the iMac up to 2x faster than the M1-based iMac. The new iMac supports up to 24 GB of unified memory. M3 iMac comes in the same colors as before – blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange, and purple.
The new M3 iMac, and M3 MacBook Pro models are up for order now and will be available November 7, except for the M3 Max models, which will be available later in November. Learn more and order at apple.com.
Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
I ordered the 14-inch MBP last night. My current M1 13-inch MBP is 3 yrs old and is ready to be handed down to Jeanne who has a 13-inch MBP (also a hand-me-down from me) that is 10 years old this year!