Apple debuts M3-powered MacBook Pros, iMac at its ‘Scary Fast’ event
Apple (AAPL), on Monday, announced its latest MacBook Pro lineup and updated iMac during its prime time Scary Fast virtual event. Each of the systems come equipped with the company’s new M3 line of chips, which feature a new graphics architecture for improved performance in gaming and graphics-intensive apps.
The Pros come in 14-inch and 16-inch varieties and include Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display, a 1080p camera, six-speaker sound system, and Apple’s macOS Sonoma operating system. But it’s the chips that make these laptops stand apart from their predecessors.
The MacBook Pro 14-inch is available with the entry-level M3, mid-range M3 Pro, and top-of-the-line M3 Max. The MacBook Pro 16-inch is available with the M3 Pro and the M3 Max. The MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 starts at $1,599, while the version with the 14-inch with the M3 Pro starts at $1,999. The MacBook Pro 16-inch starts at $2,499.
All of the chips use 3-nanometer technology and come with Apple’s new Dynamic Caching GPU technology, which the company says is designed to ensure software is getting the most out of the GPU’s available resources. Overall, Apple says the M3 line is a major upgrade over the first-generation M1 line of chips, as well as older Intel-based MacBooks.
According to the company, the M3 MacBook Pros offer 7.4x faster render performance in Final Cut Pro than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel (INTC) Core i7 chip, and 60% faster performance than the 13-inch Pro with an M1 chip. Excel is also 3.5x faster than the Intel model and 40% faster than the M1 system.
The MacBook Pro with Apple’s M3 Pro chip offers 3x faster performance using Photoshop’s filter and function than an Intel-based Pro and 40% faster performance than a MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro.
As for the M3 Max-powered MacBook Pro, Apple says the laptop offers 5.3x faster render performance than an Intel-based MacBook Pro in Maxon Redshift and 2.5x faster performance than a Pro using the M1 Max chip.
MacBook Pros outfitted with the M3 Max and M3 Pro chip are also available in an exclusive space black finish that uses an anodized shield to dramatically cut down on fingerprints.
Apple’s MacBook Pros have traditionally been marketed toward content creators, whether those are animators or video and photo editors. But the company is increasingly looking to target a broader swath of consumers, aiming the latest generation of MacBook Pros at everyone from small business owners and students to gamers and medical professionals.
Apple is looking to make strides in gaming in particular, with the company offering a look at how the latest Pros handle games like “Lies of P” and showing off their ability to take advantage of hardware-accelerated ray tracing to provide more accurate, realistic lighting.
It’s clear that Apple isn’t just looking to win over creators anymore; it’s hoping to get all consumers on board with its most powerful laptops.
The latest iMac, meanwhile, starts at $1,299 and comes with Apple’s new M3 chip and up to 24GB of memory. That, Apple says, makes the 24-inch all-in-one 2x faster than an iMac with an M1 chip. The system also offers a 30% performance boost while using Excel and 30% jump in Safari performance.
Apple says the M3-equipped desktop is 4x faster than an Intel-powered 21.5-inch iMac, and 2.5x faster than the 27-inch iMac with an Intel chip.
While Apple is in its third generation of M processors, there are still plenty of Intel-powered Macs in the wild. And drawing distinctions between those older systems and its latest and greatest is a surefire way to draw consumer interest.
The MacBook Pros and iMac come as the PC industry is set for a rebound after two years of declines. According to research firm Gartner, PC shipments, which include Apple’s MacBooks, declined 9% in the third quarter. But the sector is headed for growth in the fourth quarter, the firm said.
Daniel Howley is the tech editor at Yahoo Finance. He's been covering the tech industry since 2011. You can follow him on Twitter @DanielHowley.
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