The new 24-inch iMac. Image: Apple
The focal point of Apple’s event last night, and the announcement that gave the ‘Scary Fast’ event its name, was the new 3-nanometre M3 chip series.
In case you were looking to be trick-or-treated by a Big Tech company this Halloween, Apple has some big candies in store.
At its surprise ‘Scary Fast’ event last night (30 October) , the iPhone maker announced a new 24-inch iMac, new MacBook Pro models and the latest series of M3 chips to power them.
Apple first announced the event a week ago and the latest announcements come less than two months since it released the latest iPhone 15 model, famous for its USB-C support and an initial overheating issue that Apple claims to have fixed.
M3 chips
The focal point of Apple’s event last night, and the announcement that gave the Scary Fast event its name, was the new 3-nanometre M3 chip series, pitched as Apple’s most advanced chips for a personal computer.
The series, in true Apple iPhone fashion, includes the regular M3 chip, an M3 Pro and an M3 Max, and marks a significant upgrade over previous M1 and M2 chips. The company claims that the M3 is 2.5 times faster than the M1, while its CPU, or central processing unit, is up to 50pc faster than the M1 family of chips.
The M3 line of chips. Image: Apple
“Apple silicon has completely redefined the Mac experience. Every aspect of its architecture is designed for performance and power efficiency,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies.
“With 3-nanometer technology, a next-generation GPU architecture, a higher-performance CPU, faster Neural Engine, and support for even more unified memory, M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max are the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer.”
Essentially, thanks to a new feature called Dynamic Caching and a host of other architectural updates to the M1 and M2, the M3 is poised to offer faster speeds and a more seamless display to users of the new devices, especially gamers.
The new MacBook Pro
While the most visually significant upgrade to Apple’s popular MacBook Pro laptop is the introduction of a new Space Black colour, the real upgrade is powered by the M3.
Apple has released the new MacBook Pro in two sizes: 14-inch and 16-inch. The 14-inch MacBook Pro comes with the option to use any of the three new M3 chips, while the 16-inch model only comes with the M3 Pro or M3 Max.
The new MacBook Pro in Space Black. Image: Apple
Other than the inclusion of the M3 chips, the new models also boast battery life that can last up to 22 hours on a single charge. All models come with Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR display, a six-speaker array and a 1080p camera.
The MacBook Pro is available in Ireland from 7 November and prices range from €2,049 for the 14-inch model powered by the regular M3 to €4,949 for the 16-inch model powered by the M3 Max.
24-inch iMac in vibrant colours
Finally, Apple also surprised users of its large desktops with a new 24-inch iMac with every update to performance the M3 has to offer and a sleek 11.5mm design.
It comes with an updated 4.5K retina display, a 1080p FaceTime camera and a six-speaker system with Dolby Atmos and spatial audio support. The iMac also gets a colour upgrade, now available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver options.
Also available in Ireland from 7 November, the iMac costs between €1,629 and €2,089 depending on GPU and storage capacity specifications.
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