Apple ‘Scary Fast’ Mac launch event: the 4 biggest announcements

Apple’s “Scary Fast” showcase has come to a close. During the launch event, Apple took the wraps off of some brand-new Macs that come equipped with the latest version of the company’s in-house chip.

If you’re curious about all the new products, here’s a roundup of the major announcements from the event.

A more powerful line of M3 chips

As expected, Apple’s M3 chips took the spotlight during this month’s event. The new lineup includes the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips, which Apple says mark the “first personal computer chips” made using the more efficient 3-nanometer process.

In addition to offering a “faster and more efficient CPU,” the trio of chips comes with an updated GPU that supports ray tracing, mesh shading, and Dynamic Caching — a feature that optimizes the amount of memory the device uses during tasks.

Apple’s M3 chips offer up to 128GB of unified memory, with the most powerful M3 Max chip coming with up to 92 billion transistors, a 40-core GPU, and a 16-core CPU.

A refreshed 24-inch iMac with an M3 chip

The new 24-inch iMac is getting an M3-flavored upgrade that Apple says offers two times faster performance than its M1-equipped predecessor. Along with the new chip, the refreshed iMac features a 4.5K Retina display with more than 1 billion colors, support for Wi-Fi 6E, and a 1080p webcam.

The iMac also offers up to 24GB of unified memory and comes in seven colors: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. There are also color-matched accessories that come with the iMac, but they still feature Lightning connectors.

The 24-inch iMac costs $1,299 with an eight-core CPU or $1,499 with a 10-core chip. You can preorder it starting today, with availability starting on November 7th.

The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros get a big M3-powered boost

The iMac isn’t the only device getting an M3-powered upgrade. Apple also announced a new pair of 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that come with either the M3 Pro chip or the higher-end M3 Max.

Both laptops feature a Mini LED display, a 1080p camera, a six-speaker sound system, 22 hours of battery life, and up to 128GB of RAM. They’re also available in a space black finish with a new coating that’s supposed to help reduce fingerprints as well as a silver option.

While the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip starts at $1,999, the 16-inch M3 Pro model starts at $2,499. These MacBook Pro models are available to preorder today and will become available on November 7th.

An entry-level MacBook Pro that ditches the Touch Bar

Alongside the M3 Pro and M3 Max-equipped MacBook Pro models, Apple is releasing a cheaper 14-inch MacBook Pro that comes with the base M3 chip and starts at $1,599. The device replaces the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 chip that Apple released last year and offers performance that’s up to 60 percent faster.

The Touch Bar model is being discontinued, which means it’s all physical keys from here out. There are some drawbacks to this entry-level model, though: it features a meager 8GB of RAM and comes in just silver and space gray variations — the black color is exclusive to the higher-end MacBook Pros. The device is available to preorder today and officially launches on November 7th.