Most powerful chips
The event opened with the reveal of Apple’s next generation of highly capable Silicon, built on a 3 nanometer process. The lineup includes the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, delivering notable gains in both performance and energy efficiency across Apple’s ecosystem.
A standout feature across the new chips is the upgraded 16-core Neural Engine, now about 60% faster. The graphics engine also saw meaningful improvements with dynamic caching and ray tracing support, enhancements that are particularly appealing to gamers and creators alike.
The base model, the Apple M3, houses an 8-core CPU and a 10-core GPU, boasting 25 billion transistors and up to 24 GB of unified memory. Apple claims the M3 outpaces the prior generation in both computing and graphics tasks by around 20%, while drawing roughly half the power.
The M3 Pro scales up to a 12-core CPU and an 18-core GPU, featuring 37 billion transistors and up to 36 GB of unified memory. In graphics workloads, it is about 40% faster than the M1 Pro, and its CPU performance is around 30% higher.
The M3 Max stands at the top of the line with 92 billion transistors, a 14-core CPU and a 30-core GPU option, or 16 and 40 cores respectively depending on the configuration. It supports up to 128 GB of unified memory and delivers roughly 80% greater compute power and 50% stronger graphics performance than the M1 Pro. Notably, Apple did not benchmark the M3 Max against last year’s M2 Max, choosing to compare with a different category instead.
Black MacBook Pro
After the hardware showcase, Apple highlighted its most powerful and energy-efficient laptops to date. The M3 generation chips enable strong performance for gaming, development, video editing, and other professional tasks. Availability spans two screen sizes: 14 inches and 16 inches.
The base MacBook Pro with the M3 chip is offered exclusively in a 14-inch footprint, with memory options of 8, 16, or 24 GB across system RAM and GPU memory. Storage configurations include 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB SSDs.
Models featuring M3 Pro and M3 Max are available in both 14- and 16-inch sizes. Memory options extend to 16, 36, 48, 64, 96, and 128 GB, with SSD capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, and 8 TB.
All MacBook Pro models with the M3 family use Liquid Retina XDR displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Brightness reaches up to 1000 nits in standard mode and 1600 nits in HDR. True Tone adjusts the color temperature to suit ambient light conditions.
Ports cover Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, MagSafe 3, three USB-C/Ox ports with SDXC support, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Connectivity is driven by Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. New features include remote access to another Mac and a Game Mode that prioritizes gaming performance.
Apple projects up to 22 hours of battery life on a single charge for these laptops.
Color updates include Space Black for the M3 Pro and M3 Max configurations, featuring a fingerprint-resistant anodized finish, while the base model retains the established color palette. The chassis uses recycled aluminum.
Prices begin around 1.6 thousand dollars for the 14-inch base configuration with an M3, climbing to approximately 7.2 thousand dollars for the 16-inch model with an M3 Max. Availability spans November 7 for the M3 and M3 Pro models, with the M3 Max appearing in late November.
The long-awaited iMac
Apple also introduced an updated 24-inch iMac powered by the M3 chip, delivering a significant performance uplift over the previous M1-based model.
The all-in-one features a 4.5K display, brightness up to 500 nits, Wi‑Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, up to four USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, a built-in camera, six speakers, and an array of microphones.
Pricing remains in the same range, with configurations expected to start around 1.3 thousand dollars and go up to 1.5 thousand dollars depending on the chosen setup.
What wasn’t shown?
There was speculation about additional new products during the event, but the presentation focused on the chips and the updated notebooks. It was one of Apple’s shorter showcases, in line with the company’s “scary fast” branding.
Even with the refreshed iMac, accessories retained the same Lightning-era design approach, a detail some observers found curious as Apple continues to move toward newer connector standards.
There was chatter about new iPad models, including expectations for a larger iPad mini and a more powerful entry-level tablet, but those announcements were not part of this event and are anticipated to arrive later.