Apple’s “Scary Fast” event in October 2023 was all about the company’s Mac lineup, and the new models certainly live up to the event’s name. Although the keynote only lasted 30 minutes, Apple showcased exciting new hardware for both laptop and desktop users. So, here’s everything Apple unveiled at its event.
1. M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max
Apple’s “Scary Fast” Mac event hinges on the launch of the third generation ofApple silicon chips. The M3 family comes in three flavors—the standard M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. These chips build on the technology Apple developed with the M1 chip, allowing users to get a powerful but highly efficient processor.
Apple claims the M3 family delivers up to 1.8 times faster rendering performance than the M2 line of chips. These 3nm chips also introduce new technologies and features, like Dynamic Caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, andAV1 decoding, to make the processors look even more impressive on paper.
The company also focuses on on-device neural processing with the M3 family, allowing Macs to perform better in artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks while safeguarding your privacy. After presenting these chips, Apple showcased the new Macs that will get them—the MacBook Pro family and the 24-inch iMac.
2. 14-Inch and 16-Inch MacBook Pro
These are the most powerful laptops Apple offers, so it makes sense that they’re the first to get the new M3 chips. The new MacBook Pro models are a step up from the 15-inch MacBook Air, as Apple ditched the 13-inch MacBook Pro by offering the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the base M3 chip.
As a result, the price for the lowest-end MacBook Pro has also gone up from $1,299 to $1,599, but you now get 512GB of storage. Of course, you can get the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the higher-end M2 Pro and M2 Max chips (starting at $1,999) if you need more performance.
Apple also offers a new Space Black color option for the higher-end MacBook Pro models to make them stand out, but other than that, you won’t spot a difference if you put them next to their predecessors.
With these new color options and more capable processors,the 14-inch MacBook Pro is a great deal. That’s why you should consider it if you’re in the market for a mid-range Apple laptop.
3. 24-inch iMac With the M3 Chip
Apple has also refreshed the 24-inch iMac with the base M3 chip. This all-in-one desktop first came out in 2021 with the M1 chip but didn’t get a hardware refresh when the M2 chips arrived in 2022. Thanks to the M3 refresh, however, the 24-inch iMac is up to 2x faster than its predecessor.
Unfortunately, the design remains unchanged, and the rest of the hardware is almost identical. Aside from the new processor, the 24-inch iMac gets updated wireless communication protocols in the form of Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. So, thefeatures that make the 2021 M1 iMac a great desktopstill hold today.
Pricing remains unchanged for the iMac, costing $1,299 for the base model with 8GB of unified memory and 256GB of storage.
Apple Silicon Continues to Take Macs to New Heights
The M1 chip revolutionized laptop and desktop computing, helping Apple gain market share over Windows PCs. Nevertheless, the Cupertino company is not resting on its laurels, continuously developing its in-house chip to provide more power and efficiency.
You can order the new Macs right now from Apple Store Online, but they will start shipping on July 27, 2025. So, if you’re looking to upgrade your aging MacBook or iMac, now would be the right time to do so.
