Apple's new MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip.
Apple’s “Scarily Fast” Halloween event saw treats in the form of new iMacs and MacBook Pros based on its newly unveiled M3 processors - and a couple of tricks.
Here are the top five takeaways.
Apple has replaced Intel silicon with its own “M” processors - which critics have called cooler, faster and quieter (even when its fans kicked in, Herald review Juha Saarinen called the MacBook Pro M2 “very quiet, almost imperceptibly so”).
Apple says the new M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips are generally 20 to 30 per cent faster than their M1 equivalents, and up to two and half times faster than with apps that require intensive graphics rendering. A new feature called dynamic cashing allocates only the exact amount of memory needed for a given task.
New rendering features include hardware-accelerated ray tracing, aimed at everyone from graphics professionals to gamers who want better light, shadows and reflections. And in keeping with the zeitgeist, there’s a custom engine for AI image and video processing.
The new M3 processor powers a new iMac, which comes in eight-core and 10-core options (the more cores, the better a computer is at doing many things at once).
Apple says compared to the previous generation of 24-inch iMacs, everyday users should see its Safari web browser perform 30 per cent faster, with the same gains for Microsoft Excel and up to 50 per cent improvement for game loading times and frame rates.
The new model can also process photos in Adobe Photoshop up to two times faster, Apple says. And if you’re a graphics professional, it was pitched that you can edit and play up to 12 streams of 4K ultra-high-definition video at once - or three times the capability of the previous model.
The new iMacs are only available with the M3 (the new MacBooks below feature the faster members of the family).
Despite Apple’s recent embrace of USB-C with its latest iPhones, the mouse and keyboard that come with the new iMacs still charge with a Lightning cable.
And those hoping an M3-powered 27-inch iMac would appear were out of luck. For now, those after a larger monitor have to plump for Apple’s Studio Display.
New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros come with the M3, M3 Pro or M3 Max.
The rated battery life is up to 22 hours, with various power-saving settings enabled. That’s on a par with the M2-powered series, despite the extra grunt.
We’ll have to see how they stack up once review models arrive, but Apple promises big performance gains.
Its welter of stats includes render performance in Final Cut Pro being up to 7.4 times faster than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an intel Core i7 processor, and up to 60 per cent faster than the 13‑inch MacBook Pro with an M1 chip.
You’re also promised much snappier Excel. And a game mode prioritises graphics tasks to deliver consistently high frame rates and “drastically reduce” latency (lag times) with wireless accessories, Apple says.
All of the improvements are under the bonnet, with virtually no change to the exterior design (although there is a new finish; see below).
The new MacBook Pros come in silver, “space-grey” or a new “space-black” option - a finish that “features a breakthrough chemistry that forms an anodisation seal to greatly reduce fingerprints,” Apple says.
There was no refresh of the 13-inch MacBook Pro - the last model to feature Apple’s Touch Bar - at “Scarily Fast”.
The customisable OLED strip seemed futuristic when it was first introduced in 2016, but software makers never really embraced it.
Those who want a 13-inch screen are still catered for by the MacBook Air series.
iMac
MacBook Pro
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.
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