Apple unveiled its latest silicon, the M3 series, during a brief live-streamed event on Tuesday, showcasing its capabilities in the newly launched MacBook Pros and a 24-inch iMac. Here’s an overview of the key highlights from the Scary Fast event.
Introducing the M3 Chip Family:
Apple introduced the M3 chip family, consisting of the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max variants. These cutting-edge processors are built on a 3-nanometer architecture and boast a fresh GPU microarchitecture, along with an innovative dynamic memory caching and allocation system.
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Apple’s unique approach ensures on-the-fly hardware-based dynamic memory allocation, optimizing GPU utilization by allocating only the necessary memory. Moreover, the M3 series introduces new rendering features like mesh shading and ray tracing, promising rendering speeds up to 1.8 times faster than the M2 and 2.5 times faster than the M1.
The performance cores in the M3 chip are up to 15% faster than the M2, while the efficiency cores achieve up to 30% better performance than their M2 counterparts.
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Here’s a breakdown of the specifications for each M3 chip:
M3: 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and 25 billion transistors.
M3 Pro: 12 CPU cores, 18 GPU cores, and 37 billion transistors.
M3 Max: 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, and a whopping 92 billion transistors.
14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros:
The revamped MacBook Pro lineup now incorporates the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips, delivering substantial CPU and GPU enhancements.
For the first time, Apple introduces a base 14-inch MacBook Pro model powered by the standard M3 chip, alongside the familiar higher-end configurations featuring the M3 Pro and M3 Max, available in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. This change marks the discontinuation of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The new GPU in the M3 series boasts features like Dynamic Caching and ray tracing.
Apple claims that the M3 Pro offers up to 20% better performance than the previous-generation M2 equivalent, while the M3 Max delivers up to twice the speed of the M2 Max. With the M3 Max, the MacBook Pro can now support up to 128 GB of RAM.
These laptops promise up to 22 hours of battery life and maintain consistent performance whether connected to power or running on battery. While the external design remains the same, Apple introduces a new Space Black color option.
Pricing for the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 starts at Rs 169,990, while the M3 Pro model is available at Rs 199,990. The 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at Rs 249,900.
24-inch iMac:
In line with earlier rumors, Apple also announced the next generation of the 24-inch iMac. This updated model retains the previous design, including the 24-inch 4.5K resolution screen, sleek 11.5mm profile, white bezels, a 1080p camera, speakers, microphones, and USB port configurations.
However, the new 24-inch iMac now features the M3 chip, offering improved speed and power efficiency.
Pricing for the 24-inch M3 iMac starts at Rs 134,900 for the eight-core GPU variant and Rs 154,900 for the 10-core GPU model. Preorders are available starting today, with shipping set for November 7th.
