Apple fans are getting a treat this Halloween: an event that’ll bring the M3 processor and a range of new Macs to run it.
Here’s everything we’re expecting at Monday’s event, including an iMac and MacBooks, with some accessories thrown in.
Bring on the Apple M3 processor at Apple October event
There were no Macs released in autumn 2022, even though this is a traditional time for new macOS models. That wasn’t the plan — info leaking from the company indicates that delays for the M2 Pro and M2 Mac chips pushed the latest MacBook Pro back by months.
Apparently, Apple is getting back on schedule this year. Multiple sources point to the entire M3 family launching October 30 in new Macs.
The M2 was a fairly modest improvement over the original version, but the M3 is expected to bring more of a boost. Much of that will come from a switch from a 5nm production process to a 3nm one. Shrinking the chip’s components allows them to work faster while generating less waste heat. But expect improvements to the the processor cores and graphics cores as well.
The basic M3 reportedly packs eight processor cores and a 10-core GPU. The premier versions could boast as many as 16 processor cores and 40 GPU cores. Exact details on the M3 Pro and M4 Max will have to wait until the announcement on Monday.
It’s these chips that are likely giving the Apple October event the name “Scary Fast.”
An M3-powered iMac
Photo: Apple
The base-model M3 processor will apparently go into a long-awaited updated iMac. This all-in-one desktop hasn’t been updated since 2021 when it got a slim design and an M1 processor. According to leaks, the next model is another 24-inch one. Although the screen size won’t change, there allegedly will be some internal tweaks and an improved stand.
In addition, Apple will supposedly bring out a keyboard, trackpad and mouse that charge via USB-C not Lightning.
A 32-inch iteration of the iMac is not coming before 2024 or 2025.
M3 Pro and M3 Mac going in MacBook Pro
Screenshot: Apple
Since the Apple’s first chip debuted in 2020, every version of an M-series processor has never been introduced at once. There’s some skepticism that Apple will do so at the October event, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with TF International Securities said recently:
“Apple attributes the significant decline in MacBook shipments in 2023 mainly to the limited M2 computing power upgrade. I believe this is why Apple may prefer to launch the M3 series MacBook Pro even when its production volume is still low rather than continue to ship the M2 series MacBook Pro.”
So be ready for 14- and-16-inch MacBook Pro models that can be configured with M3 Pro or M3 Max chips at the Apple October event. These might include the option to configure 24GB or 48GB of RAM, but otherwise these will be essentially the same as the ones from January 2023.
Just as Apple pressed the gaming possibilities of the A17 processor in the iPhone 15 Pro models, the company is likely to talk up the gaming potential of the high-end M3 chips at the event. Especially as macOS Sonoma includes a new Game Mode.
No M3-powered MacBook Air … yet
The “Scary Fast” event is already going to be fairly busy so it seems updates for the MacBook Air will have to wait.
However, Apple is working on M3-powered versions of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air with an M3 processor, according to Bloomberg. They just won’t be out until sometime in the first half of 2024.
A new M3-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro also probably won’t appear until early 2024.
What else won’t be at the Apple October “Scary Fast” event
By all indications, iMac and MacBook Pro will be the focus of Monday’s pre-Halloween shindig. So don’t get your heart set on anything else.
Multiple iPads are reportedly coming in March 2024 and not before.
Next year will also bring AirPods 4 and a AirPods Max 2. They’re not expected to be even mentioned at the Apple October 2023 event.
