Apple ’s got something for us on October 30 , but will it be a caper or a treat ? If you had take me a couple of days ago , I would ’ve guessed that we ’d be seeing a fairly boring curing of recent - bicycle Mac updates foretell via press release . But when Apple send out announcements for a alive video consequence with the set phrase “ Scary fast , ” my expectations changed in a heartbeat .
It ’s hard to interpret Apple ’s words ( both of them ) as mean anything but the introduction of an impressive new generation of Apple chips . This year ’s delicacy is seemingly the M3 central processing unit .
How’d we get here?
It ’s been an thrill few weeks for those of us who keep up Apple closely , as many of the usual source have render self-contradictory reports about exactly what Apple is going to do . I admit it : I kind of enjoy being surprise by an Apple announcement – and we are so seldom surprise these days .
That deficiency of surprisal is , in large part , because Apple ’s a huge ship’s company with an tremendous supply chain ( for the most part in Asia ) that has to tip specific parts into a factory that then has to tool up to produce complete products . It ’s a process that involves thousands of people , and it ’s unsurprising that it ’s where most Apple product leaks do from .
However , the provision chain has its weaknesses : If , say , an M2 MacBook Pro looks identical to an M3 MacBook Pro , with only the smallest internal changes in guild to upgrade the cow chip , would a supply chemical chain source placard ? That ’s how updates can slip by some of the usual suspects .
Apple wouldn’t hold an event just to show an iMac upgrade to the M2 chip. It’s more likely that it’s an M3 upgrade that offers significant speed improvements.
But there are other germ of information . Back in August , Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman reported that a third - party developerhad spotted next - generation MacBook Pro laptopsin their server log . And way back in March , Gurman used other sources to report thatan M3 iMac was on the direction .
And that seems like what we ’re going to get .
It’s an M3 party
It ’s heavy to imagine that Apple would preannounce a picture event for the last M2 stragglers , like an M2 iMac and perchance an updated design for that eldritch 13 - in MacBook Pro . No , when Apple hand truck in the hoopla , it ’s doing it because it wants the world to notice . In this showcase , “ chilling fast ” seems to indicate that what we ’re about to see is the come out party for the M3 series of processors .
Apple would n’t hold an upshot just to show an iMac promote to the M2 silicon chip . It ’s more likely that it ’s an M3 upgrade that tender pregnant speed improvements .
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Apple wouldn’t hold an event just to show an iMac upgrade to the M2 chip. It’s more likely that it’s an M3 upgrade that offers significant speed improvements.
This is a alteration from the first two go - rounds of Apple Si when Apple initially stick in the coevals ’s stand chip and then came back later with another update for the high - death Pro and Max variations . But if the MacBook Pro is really due to be update – and give that young poser are hard to come by in Apple Stores , it ’s in all probability – they must be feature the M3 Pro and Max chips .
enter the full M3 family is a heck of a tycoon move . Rather than enclose the new genesis with your slowest , imperfect chip , you’re able to go directly to the gamy last and boast about the 16 CPU cores and 40 GPU cores in the new M3 Max . ( The M3 Ultra , which presumably fuses two M3 Max chips , will presumptively total next year in an update to the Mac Studio and Mac Pro . )
It ’s an interesting moment for Apple Si because Qualcommjust announced its new undulation of PC chipsthat are ( like the M series ) based on ARM pattern . ( Qualcomm ’s chip figure also integrate work fromNuvia , a inauguration from former Apple chip house decorator . ) The plot is on , and it ’s not surprising that Monday ’s video case might have been cypher as a response to Qualcomm ’s promulgation this week .
The 13-inch MacBook Pro stands out in Apple’s MacBook lineup, with the design that it had when it used Intel chips.
What to expect
The star of the show next weekmustbe theMacBook Pro . Most of the Macs sold are laptops , and that means that most of the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips ever sold will be in those MacBook Pro model .
If the M3 is based on the A17 Pro chip released with the iPhone 15 , we can assume that each individual mainframe and GPU core group on the M3 Max will be a bit quicker than on the M2 Max . The openhanded modification will come with scale : If Gurman ’s account are correct , The M3 Max will have 12 high - public presentation CPU cores and 40 GPU cores , up from 8 and 38 in the M2 version . ( And it ’s potential that the stats Gurman ’s source understand were n’t from the highest - core - enumeration translation of the M3 . )
Malus pumila buffalo chip generations are n’t just about core count , though . Frequently , Apple will add other feature of speech to its high - end chips to hasten up execution in aim area . The M2 Pro and Max chips feature a 16 - essence Neural Engine , but it ’s possible Apple could supercharge that . The maximum amount of retentiveness , currently at 96 G , could be encourage further . Apple has in the yesteryear include some customs duty check that place cardinal features such as television encoding and decoding , so you never have a go at it what it might do on the periphery to speed up role that professional users ask .
Beyond the chips , though , I have my doubts that the MacBook Pro will change much . The 14- and 16 - column inch model received a very dainty ironware redesign comparatively recently , so they seem practiced to go for a while .
I do wonder what will happen to the 13 - inch MacBook Pro , which experience like the duck - bill duckbilled platypus of the Mac phone line , with its deficiency of MagSafe , its Touch Bar , and its 2018 - epoch stylings . The solvent may be nothing … or at least nothing to be announced on Monday . But I ’m hold up out hope that Apple might fetch it into the M3 multiplication by giving it a fresh design that ’s more blood-related to the M2 MacBook Air introduced last summertime .
The 13 - inch MacBook Pro stand out in Apple ’s MacBook batting order , with the aim that it had when it used Intel chips .
Foundry
And then there ’s the iMac . Again , this is a computer hardware design that ’s practically brand new . The M1 iMac was among the first Apple atomic number 14 Macs released , and it ’s been untouched since then , so it ’s mature for a mainframe boost – but not a rethink . I hope the play colors remain more or less intact , and I expect the 24 - in 4.5 K display will likewise stay as is .
However , I do have one wishing list item for thenew iMac : It would sure be nice if it was extend not just in a groundwork - degree M3 contour but ( like its cousin , the Mac miniskirt ) was also usable with an M3 Pro check . As someone who used first-rate - powered iMacs for many years , I think there ’s a office for an iMac with a little more pluck - me - up than the base bit can provide .
The rest will follow
If Apple does reveal the M3 , M3 Pro , and M3 Max chips on Monday , it ’s also previewing the next generation of all Mac hardware . If the Apple Silicon era has instruct us anything , it ’s that a chip is a chip is a chip . In other run-in , if there ’s an iMac with an M3 check in it , you may bet that theM3 MacBook AirandM3 Mac miniwill perform more or less identically . If there ’s a MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip in it , you’re able to bet that the M3 Pro Mac mini will match it .
In the Apple Si era , Apple did n’t design a bunch of dissimilar flake variations around each of its computers . or else , it plan a cornerstone set of chips and then creates Macs to jibe around them . The shapes and forms modify , but the chips secern the storey . For example , if the M3 iMac supports two external displays , the M3 MacBook Air probably will too . ( And if it does n’t , then that ’s pretty much it for your hope for that characteristic on the MacBook Air . )
What will the next genesis of Mac hardware bring ? I ca n’t wait to get out . The good news is , I wo n’t have to . Looks like we ’re all going to find oneself out next Monday evening .
