Apple unveiled its new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips during the Scary Fast product event. These chips are positioned as significant upgrades over the M1 hardware. However, if you recently purchased an M2 system, you might not be looking to replace it just yet.
Among the M3 chips’ notable features is the GPU, which delivers advancements like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. These enhancements enable more realistic lighting and improved geometry handling. Additionally, the M3 chips are the first PC chips to be built on a three-nanometer process, unlike the M1 and M2 families that are based on a 5nm process. The smaller process allows for more transistors packed into the same space, resulting in improved power efficiency and overall performance. The revamped MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models, as well as the 24-inch iMac, will feature the M3 series chips.
The new iMac, equipped with the M3 chip, will be up to twice as fast as its predecessor. However, aside from this boost in performance, there aren’t many other upgrades in the latest Mac. Apple has chosen to stick with a 4.5K Retina display. On the connectivity front, the new iMac supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. It will be available starting at $1,299 and will start shipping on November 7.
— Mat Smith
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