Apple’s Scary Fast M3 MacBook Pro Targets Intel Users

We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.

Where was the iPad mini? What about AirPods Max? Is that it?!

Thirty minutes?

Come on, Tim – where the hell is the 32-inch iMac Pro?

This is what Apple does. While we’re all sitting here pondering over how many products they’re going to announce at their next event, they’re readying the two or three they’ll actually announce.

Everything else can wait – if it’s even on the cards at all.

It was only ever going to be a Mac event yesterday, folks. Sorry.

At yesterday’s Scary Fast event, this approach resulted in three new chips, some new MacBook Pros, and, finally, an updated 24-inch iMac. Oh, and the whole thing was shot on an iPhone which is easily one of the most impressive things about last night’s shenanigans.

There’s a lot to unpack over the coming weeks, but these are my initial thoughts about those new M3 chips and the machines they’ve been placed in.

The Intel crowd

Yesterday, I distinctly remember spotting not one but two MacBooks with glowing Apple logos in one of my favourite coffee shops.

I’m a big fan of this; I love how people hang onto their Macs for as long as possible. If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I have a feeling I’d do the same. Macs are, after all, astronomically expensive. They also last for years and, usually, well beyond the Windows-based competition. Indeed, most of the people who enter the comments sections of my videos are asking whether or not they should upgrade their Intel Mac to something running Apple’s own silicon. During last night’s livestream, someone informed me that they’re still rocking a 2009 Mac Pro. Brilliant.

Apple is all too aware of this; although I couldn’t find official numbers, there is talk on Twitter that over 50% of the installed Mac base is still using Intel machines.

Given my coffee shop experience (which happens regularly, I might add), this doesn’t surprise me at all. It also explains why Apple constantly referred to the Intel Mac crowd last night.

You really should be thinking about upgrading to the M3 Macs, they kept saying. Please.

The challenge facing Apple is that those Intel Macs are still working for those people and upgrading is a massive ask, given the astronomical pricing of new Mac hardware (I’ll get to that later).

I’d love to know, though – if you’re an Intel Mac user, are you tempted by the M3? Get involved below, please!

Goodbye, 13-inch MacBook Pro (and the Touch Bar)

Last night, we finally waved “goodbye” to the 13-inch MacBook Pro – and the Touch Bar.

It’s no longer on Apple’s website. Gone. Consigned to the history books. Finished.

There’s some good news, though.

In its place is a new 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro variant. It’s $100 cheaper than the 13-inch version it replaces and comes with an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB of unified memory (yep), and a 512GB SSD. It also has the ProMotion-equipped Liquid Retina display, which is a significant upgrade over the old base model MacBook Pro.

Concerns over that memory choice aside, a starting price of £1,699/$1,599 for a 3-nanometer-based MacBook Pro isn’t bad at all. It’ll be just as popular as the 13-inch version – if not more so, I reckon.

Weird choices

It wouldn’t be an Apple event without some truly bizarre choices on behalf of Tim and co., would it?

They didn’t disappoint last night. At all.

There’s the smaller details which, in the grand scheme of things, probably don’t really matter at all. For instance, the base spec M3 Pro has two less GPU cores than the M2 Pro version, while the upgraded M3 Pro has one less GPU core.

Then, there’s the bigger, more head-scratching stuff. While we do indeed have new MacBook Pros and an upgraded 24-inch iMac – the Mac mini, Mac Studio, MacBook Air, and Mac Pro are still running the M2 platform.

When are they going to get updated, Tim? Buying one of those machines now feels incredibly trepidatious.

But by far the biggest and weirdest decision by Apple – and the one that’s garnering all of the attention on social media this morning – is the decision to still include Lightning-based peripherals with the new iMac. That’s right – the Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard haven’t been updated to support USB-C charging.

Eh?

What I’ve bought

One of the most frustrating things about Apple product launches is trying to find out how much more expensive the new stuff is (which, let’s be honest, it usually is these days). The old versions are immediately removed from the Apple Store website, leaving only those with great memories and decent record-keeping the lucky few who can recall the old pricing.

I’ve only had four hours of sleep, and, to be honest, I can’t be bothered to look into it properly today, but the new MacBook Pros definitely feel more expensive once you start reaching into the upper echelons of the spec options.

Last night, I placed an order for a Space Black (obviously) 14-inch MacBook Pro with a fully maxed out M3 Max chip (16-core CPU and 40-core GPU), 48GB of unified memory, and a 2TB SSD. The resulting bank balance-sapping total? £4,199.

Someone call an ambulance, please.

And, yes, I’m now wondering if I should have spent another £200 (it’s Monopoly money by that stage, after all) and upgraded to the 64GB of unified memory.

Regardless, my new MacBook Pro is winging its way to me in November, and I will reveal my full thoughts on it then. I’ve also ordered a base spec 24-inch iMac to see how far we’ve come in over 900 days with Apple’s latest all-in-one.

The big question a lot of people will be asking after yesterday’s event is whether or not they should feel bad about having purchased an expensive M2-based MacBook Pro this year. That platform didn’t last long, did it?

Well, let’s finish on a positive note. You should feel great about your purchase – honestly. You bought it for a reason, it is still a super fast machine and, who knows, maybe you’ll be the person I spot in a coffee shop who is still rocking the M2 in ten years’ time!

Before you go

Join my newsletter list for a weekly behind-the-scenes video of a tech content creator!