Apple’s “Scary Fast” Event: New M3 MacBook Pros and iMacs announced

As expected, Apple’s “Scary Fast” event saw the company announce a slew of new MacBook Pro models (while quietly retiring one) as well as a new iMac, all running on the new M3 Apple Silicon.

Didn’t have time to watch Apple’s pre-recorded and very slick marketing presentation? That’s what I’m here for. Here’s what you need to know.

What did Apple announce?

The latest generation of its M-series Apple Silicon. It’s the third generation… so it’s Apple M3. Built on a 3nm process, considerably faster than what’s gone before it (which you’d expect).

The new M3 processors power new generations of 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros as well as a new M3 24 inch iMac. There’s also a new colour for the MacBook Pro… which isn’t much of a “new” colour, because it’s Space Black.

That being said, I do like a dark coloured MacBook, so I seriously want one now.

How much do M3 MacBook Pros and iMacs cost in Australia?

Pricing varies depending on what internal configuration you want, naturally. As with all Apple Silicon products, the memory and storage are baked into the same silicon wafer, so there’s no sneaky upgrading after the fact.

Here’s the rundown of basic pricing, not taking into account any upgrades at time of purchase:

How does that compare? Are they cheaper?

Well… maybe. One of the matters Apple didn’t mention at the event was that it was rather quietly retiring the 13 inch MacBook Pro model entirely. If you’d bought one of those yesterday, then it would have cost you $1,999, and there’s just no MacBook Pro at that price point any more.

That being said, the entry level 14 inch MacBook Pro model yesterday would have run you $3,199 for an M2 processor (10 CPU Cores/16 GPU Cores, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD).

The new baseline 14 inch model is only $2,699, but to bring it up to memory parity you’re talking $2,999. That’s still a welcome price cut.

I’ve got lots of money and want THE BEST. What will it cost me?

A fully specced up MacBook Pro 16 with all the trimmings available to customise will run you… deep breath…

$12,498.

That’s a lot of money — admittedly for a lot of computer, but still.

Was there “one more thing”? Was it scary?

No, Apple’s not really in that game much any more, and the Halloween dressings were light in touch, really, unless you find Tim Cook spooky in some particular way.