Everything you need to know about Apple's 'Scary Fast' event
Apple has a knack for keeping us on our toes.
Less than two months after its "Wonderlust" event, where the tech giant introduced its iPhone 15 series, it has now hosted a dark and eerie-themed "Scary Fast" launch event, apparently for Halloween.
Apple took a different route from the norm with its nighttime schedule and was able to cram a significant number of announcements into the 30-minute online live-stream presentation.
But despite the scary theme which spotlighted the unveiling of Apple's silicon M3 chip family, along with the devices that will house these chips, it was nowhere near scary depending on how you look at it.
The star of the show was the M3 processor, Apple's latest upgrade to its in-house silicon lineup, which will find its home in the updated iMac and MacBook Pro.
The M3 processor lineup, rumoured to be based on 3-nanometer technology, includes the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, promising significant GPU performance improvements over the previous generations, the M1 and M2 series. According to Apple, these new chips are set to introduce advanced capabilities for gaming, the metaverse, and its Vision Pro VR headset.
On the MacBook front, Apple unveiled an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro, now available with the standard M3 chip – replacing the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar keyboard. Meanwhile, the pricier 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro will get the option for the M3 Pro, while the high-end M3 Max is exclusive to the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Design-wise, these Macbook Pros retain the exact same look and port layout as their predecessors but will feature a new colour option, space black, which is my personal favourite.
Apple has also upped the ante with memory on the new MacBook Pro, now offering a maximum of 128GB of unified memory – a new high for Apple’s laptops. This RAM update alongside maxed-out specifications will set you back about $7,200.
But don't fret, there's a starting price of $1,599 for the 14-inch model and $2,499 for the 16-inch model.
In another announcement, the 24-inch iMac now comes with the new M3 processor while the design stays just as beautifully thin, with similar specs. The entry-level price for the new iMac is set at $1,299.
But, arguably, the most interesting detail of the entire 30-minute event would be the fact that it was all shot on an iPhone 15 Pro Max. But like most too-good-to-be-true stories, it is kinda too good to be true. This is because the phone was used alongside a lot of fancy equipment including drones, gimbals, industrial set lighting, and other recording accessories used in big studio productions. So if you can't recreate similar shots at home don't beat yourself up.
It is worth noting that Apple announced that the preorders for the newly announced products start today, while shipments are expected to begin later in November.