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Sorry, kids, Apple’s Halloween surprise is both trick and treat.
At its “Scary Fast” virtual event on Monday evening, company executives announced the M3 chip family, a trio of processors that power new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops and a new iMac.
Yet it all seemed hauntingly familiar. Maybe the event should have been called “Scary Similar.”
While Apple promises the M3-packed computers have impressive performance and graphics leaps, the products themselves look largely unchanged. Not completely unchanged: The new MacBook Pro has an awesome “space black” color option.
The new computers are available for preorder and expected in stores Nov. 7.
Apple’s transition from Intel chips to its own M chips over the last three years has raised its computers from the dead. Apple laptops are now cooler, quieter, faster and longer-lasting—and Windows PC makers have been trying to catch up. But while speed boosts can benefit professionals who need it to meet their deadlines, most people don’t notice these incremental steps up. The new computers disappoint in other ways—especially the new iMac, which has no upgrades to screen or accessories.
After getting an early look at the new iMac and MacBook Pro models, some of the news was exciting, and some was disappointing.
• M3 chips: Yes, you guessed it, the new M3 chips are speedier than their M1 and M2 predecessors. The big leaps seem to be specifically in graphics. Apple emphasized more details, like shadows and reflections, in games and other graphics-intensive apps.
If you’re coming from an M2-powered MacBook Pro, will you tell the difference? Hard to say. Apple focused on comparing the M3 to the M1—saying that the graphics processor is 65% faster.
And considering people typically only upgrade their laptops after four or five years, according to market research firm International Data Corp., all of the owners of those older Intel-powered Macs will likely see a huge improvement.
• A simplified lineup: The iMac, which starts at $1,299, is only available with the M3 chip. The 14-inch MacBook Pro, however, is available with M3, M3 Pro or M3 Max processors, while the 16-inch has M3 Pro and M3 Max options. The chips, as their names imply, get increasingly more powerful and support greater amounts of memory.
Apple is dropping the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which previously started at $1,299. Instead, there’s a 14-inch MacBook Pro with base M3 chip for $1,599 and up. (The 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip previously started at $1,999.)
The more affordable 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are unchanged.
• Space black: Just in time for the shadiest of holidays, the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro or Max processors will be available in a space black color. Apple says the material is a “breakthrough chemistry that forms an anodization seal to greatly reduce fingerprints.” Key word: reduce. I definitely left some prints on the MacBook I tried out.
• No bigger iMac: When I reviewed the 24-inch iMac back in 2021, I liked the design a lot. But I also faulted it in a number of ways that Apple didn’t address in the update. Where’s the 27-inch iMac? Apple seems set on making those who want a bigger 27-inch screen to go the route of buying the Studio Display along with a Mac Mini, Mac Studio or MacBook.
• No improved accessories: How do you charge Apple’s Magic Mouse—still? By flipping it over like a struggling turtle and plugging in a…Lightning cable. Yes, Lightning! Even after the latest iPhones got USB-C, Apple is shipping the new iMacs with wireless accessories—keyboard plus mouse or trackpad—that need Lightning chargers.
• No battery improvements: Apple quotes up to 22 hours of battery life on the MacBook Pro models. However, you have to have specific configurations of the system and be watching 1080p video with your screen brightness set at eight clicks from bottom and Wi-Fi turned off. I have been using the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, and it’s never lasted one full working day—let alone two.
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Write to Joanna Stern at joanna.stern@wsj.com
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