Apple Scary Fast event: M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chipsets launched; 5 things to know
M3 family chips offer dynamic caching, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and faster CPU
Apple at its Scary Fast event today, launched its latest processors, the M3 M3 Pro, and M3 Max. These chipsets promise a much superior performance compared to their predecessors.According to the company, these chips mark the inaugural personal computer processors made with the state-of-the-art 3-nanometer process technology. This advancement packs the transistors densely into a more compact area, resulting in enhanced speed and efficiency.
Here are five things to know on these M3 family chips:
Dynamic Caching, Mesh Shading and Hardware-Accelerated Ray Tracing
The next-generation GPU found in the M3 family of chips, represents a significant leap in graphics architecture for their silicon, claims Apple.
As per the company, this GPU features Dynamic Caching, a technology that allocates local memory in real time, using just the precise amount of memory required for each task. This boosts GPU utilization and enhances performance for demanding professional applications and games, transparent to developers.
Moreover, the M3 chips introduce hardware-accelerated ray tracing to Mac for the first time, enabling apps to create realistic and physically accurate images by modeling the behavior of light in scenes. Pro apps are believed to achieve up to 2.5 times the speed of the previous M1 family of chips, and game developers can utilize ray tracing for more precise shadows and reflections, creating immersive environments.
Furthermore, the new GPU includes hardware-accelerated mesh shading, offering greater efficiency in geometry processing for visually complex scenes in games and graphics-heavy applications. These advancements maintain Apple's power efficiency, with the M3 GPU delivering the same performance as the M1 while using nearly half the power and up to 65 percent better performance.
Faster CPU
The next-gen CPU in the M3 series introduces architectural enhancements to both performance and efficiency cores. Compared to the M1 series, the performance cores are now up to 30 percent faster, indicates Apple. This results in quicker tasks such as code compiling in Xcode and enables musicians to smoothly handle numerous audio tracks, plug-ins, and virtual instruments in Logic Pro.
Apple suggests that the efficiency cores see a boost of up to 50 percent in speed compared to the M1, making everyday tasks notably swifter while also optimizing battery life.
Unified Memory Architecture with up to 128GB
The M3 family incorporates a unified memory architecture, a characteristic of Apple silicon known for its high bandwidth, low latency, and better power efficiency. With a single shared memory pool in a custom package, all components within the chip can access data without duplicating it across multiple memory pools. This enhances performance and efficiency while reducing the system's memory needs for most tasks. Moreover, it supports up to 128GB of memory.
Custom Engines for AI and Video
According to Apple, the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips feature an upgraded Neural Engine, delivering up to 60 percent faster AI/ML performance compared to the M1 family. They also enhance AI image processing tools and boost performance in applications like Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro. Additionally, all three chips offer advanced media engine support for popular video codecs and introduce AV1 decoding for power-efficient streaming playback to extend battery life.
Longer Battery Life
The efficiency of M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max contributes to the MacBook Pro and iMac meeting Apple's energy efficiency standards and enables the MacBook Pro to achieve its longest-ever Mac battery life, reaching up to 22 hours, claims Apple.
Catch all the Technology News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
Business NewsTechnologyNewsApple Scary Fast event: M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chipsets launched; 5 things to know
First Published:31 Oct 2023, 09:02 AM IST
- Top Gainers
- Top Losers
- 52 Week High