Apple has once again raised the bar in the processor battles.
Apple announced Monday three new processors, which are more powerful and have better power management abilities than its previous silicon generations.
The chips are also going to be included in the new MacBook Pro laptops with premium features and iMac desktops.
The M3 has an 8-core processor, a 10-core GPU and up to 24GB in unified memory. Apple claims that the M3 processor is 35% faster than Apple’s first silicon, M1, and its GPU is 65% more powerful than M1.
Apple introduced the M3 Pro for Applistas who want more power. It has a 12 core CPU and 18 core GPU. It has a CPU and GPU that are 20% and 40% faster respectively than the M1 Pro.
The M3 Max, the top of the line chip with its 16-core CPU is equipped with a GPU that has 40 cores. It is capable of addressing up to 128GB unified memory. The CPU and GPU are 30% and 50% faster respectively than the M1 Max.
Apple claims that the M3 Max’s unified memory architecture supports up to 128GB, a fast and unified memory. This allows professionals to perform tasks previously impossible on laptops.
Apple claims that the upgraded neural engine in all three chips is 60% faster than one found in the M1 chip series.
Kevin Krewell is a principal analyst at Tirias ResearchA high-tech advisory and research firm located in San Jose, Calif.
Apple has compared its M3 model to older Intel models and the M1 model. If you have an M2 MacBook it is not worth upgrading, he said to TechNewsWorld.
Qualcomm’s competing chip
Apple’s event follows Qualcomm’s unveiling of its Snapdragon X Elite Platform, which is built on an Oryon CPU with 12 cores that uses one-third of the power of Intel’s current best laptop.
Qualcomm has recently released a number of new products. summitThe company showed that the X Elite with 80w processor easily outperformed a 13-inch MacBook Pro equipped with an M2 chip.
Bob O’Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of Technalysis ResearchTechNewsWorld spoke with a firm in Foster City, Calif. that specializes in technology market research.
Ross Rubin is the principal analyst at eMarketer. He believes that benchmarks and actual performance will determine how the Qualcomm chip compares to the M3. Reticle ResearchA consumer technology advisory company in New York City.
Related: It’s About To Become Much Harder To Choose the Right PC | Nov. 7, 2023
He told TechNewsWorld that Qualcomm had traditionally focused more on the CPU. “With the Snapdragon, Qualcomm put a lot of emphasis on the GPU, architecture, and neural processor.” “They have concentrated on their graphics processor, architecture and neural processor.”
Apple has been focusing a great deal on their graphics processors, he said, “not just for games or graphics applications where you might expect it, but because this has become an essential part of working AI applications.”
Keeping ahead of the competition
Gene Munster, managing director with Deepwater Asset ManagementA venture capital firm based in Minneapolis maintained that Apple’s M3 series will keep it one step ahead of the competition.
Maxon Redshift and the MacBook Pro with the M3 Max allow for advanced manipulation of 3D assets using Cinema 4D.
“In the tech industry, you need to be ahead of the competition.” “Speed is important,” he said to TechNewsWorld. “It’s easy to say, ‘Keep ahead of the competition.’ Apple has done it. It’s difficult to do.
Mark N. Vena was the principal analyst and president of SmartTech Research In San Jose, Calif. Qualcomm’s platform has an edge over Apple’s M3 machines.
He told TechNewsWorld that Qualcomm’s solutions would be used in PCs with low- to moderate-priced prices, which means you could get Apple silicon performance for a lower-priced device.
A 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 starts at $1 599. An M3 Pro costs $1 999, and an M3 max is $3 299 Snapdragon X Elite computers will not be released until the second half of 2024.
The M3 iMac will also be shipping in the next few weeks, with a starting price of $1,299.
The new iMac is available in seven vibrant colours and features a sleek design. It boasts a performance up to two times faster with its M3 processor compared to previous generations with M1.
Munster stated that the iMac was a tired product and needed to be re-energized. “Saying that it has a new chip, which is significantly faster, can boost sales.”
“People held off buying an iMac during the last six month because it needed an upgrade,” he said. “They’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting.” Apple is going to get a huge sales boost now that the announcement has been made.
The Right Time to Refresh
Dipanjan chatterjee, principal analyst and vice president of Forrester, a Cambridge-based national market research firm, said that the refreshment of Apple’s MacBook and iMac line couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
He told TechNewsWorld that the event would encourage both existing and new customers to upgrade their Macs, in an effort to claw back some revenue.
He continued, “The Halloween release will set Apple up nicely for the release of a Mac that can adorn Christmas trees at the base and provide a companion to the new iPhone.” “Although the lack of a new iPad is going to dampen spirits — this is a more popular gift than a laptop, and Apple could use some help in a revenue segment that’s seen a 20% year-over-year quarterly decline.”
Munster said, “People want to buy the latest technology.” Apple’s hardware needs to be upgraded in order to reverse the decline. This is what they are doing.”
“Mac accounts for 10% of sales,” he said. It declined by 7% during the quarter ending June. It is likely to decline by 26% during the third quarter. They needed to do that to get it back to growth.”
Despite the decline in Mac sales, Apple still has a larger market share, he said. “The PC industry still suffers from the Covid lingering effect,” he said. “That will likely continue for another six-month period.”
Intel Users Are Being Nudged Away
Artificial intelligence was notably absent from Apple’s event.
Munster explained that AI is not the selling point of these machines. “Their selling points are that these chips outperform anything else, and you can only get them by buying a Mac.”
Rubin remarked that the theme of the event was to get people away from Intel architecture.
He explained that the faster Apple could do this, the quicker they would drop support. “You can already see that when you upgrade to macOS 10.1, you’ll get new features from Apple that you won’t find with Intel.”
He continued: “At some stage, those machines will be left in the dust, just as the PowerPCs left the dust when Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel.”
Editor’s Note: Apple is credited for the images used in this piece.
