Apple this morning sent out invites for its upcoming “Scary Fast” virtual event, set for October 30. Along with being scheduled for All Hallows’ Eve-Eve, the tagline could well be a reference to new silicon. Perhaps the new M3 chip is scheduled to arrive in time for what will most likely be the company’s last big event before gift buying season is in full force.
Regardless of what they’re packing, new Macs seem like a lock for the big online event. After all, the company’s computers didn’t get much love at the recent iPhone event, and Apple’s almost certainly going to belatedly commemorate macOS Sonoma with some compatible hardware.
That’s certainly in line with recent reports that stock has been running low for MacBook Pros and iMacs — the two primary candidates for refresh. Of course, a MacBook Pro would likely arrive with a Pro or Max chip. If those come in the form of the M3 chip, it would be breaking with the six month release cycle the company established with the M2.
Apple’s last big desktop chip announcement was the M2 Ultra, which arrived alongside a Mac Studio refresh at WWDC over the summer. Earlier rumors, however, pointed to supply chain constraints that forced Apple to delay the 3nm M3 until 2024.
If more recent rumors are to be believed, however, the company is on the brink of debuting both an M3 MacBook Pro and a 24-inch iMac, with a larger 34-inch all-in-one (iMac Pro) delayed until next year.