Apple MacBook Pro M3 & iMac M3 Debut at “Scary Fast” Event, Shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max

by Reuben EvansOctober 31^st, 2023

MacBook Pro M3 and iMac M3 took center stage for Apple’s scary fast event. But almost as interesting was the event’s final line: “This event was shot on an iPhone and edited on Mac. All presenters, locations, and drone footage shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max.” Here’s a link to the behind-the-scenes of the shoot.

Apple held their shortest event ever for the “Scary Fast” debut of their M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max Macs. New 14” and 16” MacBook Pros and a revamped 24” iMac were on display. 

The new chips incorporated the 3nm fabrication process to produce what Apple claimed were “the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer.”

M3 MacBook Pros and iMac showcase video editing abilities

Apple touted the new machine’s video editing capabilities by discussing its performance in DaVinci Resolve and Adobe’s Premiere Pro. Apple’s own NLE, Final Cut Pro, received only a passing mention. On the high end, the new MacBook Pro can run 3 Studio displays and send out an HDMI signal. 

For most of the event, Apple compared the performance of the new Macs to the M1 and Intel generations. This event was clearly intended to persuade hold-outs that jumping into an Apple Silicon machine was worth it. 

The performance of the new chips appears to be a big step up from the first-generation Apple Silicon. However, compared to the M2 chips, the gains are more similar to what is expected with a new iteration.

The most impressive technical advances come in the GPU. Apple introduced “Dynamic Caching,” a technology to better use under-utilized GPU resources. This advancement enables Apple to implement technologies like hardware-accelerated accelerated ray-tracing. Apple says, “Ray tracing models the properties of light as it interacts with a scene, allowing apps to create extremely realistic and physically accurate images.”

MacBook Pro M3 – up to 16 core M3 Max 128GB RAM, new Space Black color

The 13” MacBook has been removed from the lineup. The 14” MacBook Pro and the 16” models remain. The MacBook Pros start at $1,599 with an 8-core M3 and 8GB of RAM. The 16″ MacBook Pro goes up to the fully spec’d 16” 16 core M3 Max with 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage for. It is important to note that the 14” only has 2 Thunderbolt ports, while the 16” has 3. The 16” is available in the new Space Black color.

24” iMac M3

Next up on Apple’s presentation, the iMac also got the M3 chip. You can get a new iMac for $1,299 with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Options for the new iMac go up to 2TB of storage and 24GB RAM for $2,699.

Apple Event shot entirely on iPhone 15 Pro Max

What really caught the eye of many viewers was the tagline, “This Event was shot on an iPhone and edited on Mac. All presenters, locations, and drone footage shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max.” This was particularly impressive as this was a “lowlight” event. Of course, the behind-the-scenes hasn’t been shared yet, but it definitely illustrates Apple’s confidence in their phone’s new camera system. UPDATE: We posted a separate article with the newly released behind-the-scenes video and photos from the shoot.

For more information, visit Apple.

Are you considering upgrading to the M3 Macs? Let us know in the comments below!