Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is poised to introduce its new M3 chips at a private event at the company's Cupertino headquarters on October 31, a significant leap from the current M2 processors that surpasses competitors like Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM). The M3 chip, developed using TSMC's 3nm process and incorporating hardware-accelerated ray tracing, is expected to enhance devices like MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and iMac.
The M3 Macs unveiling, referred to as Apple’s "Scary Fast" Halloween event, is anticipated to overshadow Qualcomm’s summit in Hawaii this week. The new chip is predicted to provide Apple with another 12 to 18 months of superiority in offering systems that can run Windows, Linux, or Mac. The company's control over hardware design, processor design, and OS gives it a unique advantage over competitors. This edge allows Apple to optimize real-world performance despite competitive processor benchmark figures.
Among the products expected to be spotlighted at the event are new 14-in. and 16-in. MacBook Pros equipped with M3 chips. There are also speculations about an upgrade to the iMac/iMac Pro and the introduction of Vision Pro. The M3 chips are expected to offer up to 12 to 16 CPU cores, 40 GPU cores, and 36GB to 48GB of RAM.
Comparatively, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite, a PC-class processor featuring 12 custom Oryon CPU cores, promises a 50% faster multi-threaded CPU performance than M2 but falls short of outperforming the M2 Max in single-threaded tasks. The Snapdragon X Elite also delivers multiple days of battery life for laptops and supports on-device generative AI processing.
If the M3 doesn't make an appearance at the event, Apple might present an M2 iMac and a potential M2-powered iPad Air as part of its product lineup. The event will be followed by Apple’s fourth-quarter financial announcement on November 2.
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