On Monday, Apple will be holding it’s last 2023 product event with an emphasis on Mac updates. Apple cleverly timed the event to be after Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit where they introduced their new PC centric ‘Snapdragon X Elite’ platform with its Oryon CPU. Qualcomm, as illustrated in the photo below, was absolutely thrilled to announce that their Oryon CPU was faster than the leading ARM-compatible competitor” Apple (M2 processor) using 30% less power.   

(Click on image to Enlarge)

The thing is that Oryon isn’t due until sometime in 2024 and so just days after Qualcomm’s big announcement of theoretically beating Apple’s M2 chip, Apple will be introducing new “Scary Fast” processors that will crush Oryon and ship in November … 2023. So all that enthusiasm of beating Apple’s M2 will go up in a puff of smoke, embarrasing Qualcomm. Sorry, but I look forward to that on Monday.

Apple’s Monday’s event will be held at 5 p.m. PST, Holloween eve, playing into their theme “Scary Fast.” Below is a list what Bloomberg believes will be unveiled at the event.  

MacBook Pro:

Apple’s MacBook Pro is likely to include the new M3 Pro and Me Max processors.  The company has been testing multiple different versions of the M3 Pro processor. One baseline version in the works has 12 main processor cores, made up of six high-performance blocks and six high-efficiency cores. Generally speaking, the more cores you have, the more powerful the chip. The product also has 18 cores for processing graphics. That would be an increase of two main processing cores — known as CPU cores — and two graphics cores over the current model. Another M3 Pro chip seen in testing by developers has 14 main processing cores, including 10 for high performance and four for efficiency, and 30 graphics cores.

There are multiple versions of the M3 Max in testing, including a top-end version with 16 main processing cores — 12 for high performance and four for efficiency — and 40 graphics cores.

Apple has also tested updated configurations for memory, or RAM, including new 24-gigabyte and 48-gigabyte options.

While it’s unclear which chip configurations will ultimately ship, the components are likely to include improved gaming capabilities — similar to the iPhone 15 Pro’s A17 chip.

iMac:

An updated iMac for the first time in more than 900 days — an unusually long stretch. But don’t expect a bold new design. Like the MacBook Pros, the iMacs will look nearly identical to the existing versions. The current iMac design was announced in April 2021 when the company shifted to the M1 chip.

The new 24-inch iMac is likely to include internal design changes and a revamped stand. The company has tested the machine in similar colors as the current models, but Apple could still change up the options at the unveiling.

Apple developed this new iMac with the M3 chip. In testing, the company has used versions with the same number of main processing cores as the M2: four for high performance and four for efficiency. But it has tried new graphics configurations, including a chip with 10 graphics cores.

As part of a broader shift to USB-C connectors, the company will likely roll out updated versions of accessories — including its trackpad, mouse and keyboard — that ditch the old Lightning ports.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the iMac, which was one of the first products Steve Jobs introduced after returning to Apple in the late 1990s. The very first Mac, then called the Macintosh, debuted in early 1984.

For more on this, read the full Bloomberg report.