Apple 'Scary Fast' event as it happened: new M3 chips, MacBook Pros and iMac launched

Welcome to TechRadar's 'Scary Fast' Apple live blog! I'll be watching along as Apple showcases... something. The company has been tight lipped, of course, but there's been some convincing leaks that suggest we'll see some new iMacs and MacBooks tonight.

If you haven't checked out our guide on how to watch Apple's October event, then make sure you pop over there, as we have embedded the live stream there.

It's 11:30pm here in the UK, so this is pretty late for an Apple event - they're usually held earlier in the day. Why is this one kicking off so late (in about 30 mins)? Good question - some people think it might be because it's going to be gaming-focussed and so Apple wants it to be in Japanese business hours.

Others think that as the event is called 'Scary Fast', and it's nearly Halloween, that having it late at night suits the overall theme.

Or, it could just be that Apple hates me. That might be it.

But! What am I hoping to see tonight? Well, apart from my nice, warm, bed, I'd like to see some new iMacs. It's been a while since Apple updated its all-in-one PC, so I think it's about time!

The old M1 iMac was a good looking bit of kit, so I'd love to see a new model with some upgraded components.

It makes sense to fit a new iMac with the M2 chip found in the recent MacBook Airs - though some rumors have said we could see an entirely new range of chips, perhaps called the M3, at tonight's event.

I'm still not sure about that, to be honest. It doesn't feel that long ago that the M2 came out... well, OK it was last year, but Apple only just launched the M2 MacBook Air 15-inch a few months ago.

Surely it's too soon for the M3... isn't it?

My colleague Lance will be watching along, of course! And I also have my trusted computing editors John Loeffler and Christian Guyton by my side to help cover this event.

There have also been rumors of a new MacBook coming tonight - so what could that be?

If Apple is indeed launching the M3 chip, I'd have thought it would also launch a MacBook Air as well - after all, it's Apple's most popular laptop.

But... then there's the fact Apple just launched an M2-toting 15-inch MacBook Air. Would the company release an M3 model so soon?

If not a MacBook Air, then maybe new MacBook Pros? That certainly seems to be the current rumor... but that also raises certain questions...

According to regular leaker Mark Gurman, Apple will be revealing three new M3 processors and revamped MacBook Pros along with a refreshed iMac at its ‘Scary Fast’ event (as shared in his newsletter for Bloomberg).

Gurman provides specs for those new M3 SoCs, which are the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max (as expected).

But, will we really see new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros tonight, when Apple already launched new models in January of this very year?

This is Apple, so all bets are off, but I do worry if that does happen what people who bought a new M2 MacBook Pro will think if they get superseded today...

Either way, we're only eight minutes away from finding out! Despite being REALLY REALLY TIRED, I am very excited to see what Apple has in store.

Got a message from Christian: "shazam the song they're playing in the livestream holding feed right now and see if the lyrics are relevant"

I shall try to do that. In the name of science!

I can't hear any music... this is a good start...

Right, so much for that. I'll just pretend it's playing something that hints at what we might be getting. Maybe something from Hot Chip...

Three minutes! Now I can't get The Final Countdown out of my head...

There were rumors of Apple also showing off a new iPad tonight. Again, this is all possible, but it would go against tradition, as Apple usually keeps its Mac and iPad launches separate.

But then lots of things about tonight's event are unusual...

The Apple Store is down! Always a sign we are getting new products...

And we're off!

'Hello'

OK so first up seems to be a video about how versatile MacBooks are. Def feels like we'll get a new one...

Little cameo from a Mac Studio. Don't think we'll get one of those, though.

'You're on a Mac, how hard can it be?' - Oh you don't know how easily I