Apple is scheduled to announce a family of Macs tomorrowduring its ‘Scary Fast’ event, and alongside them, three new M3 chips that are reportedly mass produced on the same cutting-edge 3nm process used for the A17 Pro. We have the M3, followed by the more powerful M3 Pro and, of course, the M3 Max, with a part of their specifications, such as CPU and GPU count shared prior to the event, so let us get right into the details.

Base M3 to share the same 8-core CPU configuration as the M2, but M3 Pro and M3 Max will see increased core count

Instead of unveiling the M3 only, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicts in the latest edition of his ‘Power On’ newsletter that the M3 Pro and M3 Max will also be unveiled. Assuming this information ends up being true, it will be a significant launch, especially given that the M2 Pro and M2 Max were unveiled in January of this year, revealing an ultra-fast turnaround time from Apple.

As for the CPU and GPU count, the M3 is said to feature an 8-core CPU (four performance and four power-efficiency cores) and a 10-core GPU, making the configuration unchanged from the M2. However, this does not mean that the new SoC will perform the same as it is expected to get higher unified RAM support, along with a higher clock speed from each core, resulting in improved performance. If the M3 ends up disappointing, let us look at the M3 Pro instead, which is said to be tested in multiple configurations.

One of them includes a 12-core CPU, where there are six performance cores and six efficiency ones, followed by an 18-core GPU. After tomorrow’s launch, it might be possible for customers to configure their portable Mac of choice with an M3 Pro featuring up to a 14-core CPU and 20-core GPU. Keep in mind that this silicon will likely be found in the pricier MacBook Pro versions, so you should prepare yourself to fork over a premium for this model.

Last but certainly not least, we have the M3 Max, and just like the M3 Pro, it too is said to be tested in multiple configurations, including a 16-core CPU (12 performance and four efficiency cores) and a 32-core GPU. According to Gurman, Apple is preparing a variant that offers a 40-core GPU, driving graphics performance to the next plateau for these high-end MacBook Pro models, though this particular chip will also add a ton to the total.

One reason why Apple is pushing forward with these chip launches is because an analyst believes that M2 Macs did not sell as well due to a lack of prominent performance and battery life differencesbetween the M1. Perhaps the M3 and the higher-tier options will offer something of note to potential buyers, propping up Mac sales to reflect improved figures in the company’s next earnings call.