Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event - live: New Macs and spooky surprises expected at shock live launch

Apple is set to hold its latest event – and is promising that it will be “scary”.

The event will begin the day before Hallowe’en and is rumoured to be bringing a host of new Macs. The company teased it with an invitation reading “Scary Fast” and apparent references to the Mac operating system.

It is Apple’s third major event of the year, after the iPhone launch in September and its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. At WWDC, Apple revealed its new augmented reality headset, which might also feature in the upcoming launch.

Otherwise, Apple is rumoured to be updating its iMac with a new chip, and putting new processors in its high end, 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro.

It will begin at 5pm local pacific time, which is 8pm eastern or midnight in the UK. It will be livestreamed on YouTube as well as Apple’s website.

Apple launches MacBook Pro, 24-inch iMac and new chips

00:38 , Andrew Griffin

Here’s the story on all the products Apple announced today. And that’s all there is!

No more events likely this year

00:35 , Andrew Griffin

Tim Cook gave a little wrap-up of 2023 at the end of the event, talking about how much has been introduced this year. That’s probably intended as much as anything to signal that there’ll be no more live launches to come in the next couple of months.

(That means that no iPad will be updated in 2023, most likely.)

That’s all!

00:32 , Andrew Griffin

Another cut to the spooky Apple logo hovering amid the clouds; a message that the whole event was shot on iPhone; and that’s all!

So it’s just a MacBook Pro and iMac, as well as the M3 chips that will power them, that will be announced today.

The event was almost exactly 30 minutes long. That is unusually short for an Apple event. But nothing about today’s launch was usual.

New iMac features revealed

00:29 , Andrew Griffin

Here’s all the features of the new iMac. Again, these are new from the old version of the iMac – not the previous 24-inch one that it is replacing. The price is unchanged at $1,299, and it will be available next week.

Apple updates 24-inch iMac

00:28 , Andrew Griffin

Apple is also adding the M3 to the iMac. Apart from that, everything looks the same, with the same colours and design.

Again, Apple is comparing this computer with the Intel version of the iMac, rather than the 24-inch one.

00:26 , Andrew Griffin

Apple has reduced the price of the 14-inch MacBook Pro from $1,999 to $1,499. The price of the larger one stays the same.

M3 and M3 Pro are available next week. The M3 Max will be available later in November.

Apple introduces new MacBook Pro

00:25 , Andrew Griffin

Here are the big features of the new MacBook Pro. (Many of these were already available, and again it’s more of a comparison with the Intel laptops.)

Everyone is standing really far away in Apple’s keynote

00:23 , Andrew Griffin

For some reason, Apple’s presenters are being shown as if they are at the back of a very large hall, and you’re very far away. I don’t know if this is to emphasise the darkness (thematic and colour-wise) of this event.

New colour

00:22 , Andrew Griffin

Apple is also introducing the MacBook Pro in “space black”. (It says that it has made the computer so that it won’t pick up fingerprints.) Until now, it has only been available in silver.

Apple stressing comparisons with Intel

00:20 , Andrew Griffin

In what appears to be a quiet gesture of humility about the power of these upgrades, Apple is stressing how well this MacBook compares with the last Intel laptops. The numbers it is showing are in comparison with those computers, the most recent of which were released in 2019.

MacBook Pro gets M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max

00:18 , Andrew Griffin

The MacBook Pro is mostly the same. The big announcement seems to be that it is getting those new chips, details on which you can see below.

The other big change is that the new MacBook Pro with M3 Max also has the option of going up to 128GB of memory.

‘Introducing... the new MacBook Pro'

00:14 , Andrew Griffin

Here’s the new computer.

Onto the MacBook Pro

00:14 , Andrew Griffin

Now onto the MacBook Pro, which will be home to those chips.

M3 family formally introduced

00:13 , Andrew Griffin

Here’s the details on what Apple is calling the “most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer”.

(And that’s all for the chips.)

First mention of 'AI’

00:12 , Andrew Griffin

Apple has always been hesitant about talking about AI: despite the hype, it has talked little about it, and usually prefers to use the phrase “machine learning” when it does.

But chip boss Johny Srouji just said that the extra power of the new chip will make it possible to do more AI work – and that the power of the chip means it can be done on the device, preserving privacy.

Charts show power of M3

00:11 , Andrew Griffin

Apple is showing a host of charts intended to show the power of the M3. Interestingly, most of the comparisons are with the M1, not the M2.

M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max

00:07 , Andrew Griffin

Apple will be introducing the whole family of M3 chips, says processor boss Johny Srouji. That’s a first.

In the past, Apple has introduced the base model of the chip (the M1, the M2) and then introduced the higher-powered version of that generation (Pro, Max).

This time it is launching those three all at once.

‘A new family of breakthrough chips, and bringing them to [...] the MacBook Pro'

00:05 , Andrew Griffin

We’ll be getting M3-powered MacBook Pro updates today, by the sounds of it.

(It’s not clear whether that’s all we’re getting...)

'Good evening, and welcome to Apple Park’

00:04 , Andrew Griffin

“Tonight we’re doing something special, to celebrate the product we all love: the Mac.”

Tim Cook kicks off the evening with a confirmation that tonight’s event will be focused on Apple’s computers.

Ok, now it’s spooky

00:03 , Andrew Griffin

The event proper has begun – and it’s kicking off with spooky music and a cloudy version of Apple’s campus, complete with bats.

Event begins

00:02 , Andrew Griffin

Everything has kicked off with a video. (It’s all about Macs, and it’s not spooky.)

Apple Store goes down ahead of event

Monday 30 October 2023 23:39 , Andrew Griffin

The Apple Store has gone down after all. While the main pages are still up, clicking into any specific product (such as the MacBook Air, here) shows that it’s offline. That’s the same for all products – even the iPhone.

“Be right back,” the message reads. “We’re making updates to the Apple Store. Check back soon.” It then directs visitors to Apple’s event page.

No last-minute rumours

Monday 30 October 2023 23:31 , Andrew Griffin

In a development that might mean that there’s no major announcements coming, or might not mean anything at all, there haven’t really been any last-minute leaks about what Apple will be launching today.

All the rumours remain the same: some new Macs, and maybe some new Mac accessories. You can read them all here.

Watch the Apple event live on YouTube (and elsewhere)

Monday 30 October 2023 23:11 , Andrew Griffin

You can watch the Apple event in a variety of places, including on Apple’s devoted events page, here. But in my opinion the best place to do so is YouTube, which works on almost every platform, is very reliable, and even lets you sign up for a notification when the event starts. Here’s the YouTube video:

One hour until the event

Monday 30 October 2023 23:04 , Andrew Griffin

There’s one hour* left until the event starts and we get to see whether Tim Cook has dressed up, and how he will vary his usual “good morning” greeting.

* That’s 5pm local pacific time, 8pm eastern, or midnight in the UK. It’s slightly more confusing (and less late) in the UK than it would normally have been, because the clocks have gone back there already, but haven’t yet done so in the US.

Apple Store stays online

Monday 30 October 2023 22:55 , Andrew Griffin

Apple usually takes its online store down in the hours before events, seemingly so that it can put new products up on it. This time around, that hasn’t happened – even on the Mac part of the store. (You can find it here.)

Does that mean that Apple isn’t planning on announcing anything that’s available to buy straight after the event? Are the newly announced products going to be so niche that they won’t cause any particular strain on the website and can be updated quickly? Or has Apple finally built its website so that it doesn’t need to go offline?

We’ll find out in an hour or two...

Apple event comes with unusual timing

Monday 30 October 2023 17:05 , Andrew Griffin

There’s a lot that’s odd about the ‘Scary Fast’ event: it’s late in the month for an Apple launch, and it was announced closer to the actual event than usual. But the weirdest thing about it all is the timing.

Apple’s recent events have always started at 10am local pacific time. But this will be held at 5pm pacific. It’s more than a little strange. (And unsociable and difficult to watch for those in Europe, though undoubtedly better for some other time zones.) Tim Cook has become well-known (and sometimes mocked) for starting his events by saying “good morning”, but he won’t get to do that.

Why is it doing that? It’s still not clear. Some have pointed to a possible tie-in with people in other time zones, such as the launch of Resident Evil for Mac, which might have some involvement from people in Japan. Or perhaps it’s just to chime with the spooky theme.

All will be revealed in a few hours. (Or maybe it won’t, and Apple won’t mention the time.)

‘No tricks, just treats'

Monday 30 October 2023 17:02 , Andrew Griffin

Tim Cook is looking forward to the event – seemingly both referencing and disavowing the Hallowe’en theme. He doesn’t give any clue to what will be launched, but does look like he’s confirming that the event will be dark and shot at night.

Hello and welcome...

Monday 30 October 2023 16:58 , Andrew Griffin

... to The Independent’s live coverage of Apple’s “Scary Fast” event.