M3 Mac benchmarks are in and they're as good as Apple promised

(Image credit: Apple)

Earlier this week, Apple unveiled the next generation of Apple Silicone, the M3 chip. Built using a 3nm (nanometer) process, the brand-new processor takes the Mac to new heights, and it looks like Apple’s speed claims during the “Scary Fast” event live up to hype according to the first benchmark results.

During the event, Apple said that the new M3 chip has an 8-core CPU that is up to 35% faster than M1 and 20% faster than M2 and a 10-core GPU that is up to 65% faster than M1 and up to 20% faster than M2. Now, thanks to some Geekbench results that appeared in the database, it looks like the M3 is an excellent upgrade for anyone looking to make the jump to Apple Silicone.

The Geekbench results from the base model M3 MacBook Pro show a single-core result of 3030 and a multi-core score of 11694. These results align with Apple’s claims of 20% improvement on the M2 and 30% on the M1.

Benchmarks don’t give us the full picture of how the new MacBooks will perform in daily use, but the results give a good indication that the new M3 chips are as good as Apple claims.

The M3 MacBook Pro is available for preorder just now and will be available from November 7, but with Black Friday fast approaching it may be worth waiting for one of the Best MacBook Black Friday deals.

M3 Power

The new M3 MacBook Pro not only houses the new processor but also allows customers to own a Space Black MacBook. The new color available with the M3 Pro and M3 Max is the only external hardware difference from the previous M2 MacBook Pros released earlier this year.

We can’t wait to get our hands on the new laptops to check out the new color and test the M3 chip. Stay tuned to iMore for more M3 Mac news.

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John-Anthony Disotto is the How To Editor of iMore, ensuring you can get the most from your Apple products and helping fix things when your technology isn’t behaving itself. Living in Scotland, where he worked for Apple as a technician focused on iOS and iPhone repairs at the Genius Bar, John-Anthony has used the Apple ecosystem for over a decade and prides himself in his ability to complete his Apple Watch activity rings. John-Anthony has previously worked in editorial for collectable TCG websites and graduated from The University of Strathclyde where he won the Scottish Student Journalism Award for Website of the Year as Editor-in-Chief of his university paper. He is also an avid film geek, having previously written film reviews and received the Edinburgh International Film Festival Student Critics award in 2019. John-Anthony also loves to tinker with other non-Apple technology and enjoys playing around with game emulation and Linux on his Steam Deck.

In his spare time, John-Anthony can be found watching any sport under the sun from football to darts, taking the term “Lego house” far too literally as he runs out of space to display any more plastic bricks, or chilling on the couch with his French Bulldog, Kermit.