As I type these words, I have spent less than 72 hours with Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro equipped with its top-shelf M3 Max chip. (Yes, it's in “Space Black”.) Not long enough for a thorough review, but I do have some early thoughts on the laptop.

How black is the “Space Black” color and does it live up to the black polycarbonate MacBook that was discontinued over a decade ago? Does the black-anodized aluminum really reduce fingerprints? How much faster is the M3 Max chip compared to the M2 Max chip? What's it like to play console-quality games? Read on for my first impressions.

It’s telling that the main comparison point Apple made between its new M3-powered MacBook Pros and iMacs, other than Intel systems, was the M1. Obviously, year-over-year CPU and GPU improvements are incremental, and scooping up lagging Intel users is still a goal. But more than that, the headstart the company got converting customers to its custom silicon was so successful that now its main game is getting them to upgrade more regularly.

The speed and power efficiency of Apple’s new M-series Macs revolutionized the company’s original product line (based on recent lackluster earnings, the PC buying craze of the early pandemic helped too), but the gap between Windows PCs and Macs could be closing soon.

Windows laptops are poised for a revolution thanks to a triple threat of chip improvements, new exciting form factors, and Microsoft’s deepening commitment to AI, and just about everyone, from curious laptop buyers to the devoted Apple faithful could stand to benefit from it.