Apple might reveal a proper gaming product at its October event, and if it does I’m going to go nuts
I’ll take one gaming MacBook please, Apple!
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We’re agonizingly close toApple’s upcoming ‘Scary Fast’ event, which will be livestreamed around the world on October 30. A whole bunch of rumors have been circulating as to what we might see at this event - theM3 chipis a hotly anticipated potential arrival, with many expecting to seerefreshed iMacsor anew MacBook Pro.
But the latest leaks seem to indicate thatthe event as a whole will have a gaming angleof some sort - and thatverymuch piques my interest.Applehas never quite managed to crack the gaming market, despite now producing some processors that are perfectly capable of running the latest games. Perhaps it’s time for the Cupertino-based tech titan to finally step into the gaming arena for real.
That’s right - I don’t want some half-assed commitments to gaming on macOS, I want to see arealpiece of dedicated gaming hardware. Apple has a proven track record when it comes to producing sleek, powerful devices, so the possibilities are almost endless: perhaps a gaming-focused new MacBook variant? Or a desktop ‘Mac Game’? Heck, I’d even love to see Apple try its hand at making a gaming handheld in the vein of Valve’sSteam Deck.
Gaming is the market Apple really needs to tap into
Apple has been - very gently - pushing the gaming angle for a little while now, but it’s not really enough. The introduction of‘game mode’ for macOS Sonomawas good, and Apple made a pretty big deal about the gaming potential of theApple Vision Proheadset at itsWWDC 2023 eventearlier this year.
Macs clearly haven’t become the gaming haven Apple wants them to be, though. There are over 100 million Mac users worldwide, but macOS users account for less than 2% of gamers usingSteam(according to Steam’s ownHardware and Software Survey), with only negligible gains since the release of macOS Sonoma.
It’s almost frustrating to see, personally. Apple’s in-house M-series silicon is eminently capable of running triple-A games - especially if you’ve got a powerhouseM2 MacBook Pro- and theiPhone 15 Pro Maxeven has a position on our ranking of thebest gaming phones.
I’m beginning to think that it’s an issue of marketing and user perception, really. At this point, a new MacBook can play games as well as some of thebest thin and light gaming laptops, but most people buying a MacBook view it as a device for work, school, or creative hobbies. This is why Apple should release a ‘proper’ gaming device: to make it clear to the masses that gaming on Mac is here to stay.
Now is the perfect time for Apple to push the gaming angle
Last year, my fellow computing editor John Loeffler wrote about howMacs could be the future of gaming, and at the timeI wholly disagreed. But John wasn’t wrong, really. Macsdohave the potential to become true gaming machines, and the integrated processors offered by modern Mac products are an ideal platform: after all, it’s a lot less complicated than having to figure out all the complex specs of a custom-built gaming PC.
On top of that, Apple has a golden opportunity to muscle into the gaming hardware space right now - because its biggest potential competitor is, well, occupied elsewhere.Nvidia- long the dominant force in the PC gaming market - has becomea little obsessed with AI lately, andthe dedicated GPU market in general is frankly in shambles. Why would I want to buy anRTX 4090graphics card (asinglecomponent!) when I could pick up an M2 MacBook Pro for around the same price?
Apple even seems to be taking ray-tracing seriously, with the recently releasedA17 chip capable of ray-tracing in games. A recent report fromGamevrohas claimed that a Japanese game developer will make an appearance at the ‘Scary Fast’ event too - perhaps Capcom, or a second showing from legendary dev Hideo Kojima (who popped up duringWWDCthis year to promote his gameDeath Strandingcoming to macOS).
In short, Apple: strike while the iron’s hot! Now is the time! I’ll be tuning into the ‘Scary Fast’ livestream with bated breath, andyou can watch along with me right here. If you give me a gaming MacBook, I’ll literally take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about you.
Well, maybe not quite everything. I still hate the Magic Mouse.
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Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.
Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.
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