When it comes to Apple MacBooks, the upcoming M3 chipset is currently one of the hottest things in the rumor mill. The new processors are said to be significantly more powerful than the current M2 chip in the MacBook Pro 13, 14, 16 and MacBook Air 13. The M3 chips will apparently be based on the Apple A17 Bionic architecture. That’s the same SoC that also powers the new iPhone 15 series. This has led to some speculation that M3 chips and devices could arrive sooner rather than later.
However, according to industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this is unlikely to be the case. According to the source, Apple no longer plans to release M3 MacBook models “before the end of this year.” On the surface, this statement leaves some room for speculation as to whether Cupertino could still launch M3-based desktop Macs in 2023. For example, new iMac models would be conceivable. The idea behind this is that Apple’s desktop computers are sold in much smaller quantities than Apple’s notebooks. Therefore, enough chips could be produced for this by the end of the year.
However, TSMC’s 3nm process, which Apple uses to make its M3 chips, is apparently already at its limit. Yields are obviously a problem. This is also consistent with a recent report that Apple has already purchased all of TSMC’s 3 Nm capacity until at least the end of 2023. The bottom line is that the current reports and rumors are likely to point to one thing above all else. That we won’t see any M3 MacBooks and probably M3 iPads in stores before 2024.
