Apple May Be Developing M3 Chips for Upcoming Macs This Fall

Bloomberg reports that Apple is currently conducting tests on different versions of the M3 chip, and there are possibilities of the first Macs powered by the new Apple Silicon being released as soon as October. The M3 Max, a top-tier laptop chip, is expected to feature four extra high-performance CPU cores and a minimum of two additional graphical cores compared to its predecessor, the M2 Max, which was introduced just in January.

The company is said to be testing new iMacs, 13-inch MacBook Pros, 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs, and Mac minis — all of which feature the M3 chip and are expected within the next 12 months. Updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips likely won’t arrive until 2024.

The company may be moving to an aggressive Mac release schedule as its line of desktops and laptops tries to regain sales footing after a pandemic-era boom. While it launched the 15-inch MacBook Air in June and new models of the MacBook Pro and Mac mini in January, we could see more new Macs this fall. (The company hinted in its earnings call last week that the new Macs wouldn’t arrive until after the fiscal fourth quarter, which ends at the end of September.) According to Bloomberg, Apple is indeed planning an October product launch.

The base M3 chip is said to use the same configuration as the M2: eight processor cores and up to 10 graphics cores. However, the M3 Pro starts with 12 CPU cores and 18 graphics cores, and according to test logs, the M3 Max has 16 CPU cores and 40 graphics cores. Of course, Apple is likely testing several variations of the core computing options, and we don’t yet know which versions will make their way to consumers.

The M3 chip has long been rumored to move to TSMC’s upcoming 3nm process for expected performance and efficiency improvements over the 5nm process used in the M2. Apple is also widely expected to use the 3nm process with the A17 chip in the upcoming iPhone 15 series.