Article updated September 11th; originally posted September 9th.
While Apple focuses on the launch of the iPhone 15 family, others are looking ahead to October and the launch of the next-generation Apple Silicon for the Mac platform… except the M3 launch may not include the longed-for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops.
Update: September 11th: The logjam of producing the M3 chipset is being highlighted by many, MacWorld’s Roman Loyola may have found the answer to the question “why?” Given the upcoming launch of the iPhone 15 family and the use of the 3nm process for the A17 chipset expected to debut in the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, was priority given to the smartphone over the laptop?
“The M3 has been reported to be manufactured using a 3nm process, which would make it the first 3nm chip in a laptop or desktop computer. The 3nm process is new for chip manufacturer TSMC and its production capacity is comparatively small, so it’s possible that Apple needed to adjust its release schedule. The A17 Bionic in the iPhone 15 Pro that will be released on Tuesday is expected to be a 3nm chip as well, and iPhone production takes priority over the Mac.”
It may not be a complete stop, though. While the MacBook may suffer from the M3’s smaller volumes so far, another victory may be in the Mac family.
Writing on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes: “it seems that Apple will not launch new MacBook models (equipped with M3 series processors) before the end of this year.”
This will come as a shock to many.
Apple’s M3 platform is widely expected to be the first Mac chipset built using 3nm technology instead of the current 5nm. This should offer improved battery life and reduced operating temperatures. The next generation of Apple Silicon is currently being tested and spotted in third-party developer logs and online benchmarking tools, alongside details on the M3 laptops working through the sloppy chain.
Those laptops, the popular 13-inch MacBook Air and the kooky consumer-focused 13-inch MacBook Pro, were expected to debut the M3 chipset at a launch event in mid- to late-October, potentially alongside a similarly upgraded iMac.
It’s worth noting that Kuo only talks about the MacBook, rather than the desk-bound iMac, which leads to an interesting possibility. In previous launches, Apple Silicon has debuted on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Both of these are popular machines which will be in high demand when they go on sale.
If Apple’s manufacturing partner TSMC is struggling to ship significant numbers of M3 silicon, it could be that the M3 launch goes ahead in October, but rather than pack the new chips into the popular laptops, Tim Cook and his team decide to go for the still technically impressive but less popular iMac.
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