Mac fans have many reasons to be excited about the M3 chip, which is said to deliver a better speed boost and longer battery life compared to the M2. But according to a new report, we’ll have to wait a little longer to see what the new chip can do.
According to Revegnus (@Tech_Reve) on Twitter, the M3 chip destined for the iPad Pro and next-generation Macs won’t arrive until next year. Apparently, TSMC, which produces the chips, is currently unable to meet Apple’s demand “due to yield issues.”
Revegnus is a ‘tech enthusiast, semiconductor geek [stet]according to their Twitter bio, and has leaked other reports in the past that have come out. Revegnus recently tweeted that Apple is working on a 14-inch iPad Pro with an M3 Pro chip for release in 2024.
In February, DigiTimes reported that Apple had ordered all of TSMC’s 3nm power supply. Apple’s A17 Bionic chip, which will be used in the new iPhone 15 Pro, is rumored to be a 3nm chip, and since Apple’s iPhone cycle starts each quarter in the fall, Apple and TSMC are likely to prioritize the production of the A17 Bionic over the M3.
The delay does help clarify the possible lineup for Mac releases for next year. There are rumors of a 15-inch MacBook Air being released, so it now seems more likely that it will have an M2 or possibly an M2 Pro. The M2 MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro were released almost a year ago and will remain in the lineup until the M3 is released in 2024. The M2 Mac mini was just released in January and doesn’t need an immediate upgrade. However, the M1 iMac really needs an upgrade – it will be almost three years old by the time the M3 is released.
As for the iPad, Apple upgraded the iPad Pro in October 2022 with the M2. This could be updated in 2024 not only with an M3, but also with a shake-up in the lineup and the introduction of the 14-inch iPad Pro that Revegnus and others have reported.
Apple’s M3 could be the first chip in a personal computer to be made using the 3nm manufacturing process. The move to 3nm increases transistor density and is an improvement over the current improved 5nm process used with the M2. The M3 offers more processing power while requiring less power, which could lead to performance gains beyond the usual year-to-year increase.
