Kuo: M3 Chip Still Months Away, Entering Mass Production in Second Half of 2023

[Maigrais]

You know what is great about Apple rumors? You can find someone who says whatever you want. I just finished reading an article on Appleinsider that says exactly the opposite.

Then you’ll use your common sense. Evidently, M3 will ship in 2024. M2 Ultra still hasn’t been out yet for the Mac towers. The only 3-nano chip ready for this year in volumes will be in iPhone 15 series. It all just just connects.

 

[Maigrais]

3NM, not M3.
Big difference.
Also, according to recent rumors, not only will the iPhone get the A17 but the iPad mini might as well, and both of those are high-volume products.
The M3 will have to compete with that, and I think it’s pretty clear which chip Apple wants out first.
It’s the iPhone… it’s always the iPhone.
the iPhone is literally their most important product, it got 7NM and 5NM before anything else and it’s very likely for that to repeat.

This makes perfect sense. Great job!

 

[v0lume4]

I agree with this rumor. We have to remember the Apple of today, thanks to Tim Cook (I don’t mean that derogatorily), are supply chain and inventory masterminds. M1 to M2 was about a year and a half. It hasn’t even been a year on M2 yet. No way is Apple going to release M3 before they get a good ROI on M2 and sell most of the inventory they’ve gotten.

My hope is that the M3 release means that Apple drops M1 and lowers the M2 MBA price to $1,000 where it belongs.

 

[Realityck]

What is your take on what TSMC was beginning the mass production of then?
Are you saying this was 3nm A-series A17 mass production starting Dec 2022?

That was the general assumption, after all the qty of SoC's that go into iPhones 15's is huge compared to all Macs produced for a given year.

 

[Choco Taco]

I'm tired of Kuo and his flip flopping

He’s quickly devolving into another Gurman.

 

[IG88]

That was the general assumption, after all the qty of SoC's that go into iPhones 15's is huge compared to all Macs produced for a given year.

Possibly they need to start early because of expected low yields on a new node in the early months?

 

[dgdosen]

Maybe Apple is leaking this to blunt disappointment/set expectations of no M3s at WWDC?

 

[Xavier]

M3 Pro or M3 Max will be my next computer. So bring it on!

 

[Cristim74]

M3 Pro or M3 Max will be my next computer. So bring it on!

You're in for a long wait. At least one year.

 

[falkon-engine]

but but but others here said that M3 is already in mass production since late Dec/Jan

The only thing that has been in mass production since December is misinformation

 

[Xavier]

You're in for a long wait. At least one year.

I'm willing to wait that long, considering the iMac rumors. Will wait and see what happens

 

[smulji]

Are you saying this was 3nm A-series A17 mass production starting Dec 2022?

That would be my hunch

 

[Dydegu]

Figures. The 15” MBA will still be a great machine.

 

[Realityck]

Maybe Apple is leaking this to blunt disappointment/set expectations of no M3s at WWDC?

Apple doesn't have to make up stories, but most diffidently speculative heresay gets said online with no source of fact. You can think of the M3 rumors as derived from something 3NM has been being produced by TSMC since Dec without naming what.

 

[Admiral Fart]

The 15" Air launching with an M3 always seemed like wishful thinking. Especially if it was originally supposed to launch in April, which would have been barely 9 months after the launch of the M2. Apple doesn't need to include an M3 for this thing to sell incredibly well. It could become the most popular MacBook Apple sells, although it will probably still be second to the 13" Air.

 

[Realityck]

The 15" Air launching with an M3 always seemed like wishful thinking. Especially if it was originally supposed to launch in April, which would have been barely 9 months after the launch of the M2. Apple doesn't need to include an M3 for this thing to sell incredibly well. It could become the most popular MacBook Apple sells, although it will probably still be second to the 13" Air.

Whats missing thats badly needed this year is the successor to the M1 Ultra. They can't issue an update to the March 2022 Mac Studio because of this. That same M2 Ultra is likely what is delaying the Mac Pro, which is something ripe for a WWDC announcement.

The M3 which seems to be morphing into a normal progression of M1-> M2-> M3 evolution is no longer being speculated as possessing wondrous properties like the rumors around It expounded. If fans just try to be less impressed then all of this this is just what we have been used for the last decade from Apple except when it comes to how much performance changes will each new M class family successor possess. (base-Pro-Max-ultra).

It's nice to see normal reality return where we can be surprised against what new products might be able to do during demostrations, versus anticipating new products for more then what they are.

 

[Mr Rib]

The only feasible M3 release scenarios in 2022:
1. M3 Mac Pro release later this year (in either M3 Max / Ultra configs or regular M3 with Max/Ultra update once they come out).
2. M3 iPad Pro before christmas.

Nothing else makes sense. The market is plummeting, while they still have a ****load of M2 stock hardware to sell. Even a Mac Pro doesn't make much sense in 2022 really, because that means new display - so another huge investment both on Apple and customer side.

I decided to wait for M3, now I regret it - I should have bought an M1 studio when it came out and just use that for next 7-8 years... I didnt get it because there was no Pro display release. Now I'm stuck waiting for god knows what and with no real schedule.

 

[Picklefoot]

By the time the M3 is ready, war will have broken out between China and the US over Taiwan and nobody will get an M3 Mac.

 

[octopi]

Oh no... what about the M4 chip.... and M5......

 

[Choco Taco]

By the time the M3 is ready, war will have broken out between China and the US over Taiwan and nobody will get an M3 Mac.

Yeah. 60% of the world's chips in general come out of Taiwan and 90% of the high end chips come out of Taiwan. That would be very bad for a million reasons.

 

[Macalway]

What, is this joke, cuz it ain't funny?

(Ok, so this guy Kuo just lost ALL of his credibility for next 3 years.

He better start rebuilding. Good luck.)

 

[jayducharme]

An M3 mini would give me a reason to upgrade. I'm looking forward to Christmas!

 

[segfaultdotorg]

We're pretty much there, then. They should stop introducing new products like the 15" MacBook Air Pro with the outdated M2 chip.

 

[4odomi]

Apple's next-generation M3 chip will enter mass production in the second half of 2023, according to info shared today by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

In a tweet, Kuo said M3 chip production will begin "slightly ahead" of the M3 Pro and M3 Max. Apple should use the M3 chip for future models of the 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, 24-inch iMac, and Mac mini, while the higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max chips are destined for the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, which Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects to be released in the first half of 2024.

The M3 chip is expected to be manufactured based on Apple chipmaking partner TSMC's latest 3nm process, compared to 5nm for the M2 chip. As a 3nm chip, the M3 should offer significant performance and power efficiency improvements.

As for the long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air, Kuo said the laptop will be equipped with the M2 chip. Back in June 2022, Kuo predicted that the 15-inch model would also be available with the M2 Pro chip, but he no longer expects this.

The key takeaway from Kuo's latest information is that the first Macs with the M3 chip are likely still months away from launching. This makes sense given that the next Mac Pro desktop tower is rumored to feature the M2 Ultra chip, and it is likely that Apple would finish its rollout of the M2 series of chips before announcing the M3 chip.

Article Link: Kuo: M3 Chip Still Months Away, Entering Mass Production in Second Half of 2023

There was no way the 15" air was going to be launched with the M3 and I've said that all along!

 

[gio_mar]

Professional user that need to run Windows older versions are stuck to old intel machine, I do not see the M processor going anywhere for professional use, this is sad because I have been using Macs successfully for many year I will have to abandon the platform, including iPhone iPad Mac watch everything, this is coming from a loyal Apple customer.
I thought to travel with 2 computer but it does not make sense. I am waiting one or two generation to buy a new PC.