This is why M3 is likely to be based on A16 to mitigate risk.
Many people believe M3 is based on A17, but in all likelihood Apple won’t use a new core with a new process.
Or would that be chip flopping?I'm tired of Kuo and his flip flopping
This is why M3 is likely to be based on A16 to mitigate risk.
Many people believe M3 is based on A17, but in all likelihood Apple won’t use a new core with a new process.
The M1 was based on the A14 and the at-the-time bleeding edge 5nm process, and it launched two months after the A14. So there is precedent for Apple to use the latest A-series core and fab process in the M-series.I expect the real risk with A17 is 3nm, not the cores.
So Apple will use the massive volume of A17 to de-risk the 3nm production process and then once the iPhone production starts to ramp down towards the end of 2023, TSMC will have the fab capacity to start ramping M3 on 3nm and we will see the first M3 Macs arrive in 1Q 2024.
Like all product, do a hands on, play various you tube videos or other content does the larger MBA suffice nicely? Good speakers or display as demoed. Try it for a week next that will tell you if it’s for you versus older similar laptops such as the 14” M1 pro MBP still available as new from 3rd party retailer.Man, I was really hoping the 15" MBA would get the M3![]()
Like all product, do a hands on, play various you tube videos or other content does the larger MBA suffice nicely? Good speakers or display as demoed. Try it for a week next that will tell you if it’s for you versus older similar laptops such as the 14” M1 pro MBP still available as new from 3rd party retailer.![]()
But are the volume buttons on a 3nm process or not? I don’t want any stop-gap buttons! 🤨I gotta say, these "the M3 chip totally started production, pinky swear, oh no wait, I meant it's starting production months from now" rumors are still more exciting than hearing about the iPhone 15's maybe-haptic-maybe-not volume buttons.![]()
The only thought that comes up, is the fact that Apple might not optimize it for just that. They may prefer to use the energy efficiency to improve performance so they can market it as improved over past SoCs. Also we are reminded again this whole lovely topic is a wish list for a rumor. But I hope its real for the fans.The main reason to really yearn for M3 chips, esp. on something fanless like the MBA, is the efficiency improvements - both battery and sustained performance will see significant improvement.
Releases of the first products containing particular chips were:
M1 November
M1 Pro/Max October
M1 Ultra March
M2 June
M2 Pro/Max January
Your thesis doesn't compute.
The only thought that comes up, is the fact that Apple might not optimize it for just that. They may prefer to use the energy efficiency to improve performance so they can market it as improved over past SoCs. Also we are reminded again this whole lovely topic is a wish list for a rumor. But I hope its real for the fans.
We need to remember that the sources for Kuo and Ross Young are in the supply chain and those sources likely know nothing more than "this thing started production today" with no idea of where it actually is going or why it started production or even how long the production run was going to be. So Kuo and Young take these rumors and extrapolate them to Apple products they expect to be produced.
I could easily see the rumors of M3 production starting in December 2022 as being EVT (Engineering Verification Test) runs to work out package production (so SoC plus RAM). They could have even been A17 EVT and the source thought it was M3 because it was 3nm.
I believe that the A17 will soak up the vast majority of TSMC's 3nm production through Spring and Summer and therefore I don't expect to see serious M3 production until this Fall and therefore could see M3 not formally appearing in product until a Spring 2024 Mac event with the 13" Air (and maybe a 15" refresh) and the 24" iMac.
Well hell, I completely forgot about the iOS devices 😂Care to guess which product line TMSC has been busy stockpiling 3NM line. Hint it dwarfs the other lines.
- 232 million iPhones, 61 million iPads and 26 million Mac and MacBook units were sold in 2022
Perhaps ... maybe this is also evidence that M3 Pro Max Ultra are in production which is expected with the debut of the Mac Pro.I would not consider a base M3 to be an SoC for "High Performance Computing" applications...
It’s not integer math. Things can be smaller than 1nm without being zero.Can they go sub 1 nanometer? Or is that not a thing?
but but but others here said that M3 is already in mass production since late Dec/Jan
Thats just another excuse for delay, it’s likely be introduced at WWDC just because you brought that up.M3 Ultra / M3 Extreme, with hardware ray-tracing; absolutely needed for the introduction of the ASi Mac Pro...
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
You really think Apple is so cheap to not redesign what’s necessary to make computer run its best? Like it was mentioned they will instead optimize any new SoC to gain performance even at some cost to energy usage.My gut feeling is the M3 will be a small boost in performance overM1 and M2 but most of it's benefit is in running cooler and increase battery life. By running cooler it should retrofit into most the existing Mac computers saving money. Apple big leap was moving to System On A Chip with the M1, but performance benefit will be small moving forward and barely noticable for the typical Apple user.