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Kuo: New MacBook Pro and iPad Pro Models to Enter Mass Production This Year

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Apple suppliers will begin mass production of new 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro models in the fourth quarter of 2022, and all of the devices will likely remain equipped with 5nm chips, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

14-vs-16-inch-mbp-m2-pro-and-max-feature-1.jpg

In a pair of tweets, Kuo said Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC will not begin shipping 3nm chips until January 2023, and therefore he expects the new MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models to stick with 5nm chips. The new iPad Pro with an M2 chip is expected to be released in October, but timing for the new MacBook Pro models is less clear, with some rumors suggesting a release later this year and others pointing towards a 2023 launch.


The new MacBook Pro models are expected to be equipped with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, which some earlier reports had suggested could be Apple's first 3nm chips. However, if the latest information shared by Kuo is accurate, the first Apple devices with chips based on TSMC's 3nm process will not be released until some point next year.

In addition to future Macs and iPads, the A17 Bionic chip in next year's iPhone 15 Pro is also expected to be a 3nm chip.

Article Link: Kuo: New MacBook Pro and iPad Pro Models to Enter Mass Production This Year
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/08/26/kuo-macbook-pro-ipad-pro-mass-2022-production/
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This is a really tricky situation. The pandemic & resulting supply chain issues have screwed up gauging the timing of this. It feels like Apple will bring out the M2/M2 Pro Mac mini this year, as well as the M2 Pro/Max 14" & 16" MacBook Pros. But it could very well happen in March 2023. I lean on by the end of November just based on Gurman's track record.
 
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The iPad Pro can be expected to be based on M2, so no challenges with Apple shipping an update iPad in October. That means M2 Pro/Max devices could be held back for very early in 2023.
 
Certainly makes more sense than the 3nm rumors. According to Gurman, Apple has been testing the new MacBook Pros since April this year. That's a bit too early to be 3nm.

With the September 7 event, Apple has enough of a buffer between that date and an October event. And it doesn't make sense for the event to be just for iPad Pro.
 
Based on what TSMC has been saying about their 3nm production plans, they would not be able to meet Apple's late 2022 and early 2023 production quotas using 3nm so Apple decided to continue with 5nm for A16 and M2. And so I
expect a 5nm M2 Pro and M2 Max, as well.

I imagine the first real opportunity for Apple to move to 3nm will be with the A17 and M3 families.

As for the notch, that is not going anywhere since the only reason we have it was to get rid of the thick bezels everyone was carping about.
 
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MayaUser said:
Hope Apple will not release 5nm 14" and 16" Mbp when the 3nm is 4-6 months away
They should wait for Spring event
Click to expand...
It’s not like apple can just delay or switch over to a different process node when they feel like. It takes years of designing and if they are shipping 5nm soon it means they had test chips a year ago. But you can be sure they are working on M3 probably on 3nm and also starting initial M4 work.
 
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An M2 Max with 96GB of ram would be extra tasty.
(Ram is everything in my job, the main reason I favoured getting 128GB of ram rather than the 64-Core GPU in my mac studio).
 
alexandr said:
You stop with that Spring 23 crap now! I need it sooner)))))))
Click to expand...
Here you go! No need to wait. Take advantage of the back-to-school promotion. You're welcome :p

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CWallace said:
I expect the decision to ship M2 Pro and M2 Max on 5nm or 3nm will depend on how many 3nm SoCs TSMC can get since it is reasonable to expect these will be popular models based on the M1 family's sales. If TSMC cannot meet Apple's projected needs, then I expect a 5nm launch followed 18-24 months later by the M3 family on 3nm as TSMC will be in full yield production by that time.

The notch is not going anywhere since the only reason we have it was to get rid of the thick bezels everyone was carping about.
Click to expand...

No, this decision was likely made a long time ago, not at the last minute. 3nm is a major node and uses a different set of design rules. It would take a lot of engineering resources for Apple to dual-track. Given their cadence of new SoCs, it's unlikely Apple would waste talent designing an SoC for both 5nm and 3nm.

TSMC announced a delay for 3nm in August 2021. If there were any last minute decisions to be made, it would be have been made by Apple then.
 
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If 3nm mass production is right around the corner, delay and take advantage of the new node. If m2 pro/max is indeed 5nm ++ I’m skipping it and waiting until 3nm comes to market.
 
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MayaUser said:
Hope Apple will not release 5nm 14" and 16" Mbp when the 3nm is 4-6 months away
They should wait for Spring event
Click to expand...
Apple is not incentivized to wait though. The M1 Pros lap the competition as it stands and are selling pretty well.
 
MacRumors said:
Apple suppliers will begin mass production of new 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro models in the fourth quarter of 2022, and all of the devices will likely remain equipped with 5nm chips, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Click to expand...
More like sometime in 2023. There is no need for Apple to provide an annual update to 14/16" MacBook Pros, given their current reviews and performance.
 
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Does that mean the M2 iPad Pro may be short lived? If so, I may have to wait a little longer. I want to upgrade from my 2020 iPad Pro as soon as possible but if the M2 is short lived, I’m not getting it. I’m not making the same mistake I did with the 2020 iPad Pro again
 
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