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Macs With 'M3' Chips Expected to Use TSMC's 3nm Chip Technology With Test Production Reportedly Underway
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Yes. Starting with Ice Lake, some laptops were 10nm, including the 2020 MacBook Air and Pro.
Starting with Alder Lake, which is rolling out in the coming months, they're spreading that out to desktops as well.
M series chips will surely have better performance in the future. For now M1/M1 Pro/Max are excellent chips.
You are correct, but since all this Apple silicon movement - I am more excited about the ARM space than the x86. I say this as someone who is not a chip engineer/designer but a casual observer so I am open to being completely wrong.
I heard the Apple Silicon progression will be M1 -> M2 -> M3 -> M4 -> M5 -> G6
That way all those people who have been waiting so long for a G6 in a Mac laptop will finally get it. Just won't be a PowerPC G6.
you mean g5
Not against the M1 MacBook Airs.
And as someone else noted, M3 MacBook Airs will be a 2023 or even 2024 product.
It is, IMO, a safe assumption to presume that M2 will be based on A15 so it would have 8 CPU cores (4 performance and 4 efficiency) and up to 10 GPU cores (since A15 has 4 or 5 GPU cores depending on the product it is in).
The A15 performance core is better than the A14 performance core in the M1 family so on single-core tasks and benchmarks, M2 will be faster than an M1/M1 Pro/M1 MAX. But eight A14 performance cores are still going to outgun four A15 performance cores so the M1 Pro and M1 MAX will still win the multicore benchmarks. And as the A15 GPU is also better than the A14 GPU core, a 10-core M2 might match or even beat a 14-core M1 Pro, but it should still be behind the 16-core Pro and definitely behind the 24 and 32 core MAX.
Something tells me you don’t understand how product development works.
The iPhone X was in development as far back as 2014… yet it didn’t come out until 2017.
Apple began planning the Mac’s switch over to Apple silicon in 2016, 4 years before anything shipped.
The first Apple Watch began development in 2011, yet didn’t launch until 2015.
The 24 inch iMac began development under Johnny Ive, so probably around 2018.
So it’s 100% likely that Apple is currently working on products that won’t be released until 2023–2025
Yup. More to the point: the iPhone 13 and A15 were just released a few months ago, but Apple is currently already working on the iPhone 14, 15, and 16, and the A16, 17, and 18. And at least the M2 and M3, possibly M4.
True that G5 was the chip everyone was waiting for in a PowerBook, but the quote I replied to mentioned G6, so I merged the two in my comment. :^)
Or you can buy what you want - when you want. Usually upgrade every year and pass on the older model to a family member as hand me down. It is a choice. But agree not entirely necessary but a valid choice nonetheless.
Sure, but a lot of people here seem to fret over it and push themselves to always buy the latest. If you can afford it, go for it. If you have any doubts about whether it is it the right course, explore that idea before you make the decision.
This was in the context of someone asking if they should expect to buy a new laptop each year because Apple might be putting new processors out each year. That is a somewhat bigger question that whether you should get a new phone each year.
The great majority of the marketplace is served well enough by many machines that are currently available for not a lot of money. Students and business people who need a bit more power and capability don’t really have to spend much more than the average consumer. Professionals can easily afford the machines that have the power and capability for their specific and specialized needs.
An M1 MacBook Air, as currently priced, has more power than the average consumer could need as well as enough for those who might need or want a bit more. I don’t see that market changing much anytime soon so the M1 will remain a viable option for quite some time.
The question I have is what will we see next year? Will the new M2 MacBook Air replace the current M1 Air entirely or will the M1 remain as a lower cost entry level model with the M2 slotted above it and effectively replacing the current 13in. Pro? This was done before when the current Air design was introduced (at a higher price point) and the old design remained available for awhile longer. The M2 Air will almost certainly make the current 13in. M1 Pro redundant and the odd man out given the current M1 Air already makes the M1 Pro largely pointless.
A good second hand M1 Air or Pro at reduced price could easily be an attractive alternative to a new yet less powerful current PC laptop of about the same price. I’d say that keeps the M1 Macs from being soon obsolete.
An M1 MacBook Air, as currently priced, has more power than the average consumer could need as well as enough for those who might need or want a bit more. I don’t see that market changing much anytime soon so the M1 will remain a viable option for quite some time.
The question I have is what will we see next year? Will the new M2 MacBook Air replace the current M1 Air entirely or will the M1 remain as a lower cost entry level model with the M2 slotted above it and effectively replacing the current 13in. Pro? This was done before when the current Air design was introduced (at a higher price point) and the old design remained available for awhile longer. The M2 Air will almost certainly make the current 13in. M1 Pro redundant and the odd man out given the current M1 Air already makes the M1 Pro largely pointless.
A good second hand M1 Air or Pro at reduced price could easily be an attractive alternative to a new yet less powerful current PC laptop of about the same price. I’d say that keeps the M1 Macs from being soon obsolete.
The M2 will probably be slightly faster than the M1 (maybe 8-15%) just as the iPhone A15 is slightly faster than the A14. Putting an M2 in the next MBA will not drastically change the performance of the MBA. Both chips are/will be faster than most of the Intel chips used in other laptops and sufficient for most people’s needs.
The next MBA is supposed to feature a new design that may be thinner than the current model. Apple could choose to keep the current wedge MBA around as a cheaper model, similar to the iPhone SE that they sell using older cases at entry level prices. It’s not certain if they will keep the Air name for the new laptop. Some have suggested that they might call the new model just MacBook.
With the whole right to repair thing Apple is embracing I think the days of every thinner laptops are coming to an end.
Actually Intel is going to TMSC because Intel is having too many issues getting the nm count down on its own. The issue is can Intel secure the number of chips they will need or will Apple maintain their 25% share of total production?
Well, you could wait infinitely.
But I choose to buy the M1 Pro or Max, and then maybe the M5, and the M10. Every fifth year. I do five year plans. No more worries.
But I choose to buy the M1 Pro or Max, and then maybe the M5, and the M10. Every fifth year. I do five year plans. No more worries.
Looking forward I think the deciding factor is practicality, as always really. Strength of available materials as well as limits to miniaturization of components will dictate what is possible, but optimal practicality in terms of usage will rule. The same applies to tablets, phones, televisions and all manner of hardware. Making something lightweight as well as thin as possible simply makes a laptop, tablet or phone ever more portable yet limited by maintaining structural rigidity and required form to make the device practical to use. Cellphones started as bulky and cumbersome things, but eventually morphed into ever more compact flip style phones that became almost too small to be practical. The change to smartphones dictated a change in form and practical size. There are now a variety of sizes of smartphones to suit different tastes and needs. In extent the same is true of tablets and laptops, but the push to make them all as thin and as lightweight as possible continues. I don’t think we’re at the limits yet.