With the Apple Mac range now powered exclusively by Apple M2 silicon system-on-a-chip units, we are starting to learn more about the next round of Apple Silicon, the M3 series. This is what we know so far…

In Summary

Apple is expected to release the first M3 powered Mac in October this year. It is expected that the M3 will have a much higher CPU count than the M2 and M2 models. Other Macs are predicted to be upgraded throughout 2024 and maybe into 2025.

What Makes The M3 Range So Special?

Simply put, chips manufactured using a 3nm process versus those produced using a 5nm process use less power and run faster. For example, Samsung say…

“Compared to the 5nm process, the first-generation 3nm process can reduce power consumption by up to 45%, improve performance by 23% and reduce the area by 16% compared to 5nm.”

With regard to Apple and their own Apple Silicon designs, we understand that Apple is planning a "much bigger leap" with its third-generation SoC chips, some of which will have up to four dies (as opposed to two dies in the 5nm designs, which is expected to translate into Apple silicon SoCs potentially having up to 40 CPU cores.

For comparison, the M1 and M2 chips have an 8-core CPU, and the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips have 10-core CPUs; the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips have 12-core CPUs. So a jump up from 10 or 12 cores to up to 40 cores confirms the "much bigger leap".

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the development of the M3 range of Apple Silicon chips.

Back in August 2022, in a paywalled preview of a report in DigiTimes, a daily newspaper for semiconductor, electronics, computer and communications industries in Taiwan and the Greater China region, they said…

“Backend firms are upbeat about demand for the upcoming MacBook chips, which will be built using TSMC's 3nm process technology, with production set to kick off later this year, according to industry sources”.

However, according to DigiTimes, at the time, it was not expected that TSMC would generate substantial revenue from 3nm chip production overall until at least the first quarter of 2023.

This was further reinforced by a report in an edition of Taiwan's Commercial Times, which said TSMC would begin production of 3nm chips for Apple by the end of 2022.

In late December 2022, we learned that Apple’s chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), started mass production of the 3nm chips that will be used in the next generations of Apple Silicon powered computers.

All of this proved too late for the M2 Pro and M2 Max powered MacBook Pro machines, released in January 2023, using 5nm technology.

Then in February 2023, according to a report by DigiTimes, Apple booked 100% of TSMC’s 3nm output even though the product is more expensive and has a lower utilisation rate. It has been reported that these 3nm SoCs are apparently destined for Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and the new M3 Macs.

In July 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said this in the 16th July edition of his Power On newsletter…

“Now that Apple has gotten the 15-inch MacBook Air and new M2 Ultra-based Macs out the door, the October launch could feature the first Macs with M3 chips. October is too early for new high-end MacBook Pros or desktops, so the first beneficiaries of the new chip should be the next iMac, 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.”

Interestingly, there is no mention of the Mac mini in this first round of M3-powered Apple Mac computers. Back in November 2020. when Apple started on the Apple Silicon journey, they announced the M1 powered MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini.

Later came the M1 powered iMac followed by the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops powered by bigger M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Next came the Mac Studio, which can be powered by an M1 Ultra.

When it came to the M2 powered Macs, Apple started with the 13.6-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro in July 2022.

Next, in January 2023, Apple released the New M2 Mac Mini and MacBook Pro With M2 Pro And M2 Max chips.

With this history, perhaps it’s not surprising that Apple is planning to start the M3 round with the oldest M2 powered computers, the 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

What About The M3 Mac Mini?

Then in the 23rd July edition of his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman added…

“It's a sure thing that an ‌M3‌ version of the ‌Mac mini‌ is eventually coming.”

As the Mac mini was only updated in January this year, this makes complete sense. Apple is going to want at least 12 months out of the M2 models before considering an upgrade.

Apple iMac - Is It Going To Be Updated?

Apple last updated the iMac in 2021 when it released an M1 Apple Silicon iMac, but that is it; no M2 iMacs have been announced. This means if you are looking for a new iMac, you may need to wait much longer.

In addition, Apple discontinued the iMac Pro back in 2021. In March 2022, it discontinued the 27-inch Intel-based version of the ‌iMac‌, leaving the 24-inch ‌iMac‌ with the M1 chip as the only remaining ‌iMac‌ model. The consensus seemed to be that Apple has effectively replaced the 27-inch ‌iMac‌ with the Mac Studio and its matching Studio Display, with some sources suggesting that Apple has suspended high-end iMac development.

However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman was not one of them. In his PowerOn newsletter in early July 2022, he outlined that Apple has been working on at least two ‌iMac‌ models and choosing to skip the M2 chip and go to the, as yet unreleased, M3 series of chips. He suggested that Apple will likely launch an updated 24-inch ‌iMac‌ featuring the standard M3 chip in late 2023 and that they are continuing the development of a high-end ‌iMac‌…

“I also still believe that Apple is working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market. I'd imagine this will use a variation of the M3 chip, likely an M3 Pro and M3 Max. That would match the chips inside of the MacBook Pro. I don't think the combination of a Mac Studio or Mac mini plus an Apple Studio Display cuts it for many pro users who want more screen real estate.”

Mark Gurman was not alone in his view that Apple will release a new iMac in 2023. As far back as March 2022, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted…

Predictions for Apple's new desktop products:

1. 2022: More powerful Mac mini and more affordable external display (27-inch without mini-LED).

2. 2023: Mac Pro and iMac Pro.

Next, in his PowerOn newsletter dated February 12th 2023, Mark Gurman confirmed his expectation that Apple would skip updating the iMac with the M2 chip and instead wait to release an iMac with the M3 chip.

“I haven't seen anything to indicate there will be a new iMac until the M3 chip generation, which won't arrive until the tail end of this year at the earliest or next year. So if you want to stick with the iMac, you'll just have to sit tight.”

But Mark Gurman remained silent on whether a larger iMac would return and when that might be.

In July 2023, Mark suggests that Apple will include the iMac alongside the 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro in the first batch of Mac computers to receive the M3 update.

The Future?

It looks like we can expect M3 powered 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops using M3 Pro and M3 Max chips in mid 2024 and an update sometime in 2025 adding OLED screens.

As for the M3 Mac mini, it is looking like mid to late 2024. When it comes to the Mac Studio and the Mac Pro, with the M2 powered models only released in June 2023, it is likely to be very late 2024 or even 2025 before we will see the M3 updates.

Do I Wait For The M3 Upgrade

Based on what we know about the improvements from the M2 to M3 chips will be, we can expect a much bigger performance improvement with the M3 models compared to the M2 versions, especially if there is the kind of jump in the number of CPU cores in the M3 models.

With that in mind, if you can wait for the M3 models to be released then our advice is to wait and get the benefit of the 3nm chips with the expected higher CPU count. If you need a new computer now, then get the best one you can afford.