Apple Rumored to Release First M3-Based Macs in October

Apple
(Image credit: Apple)

Apple's first personal computers based on its next-generation M3 system-on-chip may be unveiled as early as this October, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who tends to have accurate information from Apple's supply chain. If Apple follows its traditional launch patterns, it makes sense to expect the company to reveal inexpensive M3-based laptops and desktops first. Yet, this is speculation at this point. 

Apple has scheduled a launch event in October, and based on past history, the company is set to introduce new Macs there, Bloomberg asserts. Given that Apple has just released numerous new Macs based on M2 Ultra and M2 Max system-on-chips, it is unlikely that the company will refresh its Mac Studio or even MacBook Pro with any new SoCs. Therefore, the company may well introduce new MacBook Air 13, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro 13, or even iMac (which has not yet gotten an M2 treatment) powered by shiny new M3 SoCs. 

Of course, the assumption about the M3 arrival this October could be entirely wrong. Instead, Apple could release an all-new iMac lineup based on M2, M2 Pro, and M2 Ultra SoCs. Yet, being a notebook-centric company, Apple could be more inclined to update its 13-inch laptops with a new SoC. 

An avid reader would probably ask what to expect from Apple's M3, which is rumored to be made on TSMC's N3 (3nm-class) fabrication technology that promises higher performance efficiency and higher transistor density compared to TSMC's N5P production node used for M2. At this point, it is hard to guess the exact improvements, but the company has a number of options, including increased general-purpose core count, enhanced GPU, and additional accelerators, just to name a few.

Keep in mind that the information comes from an unofficial source, and plans tend to change, so while it is logical to expect the arrival of Apple's first M3 machines about 1.5 years after the first M2-based products, it remains to be seen what Apple has to show in October.

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Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • DougMcC
    I'd bet they focus nearly all of their increased transistor budget on GPU since that's where they're getting trounced, with a modest slice for edge AI.
    Reply
  • ekio
    Let's hope that the perf jump will be less ridiculous than the M1 to M2 gen, where Apple clearly just released a new version to pretend they did something.
    Reply
  • thestryker
    I'm mostly hoping to see what apple delivers post losing all the nuvia engineers, because their designs have all been derivative lately. They've clearly got talent and a big team so something new really needs to happen sooner than later.
    Reply
  • ramshanker
    I hope they start supporting AV1 encode/decode. They are the only one lagging on this front.
    Reply
  • maik80
    thestryker said:
    I'm mostly hoping to see what apple delivers post losing all the nuvia engineers, because their designs have all been derivative lately. They've clearly got talent and a big team so something new really needs to happen sooner than later.
    They didn't even lose 1/10 of the engineers, they only really lost three senior engineers, plus apple chips have a patent protected design.
    Reply