MacBook M3 bad news — it looks like launch is pushed to next year

MacBook M3 bad news —looks like launch is pushed to next year
(Image credit: Future)

A recent report at MacRumors quotes a Tweet from Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in which he states that Apple will not be launching new MacBooks with the M3 series processors before the end of this year. However, there have been rumors to the contrary, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman stating earlier this year that an M3-powered MacBook could be launched at an Apple event in October. 

Gurman hypothesized that we could see a MacBook Air 13-inch, MacBook Pro 13-inch, and possibly a 24-inch iMac powered by the 3nm M3 chipset. Although Kuo kills the MacBook rumors, he didn't say there wouldn't be an M3-powered iMac, so that could still happen. 

2024 the year of the M3 Macbook

Yesterday at Apple's Wonderlust event, they launched the iPhone 15 Pro Max, powered by the A17 Bionic chipset, made using TSMC's 3nm fabrication process. This same 3nm process is expected to appear in the next generation of MacBooks, which were predicted to come out before the end of the year but, according to Kuo, will most likely debut sometime in 2024. 

The M3 chipset is rumored to improve performance in every way, especially GPU performance for gaming, and like the iPhone 15, it should be capable of Ray Tracing. The other area we should see improvement in is battery life, as tighter chip density yields superior efficiency. Apple is already the industry leader in laptop battery life, so it's going to be breaking its own records. 

Apple has cornered the 3nm process chip market, purchasing most of the chips TSMC has produced and will produce in the foreseeable future. 

When will the new M3-powered MacBooks arrive? If Kuo is to be believed, we could see them sometime in February. However, typically Apple holds a spring event in March or April, and if M3 is as big of an upgrade as it seems to be then Apple is going to want a full event and not just a press release.

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Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.