Apple is testing its most powerful MacBook Pro chip yet, the M3 Max. The chip has 16 main processing cores and 40 graphics cores, making it significantly more powerful than the M1 Max chip that powers the current MacBook Pro models. The M3 Max chip is expected to debut in a new high-end MacBook Pro laptop, codenamed J514, in 2023.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The central processing unit includes 12 high-performance cores, which handle demanding tasks like video editing, and four efficiency cores for less-intensive applications, such as browsing the web. Compared with the top-of-the-line version of the current M2 line for laptops, the new chip has four more high-performance CPU cores and at least two additional graphics cores. The MacBook Pro in testing also includes 48 gigabytes of memory.
The company is likely testing multiple variations and core-count options, of which this version is one…
[T]he M3 chips should be a major selling point. They’re the biggest upgrade to the processors since the Apple Silicon lineup debuted in 2020, when the company first began replacing Intel Corp. chips in the Mac… As of June of this year, the company has transitioned its entire computer line away from Intel.
The M3 chip will mark the first time Apple is shifting to a 3-nanometer production process for Mac chips, which promises to provide better battery life and strong performance gains. Apple will use a similar technology for the A17 processor launching in the iPhone 15 Pro in September.
The transition to the M3 chip will likely begin in October, starting with updates to the company’s entry-level Macs. Apple has been testing M3-based iMacs, 13-inch MacBook Pros, 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs, and Mac minis — all for release within the next 12 months. Updated versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are likely to come in 2024 with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips.
MacDailyNews Take: According to test logs, Apple’s base M3 SoC will have the same configuration as the M2, with eight CPU cores and up to 10 core graphics cores, but at the superior 3nm process, of course. The M3 Pro chip will begin at 12 CPU cores and 18 graphics cores. The M3 Max chip is the next level up. Apple’s M3 Ultra hasn’t shown up yet in test logs, according to Gurman.
The gulf between Apple and the iPhone knockoff peddlers will soon yawn even wider. Nearly 90% of TSMC’s 3nm chip fabrication capacity has reportedly been booked by Apple for new iPhones, Macs, and iPads for the year.
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It would make better sense if M3 MacBook Pros debuted in the Autumn of 2023, with all the rest, instead of waiting until 2024. Refresh all once a year in the same timeframe, please.
The M3 Max chip is expected to debut in a new high-end MacBook Pro laptop, codenamed J514, in 2023.
But who cares? It’s not a Mac On Your Face! I mean, that’s how we’ve supposed to be computing! What is Apple doing pushing this old tech? Do they think we’re suckers? Buy nothing until you can get a Mac On Your Face, people!!