Apple M3 MacBooks may not launch this year
Apple may not launch M3 MacBooks this year. The news comes via notable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and is in contrast with what we have been hearing from other leakers.
Over the past year or so, several rumors have indicated that Apple would unveil its 3rd-gen Apple Silicon chipset, the M3, in 2023. The last quarter of the financial year is drawing to a close. Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman was among the first to state that Apple could reveal the M3 chip in October, which would coincide with the start of the next fiscal year.
This could still happen, but based on the new report, we may not see a new MacBook in 2023. Instead, Apple could announce a refreshed iMac. This might be a good time to buy an M2 MacBook, but Kuo's Tweet also mentions the words "before the end of the year", which means Apple might unveil the next-gen Macs in early 2024. The company is developing several new Macs including an M3 Mac Mini, Mac Studio, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, etc. Apple is said to be working on a budget-friendly MacBook, which will compete with Chromebooks.
But, what could have caused the delay for the M3 MacBook launch?
Apple delays M3 MacBook launch
A report from last month claimed that Apple had ordered the entire supply of 3 nm chips from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), ahead of the iPhone 15 series' imminent arrival. The Silicon Valley mogul is said to have saved millions of dollars by emptying TSMC's inventory with an early order. It is worth mentioning that Apple will use the new 3 nm chip for the A17 Bionic processor on its iPhone 15 series, more specifically the Pro models in the upcoming series. Similarly, the company will use the 3nm chip in its M3 SoCs for its future Mac computers.
As you may know, the iPhone 15 will be launched tomorrow, and Apple will start accepting pre-orders from next week. The devices will start shipping soon, and this will cause a significant surge in the demand of iPhone 15 models across the world. It is possible that the Cupertino company may not have enough 3 nm chips to equip on both the iPhone series and Mac devices simultaneously. On the other hand, it could focus on a single product lineup, aka the iPhone 15 series, to satisfy the demand. This will in turn help meet its early sales numbers. Once the supply chain stabilizes a bit, Apple could order more chips for its M3 Macs. This is likely the reason why the M3 MacBook launch was delayed to next year.
This does not necessarily rule out new products from Apple this year. While speaking on the MacRumors Show podcast, Gurman said that Apple may not host an event in October. Per his previous articles, the company was expected to launch 2 new products next month. The first, as I mentioned earlier, was a new iMac, but it is unclear whether the company would reveal it this year. Gurman says that Apple could announce an iPad refresh, next month, but it would be launched via a press release. Apple is also expected to launch a new iPad Pro next year, with an OLED screen.
