What Do We Know About the M3 Apple Silicon Chip?

Apple silicon chips have made quite an impression since its debut in 2020. The M1 chip was a game-changer, completely redefining the performance and power efficiency of laptops in a meaningful way. It was miles ahead of the competition.

With the M2 chips, we witnessed incremental upgrades to performance, but arguably impressive nonetheless. However, with rumors of the M3 chip being in production, what can we expect next? Well, here’s all we know about Apple’s M3 silicon chip.

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When Will Apple Release the M3 Chip?

Mark Gurman, a reputed tech journalist whose Apple predictions are often spot on, says the M3 chips may launch “late this year or early next year” in a recent Bloomberg report. And we agree. Here’s why:

In 2020, when Apple announced its switch from Intel processors to custom Apple silicon chips, it set a two-year timeline for the transition. The M1 chip launched in November 2020, and a year and a half later, in June 2022, Apple released the M2 chip.

So, considering Apple’s track record of releasing a new chip in about a year and a half, new devices with the M3 chipset may launch sometime in June 2023.

What Can You Expect From Apple’s M3 Chip?

Apple has sent a clear message with its in-house Apple silicon chips; the Mac can be powerful and super energy-efficient. Built on a 5nm design, the M1 macs delivered incredible performance per watt, completing heavy-duty tasks smoothly with plenty of battery life to spare, even for power users.

And the M2 chip, built on a second-generation 5nm design, provides even more performance. You can check our guide on how the M2 chip compares to the M1 variants.

However, industry experts believe the M3 chips would be based on an all-new 3nm process. According to TSMC’s claims, the smaller chip design would deliver a significant leap in performance (roughly 15 percent) while consuming less power (roughly 30 percent) compared to the current generation.

Apple analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo are optimistic the chip could be the world’s most advanced 3nm processor. The Information reports that the M3 chip could feature up to four dies, enabling it to support up to 40 compute cores. At that rate, there’s bound to be a terrific jump in performance and battery life, far beyond anything you may have ever experienced with the M1 and M2 chips.

Which Macs Will Feature the M3 Chip?

Virtually every Mac could get the M3 chip. And according to The Information, Apple plans to release three variants of the M3 chips. If these variants are parallel to the M1 variants, the entry-level Macs should get the base M3 chip. These include the Mac mini, MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and an iMac.

Of course, the more sophisticated chip variants would be limited to the higher-end models. For instance, the 14-inch and 16-inch models of the MacBook Pro could get the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, whereas the M3 Ultra may launch in a Mac Studio or a long-overdue Mac Pro.

However, while Apple could launch the base M3 chip sometime in the last quarter of 2023, we might have to wait until early 2024 for the higher-end variants. Besides the Macs, the iPad Pro and iPad Air could also benefit from the M3 chip.

Rumors vs. Reality

Apple has not yet released any official information about the M3 chip. However, the rumors aren’t completely unfounded—something is definitely in the works. And like you, we are curious to see how these rumors translate into reality.

While we wait for these products to launch to form an opinion, you can consider the current M1 and M2 lineup of Macs that are sufficiently equipped to meet your needs.