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Gurman: Apple Already Working on 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chip
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Is the R1 on 5nm??? Real time video object analysis ... you want to go as slow as possible? Pretty good chance a hefty percentage of all the AI/ML processing is being done on the R1 , not the M2. Yes it will need to have a high number of I/O inputs but it also have some hefty compute to do in critically short amounts of time. If N3 was an option why would you skip it for R1 ??? A cheaper headset? It costs $3.5K. It isn't cheaper.
The M2 feeds the R1 a video feed which the R1 composites into the rest of the stuff going to the screens. M2 is't the screen driver. It is just sprinkling a subset of content on top. And the R1 is feeding pre-digested external stuff by the M2 ( 'mouse' inputs (results of eye and hand tracking), spatial/volume info, probably partially digested camera output , etc. )
Since EyeSight is generating multiple external screen images for eye movement for different directions... pretty good chance R1 is in charge of that ( eye tracking details don't have to leave the SoC. )
Just because the R1 isn't running end user apps doesn't mean it is sitting there slumming with no significant computational load. And it is the 2nd of two SoCs. A iPad Pro only has SoC. A second one is going to suck battery life also.
The R1 is the core defining foundation of the differentiating features of the product. Why would Apple under allocate resources to that?
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Nothing illegal about Apple's support policy. That's a battle the EU won't win.
This interpretation of what Gurman is actually saying is wrong:
He’s expecting the iMac to get M3 in early 2024.
But he didn’t say he expecs the 15” MBA to do the same. Gurman said he expects M3 15” Air to drop in 2024, not which month or quarter.
No Apple Silicon Mac is jumping to a new chip generation in less than a year.
Apple hasn’t violated the alleged 18 month product cycle for Apple Silicon Macs yet so no reason to expect them to do so now.
Only something as high-demand as iPhones get refreshed on a 12 month cycle.
Suggesting M3 15” MBA drops in Q1-Q2 2024 is like saying Apple has no expectations it will sell, that they’ve already written it off as a failure.
But that’s just not how Mac product cycles have played out in the past.
At the very least, the M2 15” Air gets 12-18 months before jumping to M3.
Ming-Chi Kuo had to be beaten to the "news"...
You dont need a crystal ball for most of their predictions. Apple do so much these days in a routine basis.
The aggressive Apple chip creation is needed to keep the lead and maintain the selling point.
Hardware cycles are going to sometimes not align with so many products now.
And you want to maintain the most pro products with the best processors to justify the price premium.
If an M3 was put in a consumer item first, the pros wouldn't need to buy Ultra items.
This 15" form factor will suit so many users.
Priced right it will sell huge amounts.
I have a 13" Air and even after all the rumour discussion about the crippled single memory chip, there have been no real world issues of note. It crunches through video upscaling work like no other Apple Mac I've owned. The iMac I'm writing this one is six times slower on the same files. The Air is still a premium offering compared to cheap Windows machines. But it's worth every cent for it's design and specs. If only our Australian dollar was worth what it was ten years ago... that's what hurts most overseas purchasers. Luckily Apple products tend have huge useful lives to make that pain less.
Knowing how Apple has basically always teased out releases to maximize sales, I think what you described here is exactly what Apple will do:
Releasing M2 15” Air long after M2 13” Air, and lowering price of the latter, will reinvigorate all M2 MBA sales a good bit for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.
Then they drop new iMacs and 13” MBA with M3 in late 2023 or early 2024.
15” M3 Air drops in late 2024 or early 2025.
Updating all products across the board all at once is fundamentally against Apple’s business model for all its products.
Nothing new that we didn’t already infer from WWDC. The vision pro releases early next year with the M2 chip, suggesting the M3 chip is not going to come before April next year. Since the M2 MBA is released this week, Apple will likely go at least a year before releasing a new model.
These point to the 13” and 15” models being upgraded to the M3 chip in June 2024 earliest.
I don’t need a leaker to tell me that.
These point to the 13” and 15” models being upgraded to the M3 chip in June 2024 earliest.
I don’t need a leaker to tell me that.
Insightful opinion. Provocative analysis. I think the question is why Apple "rumors" sites post these sorts of "rumors" as "news." Is the problem with people who state the obvious or the people who conflate the obvious with "news," in exchange for page views?
Expecting M3 and the new Macs only by March or April of next year.
Hopefully APPLE can get it right with the design for the M3 15" Air this fall or next year. Add the damn 120 hz and the speaker grills and a SD slot and get rid of that NOTCH for god-sake!! Then you have the perfect thin and light laptop.
Not gonna happen. My guess is that the MBA gets a processor refresh and Apple calls it a day. Maybe some other minor improvements here and there.
Am I the only person that wants these in cool anodized aluminum colours?
Apple is already developing 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M3 chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he expects the updated laptops to be released in 2024.
The current 13-inch MacBook Air was announced in June 2022, while the 15-inch model was introduced last week. Both models are currently powered by the M2 chip, manufactured based on TSMC's 5nm process. The M3 chip is expected to be built on TSMC's 3nm process, resulting in significant performance and power efficiency improvements. Gurman said the M3 chip should have similar CPU and GPU core counts as the M2 chip.
Priced starting at $1,299, the 15-inch MacBook Air's primary differences compared to the 13-inch model are a larger display and six speakers instead of four. Apple says the laptops have equal battery life, and they share the same overall design. For a more detailed comparison, read our 13-inch vs. 15-inch MacBook Air Buyer's Guide.
Gurman reiterated that new iMac and 13-inch MacBook Pro models with the M3 chip are also in development. He expects the new iMac to launch by early next year with a similar design as the current model from 2020, which still has an M1 chip.
The 15-inch MacBook Air can be ordered now and launches this Tuesday.
Article Link: Gurman: Apple Already Working on 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chip
I’m thinking blue and red for example, like the OG Sony walkmans. Not pastel colours.
I understand most of the comments here and I thought the same, BUT is it really 100% that Apple will upgrade the Air 15? What about, if it's not the huge success that people think? If it isn't, is Apple likely to continue with that size already next year?
So it's actually quite nice to hear, that Apple is planning to make the Air 15 with m3, because that might be the machine I am waiting on. If I knew they would not plan to make this in the next year, I would buy the Air 15 now or the pro 14, though rather the pro 14 m3.
So it's actually quite nice to hear, that Apple is planning to make the Air 15 with m3, because that might be the machine I am waiting on. If I knew they would not plan to make this in the next year, I would buy the Air 15 now or the pro 14, though rather the pro 14 m3.
Love your optimism. Unfortunately Apple are not shy about retiring iOS devices that have been running Apple SoC for a long time now. They don't retire devices because they cannot perform adequately, they are retired because they are a business and want people to buy a new device.
I'll snap up an M3 13" with touchbar and no notch thanks, max SSD and RAM.
Are you going to be deployed in the Jungle as part of the commando?
“Add the *$&# 120 hz”
and add PWM while you’re at it!
/s
SD slot would be nice — we shouldn't have to buy a 14”, overpowered for the general user, much pricier laptop (e.g., at 16/1 combo and ed discount) to avoid dongle madness!
