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I'd like Macs to be on a reliable update schedule like iPhones are.
Assuming covid slowed down apple supplies and process node advancements, I reckon they will be soon enough.

I'm sure Apple didnt want to wait 12 months to release the m1pro MacBooks post m1 release.

Shoot the m1max/ultra studios came out 3 months before the m2!

I think they will begin a more balanced schedule with the m3. Tho one last odd timing will likely see an m2ultra announced very close to the base m3.

18 months seems like a solid goal in my mind.
 
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Can't believe M3's are already here. I feel like the M1 just came out. Last few years after covid really warped time in my brain though.
It feels like 2021 never happened and then 2022 went in the blink of an eye, and all the sudden it’s 2023 and an incoming M3.
 
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So in this scenario, Apple is going to spend all this capital to sit on millions in state of the art chips for 6+ months to make sure they dont have shortages of a laptop at launch? While also allowing the tech to become less impressive as competition has more time to catch up?

VS

Selling these chips and devices to bolster their quarterly earnings as soon as possible?
Or what they could do is sit on 3nm chips, release a device which has been wanted by their customers for years, which they know will sell like hot cakes regardless of the chip, launch it with M2 in order to cut costs and maximise profits, then a year later launch it with a far superior chip and continue bringing in the revenue off their hardware… it’s simple business sense.

Think about it… these chips are going to be used in a lot of devices… iPad Pro, iMac, Mac mini, iPad Air, MacBook Pro 13”, MacBook Air 13 and 15”, these chips certainly won’t be going to waste.

And like I said in a previous post, if this launches with M3 say this month or next… the iPad Pro would almost certainly have to have M4 in spring 2024… because by that point we would pretty much be at the end of the M2 cycle and the all new iPad Pro would have quite a dated chipset.
 
Tempting, throw in the m-LED screen as well and you have my money once again Apple. You did this it ain't my fault, I can't unsee the blackhole darkness of those blacks now that I bear witness to them...I need em across the board now like the SSDs;)
 
Or what they could do is sit on 3nm chips, release a device which has been wanted by their customers for years, which they know will sell like hot cakes regardless of the chip, launch it with M2 in order to cut costs and maximise profits, then a year later launch it with a far superior chip and continue bringing in the revenue off their hardware… it’s simple business sense.

Think about it… these chips are going to be used in a lot of devices… iPad Pro, iMac, Mac mini, iPad Air, MacBook Pro 13”, MacBook Air 13 and 15”, these chips certainly won’t be going to waste.

And like I said in a previous post, if this launches with M3 say this month or next… the iPad Pro would almost certainly have to have M4 in spring 2024… because by that point we would pretty much be at the end of the M2 cycle and the all new iPad Pro would have quite a dated chipset.
The iPad Pro in your scenario could just have an M3 and that would be fine. Your scenario seems unlikely, but I guess we’ll see how it all plays out.
 
Or what they could do is sit on 3nm chips, release a device which has been wanted by their customers for years, which they know will sell like hot cakes regardless of the chip, launch it with M2 in order to cut costs and maximise profits, then a year later launch it with a far superior chip and continue bringing in the revenue off their hardware… it’s simple business sense.

Think about it… these chips are going to be used in a lot of devices… iPad Pro, iMac, Mac mini, iPad Air, MacBook Pro 13”, MacBook Air 13 and 15”, these chips certainly won’t be going to waste.

And like I said in a previous post, if this launches with M3 say this month or next… the iPad Pro would almost certainly have to have M4 in spring 2024… because by that point we would pretty much be at the end of the M2 cycle and the all new iPad Pro would have quite a dated chipset.
I suppose we disagree on what constitutes simple business sense.

All that aside, what does the iPad Pro have anything to do with this conversation?

Why wouldnt the iPad Pro get the m3 chip in spring 2024?

The m4 wont be coming anytime soon?

The reason for these weird overlap patterns was covid and processor node delays, not design.

EDIT: perhaps even TSMC gave apple some sort of discount on 3nm because no one else was ready for that node/waiting for N3E? Thus forcing apple to move quicker than planned? Purely speculative of course.

DOUBLE EDIT: maybe m3 is based on A16 and M3 pro/max/ultra will be a17 on N3E?
 
Take a 14” MacBook Pro chassis, take the MacBook Air logic board with an M3 chip and stick it inside. Now with all the bells and whistles of the MBP strolled away there’s a massive volume gap inside to make the battery colossal! Give me a 40 hour battery life :)
 
Yes I do, apple are likely trying to combat supply chain issues by starting mass production earlier than usual.

The roll out of the M1 line up took 16 months to complete, remember M2 is literally only 9 months old at this point.

If I understand correctly, the M2 series was delayed because TSMC 3nm was behind schedule, so Apple had to (at the 11th hour) run M2 on 5nm.

Anyhow, 3nm is here, production began in Dec 2022, and Apple isn't going to benefit by sitting on it all the way to October.
 
well, crap. now i'm not sure what to do.

i've got an M1 max 16" that is my main work computer, but is just too big to travel with for the most part. it's pretty much permanently docked at my desk and occasionally elsewhere throughout the house, if i want to get work done on the patio or at the kitchen table, etc...

i've been testing an M1 air base model from costco that has been my main machine for sitting on the couch and working, or on a plane, or in the passenger seat of the car if the wife drives while on our travels. i'm about 30 days into my 90 day return window, and was thinking about ordering a 16/512 M2 air to be able to compare the two side by side (the memory pressure on the M1 is constantly in the 60%-70% range, which is too high for me to be comfortable keeping it long-term). i love the M1 otherwise, but 8GB just isn't enough for me - and i figure if i'm going to spec it out, i might as well get the slightly larger screen on the M2 as well rather than just ordering the M1 with 16GB of RAM.

now, i'm wondering if i should just scrap them both altogether and keep lugging the 16" around until the new airs are announced. even then, i'd probably go for the M2 to save some cash since this will be a secondary / travel machine for me...but since it's going to be a travel machine, the 15" doesn't interest me either. when i just thought the 15" was going to be the main announcement coming up, it was easier for me to just go for the M2 now since i definitely want the smaller form factor (and i wasn't expecting a new 13" to come so soon). now, i'm torn.

decisions, decisions...
 
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Unlike the M2, which was just an iteration of the M1, I'm seriously interested in knowing what apple has in store with the M3!
I'll replace my M1 Ultra with an M3 Ultra in 2024 and I can't wait to see the benefits the 3nm process will bring.
 
I've just got a 16" MBP M2 1TB. Find the screen great but the weight is off putting to travel with, especially with that brick of a charger.

If the Air is an M3 and performance is good, worth considering a swappsy?
Get a smaller charger for travel. You don't need enough power while traveling to stay at 100% while using the laptop. You just need a charger that will refill your laptop overnight while you sleep. You can buy a tiny cheap cube sized charger from Anker that isn't much bigger than the original iPhone 5W charger and that will cover your needs. Or you could buy a $50 or slightly more expensive charger and that will definitely give you all the juice you need.
 
I call ******** on these rumors. M2 Mini was just announced. M2 Air won't even be out yet a full year and it's still a great machine. And they haven't even come out with the Mac Pro yet. What's the rush? By all accounts the M2 is already an amazing machine...
Maybe bull. But this rummer is saying announced in June and probably released in July. So the M2 Air would be a year old by then. Maybe Apple just gets the Air on a yearly refresh cycle just like the iPhone. That would be amazing and useful for consumers to plan their purchases. People can talk about supply limitations. But remember that the number of Macs is nothing compared to the number of iPhones Apple gets made each year. If Apple can get CPUs in hundreds of millions of iPhones each year, then surely they can handle getting new CPUs in 10s of millions of Macs.
 
In January they just launched the M2 Pro/Max and the M2 mac mini. I don’t think they launch the M3 Mac computers until 2024. I could be wrong though. I know for sure though we are gettin 3nm technology in the iPhone 15 pro’s this year and I’m definitely pumped for that!
 
I have a M1 Pro and a M2 Pro. Honestly can't tell a difference, even when encoding video. There's a difference, it's just not terribly noticeable. It's easy to get hung up in the latest and greatest, I constantly have to remind myself that after a few days, I won't really care.
 
I think Apple launches the M3 chips with the new OLED MacBook Air (Ross and Gurman and Kuo all said new OLED macs & iPads in 2024) and iPad Pro’s in 2024. Imagine the power savings/battery life with buttery smooth 120hz pro motion OLED and 3nm Technology. Gonna be amazing next year technology wise!
 
Rumors just to keep
I call ******** on these rumors. M2 Mini was just announced. M2 Air won't even be out yet a full year and it's still a great machine. And they haven't even come out with the Mac Pro yet. What's the rush? By all accounts the M2 is already an amazing machine...

Rumors just to keep the clicks going. You don’t have to be an informer from the supply chain or fake rumors start by so called “insiders”.

“If” a 15” MacBook air come out, it will be an M2. “If” a “15” MacBook Air comes out with M3, then it will be mainly for battery life and efficiency and they will probably limit the power to not compete with the current M2 MacBook Pros since it will not have a fan.

“If” a M3 comes out it will be on the Mac Pro announced in June.

“maybe” update to M2 for the current iMac for June. No 27” iMac until at least next year.

“maybe to doubt” MacStudio gets an update to M2 in the fall. Not to compete with M3 Mac Pro. Apple wants you to buy the Mac Pro instead of MacStudio.

In the Fall, it will be M3 MacBook Pros

Ok…i am waiting for my check in the mail.
 
I'd rather have M2 Pro (in the 15" MBA) than M3. So this is a little disappointing. Oh well. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
 
How much longer will the current M1 MacBook Air be kept going? It's still a great buy for a mainstream everyday laptop. Or will history be repeated and they will retire the "old" M1 Air and have the current M2 Air slot down into the M1's place? Then you could charge the same as an M2 MacBook Pro 13 for a 15 MacBook Air?

Hmm. A choice between an M2 or M3 15in. MacBook Air or a 13in. M2 MacBook Pro (still with Touchbar).

*Sigh* I'm getty dizzy...
 
Really wish they’d drop the Pro in the 13-inch model and just call it a MacBook. Whether it’s pro or not, it would still be a popular middle tier model family.

Isn’t the M2 really M1.5? There were rumors that Apple decided to move the naming scheme around due to the 3nm issues from the chip shortage.
 
I've just got a 16" MBP M2 1TB. Find the screen great but the weight is off putting to travel with, especially with that brick of a charger.

If the Air is an M3 and performance is good, worth considering a swappsy?
Why not the 14” MBP - you get the same internals with a smaller form factor. I use it with Anker‘s super small GaN multiport charger and it’s great for travel.
 
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