Neither MacRumors nor AppleInsider has noticed that the machine pictured on the box has feet. The 14" and 16" MBPs do, but the 13" does not right now.
The simplest explanation is that we are getting M3 (iMac, maybe MacBook Air, 13" MBP and/or Mac mini), M3 Pro (14"/16" MBP, maybe Mac mini) and M3 Max (14"/16" MBP) all at once, without the 4-6 month wait for the higher end chips (presumably the Ultra still has a wait, unless they're replacing a machine that's only a few months old). There would be a slight possibility of some relatively minor new configuration (e.g. M3 Pro in the iMac) coming as well.
There are two specifically unexciting possibilities:
They could discontinue the 13" MBP, putting the base M3 in the 14" chassis as the new entry-level MBP. This makes some manufacturing sense for them - no more Touch Bar and one less chassis to deal with, but it creates a bit of product line chaos, as the base MBP will be a generation newer, but a chip version down from the step up.'
The upgrade to the 14"/16" MBP could be minor (no new processors). There's no obvious way to mess with the configurations. 16 TB storage in a laptop seems very high and probably VERY expensive, and the RAM is so tightly integrated that 128 GB (which makes more sense as a top option) without changing the CPU might be hard. It could be a change to something like the webcam, WiFi chip (would they really call it a refresh for just new WiFi?), display/backlight, or keyboard (could they fit a low-profile mechanical keyboard in there?????). That kind of upgrade is bad news for anybody looking for M3 Pro/Max - if there's just been a minor update, the new chips are WWDC at the earliest, and more likely late next year.
There are two other possibilities:
One is a 13" redesign (other than just using the 14" chassis for a base M3 machine). I can't see why they wouldn't just use the 14" chassis or merge the 13" Pro and the Air. It's never made sense to me that there's a unique machine with an odd interface (the Touch Bar) sitting in between the "real" Pros and the Airs.The base M3 should be even easier to cool in the Air chassis (assuming that it uses a smaller process node), and the M2 Air never lost much to the 13"Pro. It would make even less sense if it was actually a new chassis, instead of a holdover from a previous generation.
The second is a MAJOR new option (probably 16" only). There is some speculation that the M2 Ultra might fit in the 16" chassis. I have no idea if it's practical. Could the 16" chassis handle the heat dissipation of the Ultra? What would battery life be like? Would it only be the 60-core GPU without the 76-core option? The chips are physically the same size, but the 76-core may run hotter?
In order of likelihood, my GUESS is
1.) M3 Pro and Max - 14" and 16" MBP are getting their expected upgrade several months early (maybe in short supply for a while). There might be new configurations (128 GB?) made possible by the M3 Pro and Max.
2.) It's a fake photo, nothing with feet gets updated. This introduces the base M3 first, with the expected upgrades (iMac, 13" Air/Pro, maybe Mini) for the end of this year, setting up the M3 Pro and Max for sometime between January and WWDC.
3.) Something minor - probably the 13" MBP moving to the 14" chassis as it gets the base M3, maybe tweaks to the 14" and 16" MBPs, but no new processors except the base M3 in the expected machines (but the erstwhile 13" MBP is now the lowest-end 14"). This does create a strange line-up, where the 14" offers M3, M2 Pro and M2 Max as options, but it avoids anything getting updated well ahead of schedule. Here we hope for NO tweaks to the M2 Pro/Max machines, because a new webcam or WiFi would reset the update clock.
4.) M2 Ultra in the 16" - since it's just a new top option in otherwise unchanged machines, it might not reset the upgrade clock.
The simplest explanation is that we are getting M3 (iMac, maybe MacBook Air, 13" MBP and/or Mac mini), M3 Pro (14"/16" MBP, maybe Mac mini) and M3 Max (14"/16" MBP) all at once, without the 4-6 month wait for the higher end chips (presumably the Ultra still has a wait, unless they're replacing a machine that's only a few months old). There would be a slight possibility of some relatively minor new configuration (e.g. M3 Pro in the iMac) coming as well.
There are two specifically unexciting possibilities:
They could discontinue the 13" MBP, putting the base M3 in the 14" chassis as the new entry-level MBP. This makes some manufacturing sense for them - no more Touch Bar and one less chassis to deal with, but it creates a bit of product line chaos, as the base MBP will be a generation newer, but a chip version down from the step up.'
The upgrade to the 14"/16" MBP could be minor (no new processors). There's no obvious way to mess with the configurations. 16 TB storage in a laptop seems very high and probably VERY expensive, and the RAM is so tightly integrated that 128 GB (which makes more sense as a top option) without changing the CPU might be hard. It could be a change to something like the webcam, WiFi chip (would they really call it a refresh for just new WiFi?), display/backlight, or keyboard (could they fit a low-profile mechanical keyboard in there?????). That kind of upgrade is bad news for anybody looking for M3 Pro/Max - if there's just been a minor update, the new chips are WWDC at the earliest, and more likely late next year.
There are two other possibilities:
One is a 13" redesign (other than just using the 14" chassis for a base M3 machine). I can't see why they wouldn't just use the 14" chassis or merge the 13" Pro and the Air. It's never made sense to me that there's a unique machine with an odd interface (the Touch Bar) sitting in between the "real" Pros and the Airs.The base M3 should be even easier to cool in the Air chassis (assuming that it uses a smaller process node), and the M2 Air never lost much to the 13"Pro. It would make even less sense if it was actually a new chassis, instead of a holdover from a previous generation.
The second is a MAJOR new option (probably 16" only). There is some speculation that the M2 Ultra might fit in the 16" chassis. I have no idea if it's practical. Could the 16" chassis handle the heat dissipation of the Ultra? What would battery life be like? Would it only be the 60-core GPU without the 76-core option? The chips are physically the same size, but the 76-core may run hotter?
In order of likelihood, my GUESS is
1.) M3 Pro and Max - 14" and 16" MBP are getting their expected upgrade several months early (maybe in short supply for a while). There might be new configurations (128 GB?) made possible by the M3 Pro and Max.
2.) It's a fake photo, nothing with feet gets updated. This introduces the base M3 first, with the expected upgrades (iMac, 13" Air/Pro, maybe Mini) for the end of this year, setting up the M3 Pro and Max for sometime between January and WWDC.
3.) Something minor - probably the 13" MBP moving to the 14" chassis as it gets the base M3, maybe tweaks to the 14" and 16" MBPs, but no new processors except the base M3 in the expected machines (but the erstwhile 13" MBP is now the lowest-end 14"). This does create a strange line-up, where the 14" offers M3, M2 Pro and M2 Max as options, but it avoids anything getting updated well ahead of schedule. Here we hope for NO tweaks to the M2 Pro/Max machines, because a new webcam or WiFi would reset the update clock.
4.) M2 Ultra in the 16" - since it's just a new top option in otherwise unchanged machines, it might not reset the upgrade clock.
