A new leak from one of Apple’s top analysts and insiders has revealed the company might not release any new MacBook models in 2023, pouring cold water on rumors the new chip could debut later this year.
In a tweet late Friday, Ming-Chi Kuo stated “it seems that Apple will not launch new MacBook models (equipped with M3 series processors) before the end of this year.”
For the uninitiated, the M3 chip will be the third installment of Apple’s potent Apple silicon hardware, the company’s own line of computer chips used in the Mac line since 2020. Having ditched Intel, the company is offering absolutely staggering performance and efficiency across the Mac lineup, from the portable M1 MacBook Air all the way to the monstrous Mac Pro. M3 promises to be the biggest update to Apple silicon yet, but now it seems we’re going to have to wait until 2024 to see Apple's best MacBooks yet.
M3 setback
As per Kuo, it seems that no new MacBook models are on the cards for 2023. Now, it’s possible Kuo has not shut the door on an M3 desktop coming in 2023, given that he specifies “MacBook models”. However, it’s likely Kuo’s latest information is given in response to previous reports that any new Mac released in October with M3 would indeed be a laptop. As such, we’ve no reason to expect a desktop release, and now no reason to expect a MacBook either.
Specifically, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman stated in July that Apple could offer “the first Macs with M3 chips” in an October launch. “October is too early for new high-end MacBook Pros or desktops,” he stated, “so the first beneficiaries of the new chip should be the next iMac, 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro." Apple’s M3 chips will be the first built using TSMC’s new 3nm process, which will offer significant upgrades in terms of raw power, as well as efficiency. Initially estimates suggest it could be 15% faster at the same amount of power while using 30% less power at the same speeds as the current 5nm offerings.
Gurman has since revealed that Apple may be planning an iPad Air 6 upgrade coming in October by way of a press release, rather than an event. With no event on the cards beyond iPhone 15, it certainly seems as though we shouldn’t expect a new MacBook, or indeed any Mac for that matter, in the near future.
