Apple is gearing up to launch the next generation of its M-series silicon for the Mac, and a new extensive report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman sheds light on what to expect from the M3 chip and its derivatives once they are made public.
In his Power On newsletter, Gurman spills the beans on what to expect from the M3 chip, alongside its Pro, Max, and Ultra variants. While we already have a good idea of the CPU and GPU specifications for the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, Gurman today disclosed contended specs for the highest-end M3 Ultra chip for the first time, though that chip is not expected to be unveiled till late 2024 or even later after the M3 Pro and M3 Max are made available sometime in 2024.
Given the previous M1 and M2 release cycles, I don’t believe the M3 Pro and M3 Max Macs will arrive until 2024. And it’s plausible that an M3 Ultra chip doesn’t arrive until the end of that year at the earliest.
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Mark Gurman for Bloomberg
Apple is also testing multiple new unified memory configurations, adds Gurman, as MacBook Pro models with 36 GB and 48 GB of RAM were spotted in developer logs. Current MacBooks can be ordered with 16, 24, 32, 64, and 96 GB memory configurations, and perhaps Apple could bump up the 32 GB option to 36, and introduce a new 48 GB memory tier.
| Base Configuration | Top Configuration | Release Date | |
| M3 | 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU | — | October 2023 |
| M3 Pro | 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU | 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU | Early/Mid 2024 |
| M3 Max | 16-core CPU, 32-core GPU | 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU | Early/Mid 2024 |
| M3 Ultra | 32-core CPU, 64-core GPU | 32-core CPU, 80-core GPU | Late 2024 |
As expected, the M3 Ultra will be reserved for the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, and today’s report from Gurman doesn’t reveal whether Apple will attempt to revive the apparently canceled “Extreme” chip variant that was rumored to be reserved as an optional upgrade for the Mac Pro.
Gurman finally reiterates that the first M3-equipped Macs should go on sale as early as this October. Contenders for the new Apple silicon chip include a long-awaited refresh for the 24-inch iMac, 13 and 15-inch MacBook Air, entry-level MacBook Pro, and Mac mini.
