Just a week ago, the top leakers were expecting M3 Macs in 2024, but have changed their tune and are now expecting an updated iMac and MacBook Pro with M3 during the « Scary Fast » Apple Event — but some things don’t add up.
Just a week ago, the top leakers were expecting M3 Macs in 2024, but have changed their tune and are now expecting an updated iMac and MacBook Pro with M3 during the « Scary Fast » Apple Event — but some things don’t add up.
The rumor cycle has been in chaos in recent weeks. First, a bevy of leakers suggested iPads would arrive — which didn’t. Instead, we got the Apple Pencil with USB-C.
Seven days after saying M3 in 2024, Mark Gurman on October 22 entered the ring with an end-of-October Apple event prediction, which was announced on Tuesday. « Scary Fast » is the tagline for this event, and a Happy Mac icon is used for the artwork.
All signs point to some kind of Mac reveal, but which models and chipsets are still in some question. The general leaker commentary remained eerily silent since Gurman’s October event proclamation on Sunday, and Kuo has since reversed course on a previous timeline he shared. And, on Tuesday, nine days after that M3 in 2024 prediction, Gurman now thinks that Monday is the day.
The case for M3 at Scary Fast
Apple loves patterns, and the M-series processors seem to follow a release pattern that’s slightly accelerating. The M1 processor had a 19-month lifespan before M2 arrived.
M2 was revealed during WWDC in 2022, only three months after M1 Ultra arrived in Mac Studio. Since then, we’ve seen M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra — all within about 12 months.
So, it stands to reason that M3 could arrive three months after M2 Ultra at a late October event. Mark Gurman suggests a 24-inch iMac update is possible, while Ming-Chi Kuo points to a 13-inch MacBook Pro refresh.
Since the 15-inch MacBook Air was only just updated with M2, it seems unlikely that either MacBook Air model will get an update so soon. Apple’s other Macs use higher-end chipsets, and M3 Pro likely isn’t ready for prime time.
That leaves just the Mac mini as a possible option for an M3 reveal. However, that model was upgraded with M2 and M2 Pro in January.
Apple also ordered all of TSMC’s 3nm stock for A17 Pro, leaving little room for an M3 launch in 2023.
