Apple will unleash the MacBook Air with the M3 chip on the world in the second half of 2023, if a new rumor is to be believed.
Like MacRumors (Opens in a new tab) Reportedly, this comes from DigiTimes (Opens in a new tab) (This isn’t our favorite most reliable source, it has to be said — and we’ll come back to that later), which confirms that the MacBook Air arriving later this year will use a 3nm chip (which means it’ll be an M3, falling short of the 5nm process). used with M2 SoC).
DigiTimes tells us: “The supply chain is more focused on the less expensive MacBook Air, which is expected to be updated in the second half of 2023 and may be equipped with a 3nm processor.”
Note that there is a certain amount of ambiguity here as the claim is portable may be You have a 3 nm (M3) chip. Of course, we heard similar rumors that the M2 Pro and Max could be built on 3nm last year, but they turned out to be false, with Apple saving the dip for the M3 (which will no doubt go down that route).
Another thing to note here, as MacRumors points out, is that earlier this week, a more authoritative Apple analyst, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, put forward the claim that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros will be updated with 3nm M3 Pro and come M3 Max chips in 2024 — but Kuo didn’t mention the MacBook Air getting an M3.
Analysis: 15-inch MacBook Air with M3 causing some buyer’s regret?
There are two questions with this rumor. First, nothing was said about the MacBook Air’s specs, and if there will be a new 15-inch MacBook Air (which has been rumored a lot for some time now) alongside the 13-inch model that debuts in the second half of 2023. We’ve We’re left guessing on this point, though the rumor mill has previously theorized about an earlier launch of 15 inches of air (that’s the first half of this year, so maybe at WWDC).
Second, we need to load up on caution and skepticism here, as DigiTimes is, notoriously, less than accurate — particularly around Apple rumors in our experience. In fact, the post came up with a story that the new MacBook Pro wouldn’t be out as early as 2023 a few days before those models were actually launched; So that’s a pretty big mistake in recent history there.
If the release of the 15-inch MacBook Air really advances further this year, it may cause some buyers’ remorse for those who decide to squeeze in the new MacBook Pro right now, perhaps. There’s no shortage of people wanting a MacBook Air with a larger screen, to take advantage of more screen real estate in an Apple laptop that’ll be much cheaper than the MacBook Pro, but should still be going strong with the new M3 silicon inside.
In fact, this drop to 3nm should lead to some great performance and efficiency boosts, possibly meaning much better battery life – or a sleeker power pack inside, for a smaller, more portable Air (compensating, perhaps, for at least some weight gain from make air bigger with 15 inch rotation). The 13-inch version can be really “airy”, then.
We’re still skeptical about this, though, as the launch of the M3 later this year looks set to be too fast-paced for Apple (what with only the more powerful M2 flavors just coming out). What’s more, other rumors didn’t point to a MacBook Air with an M3; And as mentioned above, Kuo is currently only talking about the next Pro updates for the M3 SoC (it will happen next year).
However, that doesn’t mean DigiTimes can’t be right about this, but we’ll reserve judgment for the time being, as we’ll definitely hear more from the grapevine elsewhere soon enough if this is really how things turn out.