Apple M3 Pro chipset could have 12 CPU cores

Apple is said to launch a 15-inch MacBook Air M2 next month at WWDC. The Cupertino company has already begun testing its next-gen chipset, the specs of the Apple M3 Pro have been revealed by Marc Gurman.

The Bloomberg journalist says that an App Store developer has shared the details about the upcoming SoC.

Apple M3 Pro specs leaked

The M3 Pro will reportedly have 12 CPU cores, comprising six high-performance cores, while the other six are power-efficient cores. The SoC will also come with 18 graphics cores, and 36 GB of unified memory. The M3 MacBook was running on macOS 14.0, which is set to be introduced next month alongside iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watch OS 10.

The evolution of the Apple Silicon Pro series has seen quite an impressive jump in terms of performance. In comparison, the entry-level Apple M1 Pro from 2021 had 8 CPU cores with 6 high-performance cores, 2 power-efficient cores, 14 Graphics cores, and 32 GB of memory. The M2 Pro that debuted in January 2023 has 10 CPU cores with 6 high-performance cores, 4 power-efficient cores, 16 Graphics cores, and 32 GB of memory.

Interestingly, Gurman says that this could be the base version of the M3 Pro. So there could be a higher end version that might have 2 more power-efficient cores and 2 additional graphics cores. It may also come with an additional 4 GB of RAM. The chipset is built on a 3nm process, which should offer a significant improvement related to battery life. He also speculates that an M3 Max could have 14 CPU cores, 40 GPU Cores, while the M3 Ultra could have a whopping 28 CPU cores, and over 80 Graphics cores.

The report from Gurman hints that Apple could launch Macs with the M3 chipset at the end of 2023, or in early 2024. The report claims that the SoC could power a new iMac, MacBook Pros and will also be used on MacBook Air laptops.

A recent report from Korean media outlet, The Elec, suggests that Apple could drop its plans to use Gen 8 OLED displays on its MacBooks, after the decline in sales. Apple Mac sales slumped by 40% in Q1, 2023, which was its lowest in 23 years. The computer market peaked during the Covid-19 pandemic, and experts believe it would be very difficult to match the numbers from that period. Apple's MacBook Air M1 was among the most popular devices at that time, its successor, the MacBook M2 wasn't as successful, as it is seen as a marginal upgrade, i.e. does not offer enough of an incentive to make users upgrade from the M1.

Unlike the smartphone market, computer users rarely buy new devices every year. That's just part of the problem, the main issue is the high price tags of the laptops, which would dissuade many users from buying it. And given the quality of the MacBooks, people are likely to hold on to them for several years, so the company would need to attract new buyers to offset the decline in sales.

It is believed that the upcoming 15-inch MacBook Air M2 could improve things as people would be attracted to a larger laptop with an M2 chip, rather than an M3 MacBook Air 13-inch model. The larger display size and a lower price may boost the sales of the laptop, before the next-gen series arrives next year.

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