Future Apple Silicon Macs Will Reportedly Use 3nm Chips With Up to 40 Cores

The Information's Wayne Ma today shared alleged details about future Apple silicon chips that will succeed the first-generation M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, which are manufactured based on Apple chipmaking partner TSMC's 5nm process.

m1 pro vs max feature
The report claims that Apple and TSMC plan to manufacture second-generation Apple silicon chips using an enhanced version of TSMC's 5nm process, and the chips will apparently contain two dies, which can allow for more cores. These chips will likely be used in the next MacBook Pro models and other Mac desktops, the report says.

Apple is planning a "much bigger leap" with its third-generation chips, some of which will be manufactured with TSMC's 3nm process and have up to four dies, which the report says could translate into the chips having up to 40 compute cores. For comparison, the M1 chip has an 8-core CPU and the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips have 10-core CPUs, while Apple's high-end Mac Pro tower can be configured with up to a 28-core Intel Xeon W processor.

The report cites sources who expect TSMC to be able to reliably manufacture 3nm chips by 2023 for use in both Macs and iPhones. The third-generation chips are codenamed Ibiza, Lobos, and Palma, according to the report, and it's likely they will debut in higher-end Macs first, such as future 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. A less powerful third-generation chip is also said to be planned for a future MacBook Air.

Meanwhile, the report says the next Mac Pro will use a variant of the M1 Max chip with at least two dies, as part of the first generation of Apple silicon chips.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17: What's New With the Cameras

Friday May 2, 2025 3:52 pm PDT by
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes. Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
maxresdefault

Video Review: Two Months With the M4 MacBook Air

Wednesday May 7, 2025 12:42 pm PDT by
It's been nearly two months since the M4 MacBook Air launched, so we thought we'd take another look at the machine now that it's been out long enough to do some serious testing with it. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Introduced in March, the MacBook Air is equipped with Apple's latest and greatest M4 chip, so it's more than capable of handling day-to-day tasks...
airpods pro purple

Apple's Camera Equipped AirPods and Apple Watch Could Launch as Soon as 2027

Thursday May 8, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple is working on versions of the AirPods and Apple Watch that incorporate a camera, and the devices could be ready to launch sometime around 2027, reports Bloomberg. Apple has developed a chip codenamed "Nevis" that will be used for its camera-equipped Apple Watch, while a chip codenamed "Glennie" will be incorporated into the AirPods. Apple is aiming to have the chips ready "by around...

Top Rated Comments

BootsWalking Avatar
46 months ago
Intel Alder Lake reviews are out today ('//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhI9tLOg-6I') - about as fast as AMD's current chips but use twice the power of AMD, which itself uses at least twice the power of M1s. Intel's HQ should make for a nice museum.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
46 months ago

Intel Alder Lake reviews are out today ('//www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhI9tLOg-6I') - about as fast as AMD's current chips but use twice the power of AMD, which itself uses at least twice the power of M1s. Intel's HQ should make for a nice museum.
Why are so many of you hellbent that Intel folds? Is your fanboyism so great that you actually want a monopoly? Do you not remember what lack of competition looked like for Intel? Consumers lost for years.

You really want that to happen again?
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
46 months ago
M1 PLAID
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bsamcash Avatar
46 months ago
In the future computers will get faster and more efficient!? ?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
46 months ago

THUD!

(Intel just dropped the mic)
Does it count as dropping the mic when the person holding it drops dead?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
46 months ago
Nice! Take your time Apple. The chip shortage is really affecting everyone globally.

It also looks like it is “GAME OVER” for Intel. Apple has moved on ?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)