Top Stories: M3 Macs as Early as October, Beats Studio Pro, and More

While it was a relatively quiet week for Apple news and rumors, we did learn that the first Macs with the as-yet-unannounced M3 chip could be just three months away from being unveiled, providing us all with something to look forward to.

Top Stories July 22 Feature
Other top stories this week included the release of Apple's new Beats Studio Pro over-ear headphones, the possibility of iPhone 15 Pro models being in low supply at launch due to a display-related manufacturing issue, and more.

Apple's First M3-Powered Macs Likely to Launch in October

In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the first Macs with an M3 chip could launch as early as October of this year. The first models with the M3 chip will likely be the next 13-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook Air, and 24-inch iMac.

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The M3 chip is widely expected to be fabricated with TSMC's 3nm process for significant performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the 5nm-based M2 chip in the existing 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Beats Studio Pro Debut With Improved Sound Quality, Spatial Audio, USB-C, and More

Apple this week released new Beats Studio Pro over-ear headphones, which succeed the previous Beats Studio3 launched in 2017.

beats studio pro marble
Key new features of the Beats Studio Pro compared to the Studio3 include a USB-C port for charging and audio, improved sound quality, longer battery life, a redesigned carrying case, and more. The headphones are priced at $349.99 and are available in four color options.

iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max Supplies Could Be Constrained at Launch Due to Display Manufacturing Issues

The upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are rumored to feature thinner bezels around the display, but this change is reportedly causing manufacturing issues that could lead to the devices being in short supply when they launch later this year.

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While a Bank of America analyst claimed that iPhone 15 models could be delayed until October, the latest report indicated that a September launch is still likely.

iOS 17: Over 10 New Features in Messages App

iOS 17 includes over 10 new features and changes in the Messages app on the iPhone, so be sure to check out our list to learn all about them.

iOS 17 Messages Feature
iOS 17 is currently available as a public beta (here's how to install it on your iPhone), and should be released to all users in September. The software update is compatible with the iPhone XS and newer.

Read our in-depth iOS 17 roundup to learn about other new features.

Next AirPods Max Could Adopt These Five Features From Beats Studio Pro and AirPods Pro

While rumors about new AirPods Max have been slim so far, there are a handful of features that the over-ear headphones could adopt from the new Beats Studio Pro and the second-generation AirPods Pro.

AirPods Max Gen 2 Feature Dark Red 2
We've rounded up five features that the next AirPods Max are likely to adopt from the Studio Pro and AirPods Pro. However, rumors suggest that the headphones might not be updated until late 2024 to early 2025.

Apple Experimenting With 'Apple GPT' AI Tool, No Launch Planned Yet

Apple employees are testing an internal ChatGPT-like chatbot, but the company does not yet have any plans to make the tool available to the public, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

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Apple has lagged behind companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google in terms of generative AI systems like ChatGPT, but the company has said that it wants to be thoughtful and deliberate with how it implements AI.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Top Rated Comments

gpat Avatar
10 weeks ago
M3 Macs in 2023 are not happening.
March 2024 at the very earliest.
Feel free to downvote me but this is just absurd.
Analysts can't stoop any lower to get their dose of attention.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
10 weeks ago
Gurman has changed his mind 10 times already, he’ll change it again.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EugW Avatar
10 weeks ago

The problem with this rumor is the rumors of TSMC experiencing yield issues along with having to accumulate enough SoC’s to ship the iPhone 15’s A16 SoC. Then recently you had rumors of those phones being constrained in September. This journey towards 3 nm fabrication is obviously challenging for TMSC, so yes awhile back it might have happened, but lately it’s not looking great which is why a lot of opinions have this happening in 2024 for Macs.
Yes A16 will likely be in iPhone 15 this fall, but at that time the flagship will be iPhone 15 Pro/Max with A17. A16 is already available in the iPhone 14 Pro/Max, made on TSMC's N4P process. A17 will be made on TSMC's N3/N3B process for 2023.

I suspect M3 will likely wait for N3E and skip N3/N3B. However, I could see the actual M3 chips becoming available in 2023 Q4... to Apple... but that would mean 2024 for actual shipping Macs.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FlyingTexan Avatar
10 weeks ago

I hate hearing this ****, Ive been waiting for a MBA 15" for years and I'm getting ready to buy one as soon as my case comes on the mail in 10 days. I don't want to get started on the M2 and then have to turn around in a few months and have to sell it and buy the M3. And very stupid to put it in the 13" first. 13" is too small.
There's always going to be a next great thing. Just buy what you want now. I've been very happy with my m1 13" mbp
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
10 weeks ago

I usually await the experts to tell us what'll happen.


He can't really offer very much insightful with unannounced chips. Even this Macworld M3 article estimates example is being very careful with how much can be claimed.

https://www.macworld.com/article/1953800/apple-m3-cpu-gpu-speed-performance.html


The jump to 3nm is a pretty big deal–it brings far greater density and should allow for either faster clock speeds, lower power, or perhaps a little of both.

Those bigger (and lower-volume) M-series chips need to wait for TSMC’s manufacturing capacity to increase and that might not happen until 2024.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EugW Avatar
10 weeks ago

A17 switching to different cpu process mid year meaning mid production? Lol man the users would be super PISSED at Apple.
Users wouldn't notice any difference real world between N3B and N3E. And Apple has done this before. They had two different processes for A5 on completely different nodes (first 45 nm and then 32 nm, with the latter getting better battery life), and they had two different processes for A9 from two different companies (TSMC 16 nm and Samsung 14 nm, with the two functionally very similar).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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