Apple's M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M3 Ultra Chips Could Offer Even More CPU and GPU Cores

Apple's upcoming M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M3 Ultra chips could feature more CPU and GPU cores, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.

m3 feature black
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman set out the key changes to the CPU and GPU core numbers of the M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M3 Ultra chips, including how many of the CPU cores are dedicated to performance or efficiency:

M2 M3
Pro 10 or 12 CPU cores (6 or 8 high-performance and 4 energy-efficient)
16 or 19 GPU cores
12 or 14 CPU cores (6 or 8 high-performance and 6 energy-efficient)
18 or 20 GPU cores
Max 12 CPU cores (8 high-performance and 4 energy-efficient)
30 or 38 core GPU cores
16 CPU cores (12 high-performance and 4 energy-efficient)
32 or 40 GPU cores
Ultra 24 CPU cores (16 high-performance and 8 energy-efficient)
60 or 76 GPU cores
32 CPU cores (24 high-performance and 8 energy-efficient)
64 or 80 GPU cores

The standard M3 chip will apparently feature the same CPU and GPU core configuration as the ‌M2‌ chip, with eight CPU cores (four performance and four efficiency) and ten GPU cores. This chip is expected to be offered in the 13-inch MacBook Pro, 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, and iPad Pro.

Apple is also apparently testing ‌MacBook Pro‌ models with 36GB and 48GB of memory, suggesting that new memory options may be available in the future. Currently, the high-end ‌MacBook Pro‌ models can be configured with 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 96GB of memory.

Gurman reaffirmed that the first Macs with the M3 chip should debut in October, while Macs with the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips will not arrive until 2024. Macs with the M3 Ultra chip, such as the next-generation Mac Studio, may not arrive until the end of 2024 at the earliest.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
iphone 16 pro models 1

12 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Friday November 29, 2024 5:17 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Rectangle Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 8 New Features

Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
General Black Friday Deals 24 Blue Snowmen

The Best 50+ Black Friday Apple Deals Still Available on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Thursday November 28, 2024 1:01 pm PST by
Black Friday 2024 is over, but you can still find great deals on numerous Apple devices this weekend. Right now, this includes big savings on AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically, in...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 17 Designs Revealed!

Friday November 29, 2024 9:34 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the recently leaked design of the iPhone 17 "Air" and iPhone 17 Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, a report from The Information's Wayne Ma revealed that the iPhone 17 Air will have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone ...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
new streaming black friday

Cyber Monday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock

Friday November 29, 2024 5:38 am PST by
Black Friday is over, but you can still find great savings on streaming memberships this weekend as we head into Cyber Monday. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a...
Apple AI Command Center Concept Mock 3

Apple Expected to Launch This All-New Device Next Year

Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March. The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
ipads early bf deals

The Best Black Friday iPad Deals Still Available

Friday November 29, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Black Friday is over, but you can still find great prices on numerous iPads, including the 9th generation iPad, 10th generation iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Best iPad Deals 9th Gen iPad (64GB Wi-Fi) - $199.99...

Top Rated Comments

Feek Avatar
17 months ago
"Hi, I'm Mark Gurman and I state the bloody obvious".

New chip has more cores, who would have thought it.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doodah7 Avatar
17 months ago
And the MacBook Air still won't be able to run two monitors at a time...
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jetjaguar Avatar
17 months ago
Not really a surprise
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Feek Avatar
17 months ago

Is this speculation or real sources?
It's Gurman. He wakes up in the morning and makes up stuff, often contradicting stuff he's made up before.

/edit - I really should stop hating on Gurman, it's just that he makes it so easy
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
17 months ago
Is this speculation or real sources?

Rumors are that the A17 will have 6 GPU cores. That would cascade to 12 GPU cores for M3, 24 for M3 Pro, 48 for M3 Max, and 96 for M3 Ultra.

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/08/09/apple-a17-chip-6-core-gpu/

If Gurman's report is true, and this A17 6 GPU rumor is true, then at least one of the following is true:

* M3 is not based on A17
* Apple is decoupling core scaling between A series and M series
* N3B has very poor yields so Apple is limiting GPU cores on M3 series
* A17 has 5 GPU cores, instead of the rumored 6
* Gurman is only seeing lower-binned M3 SoCs in logs. Their higher-binned SoCs will have more GPU cores and have not been tested yet.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ohthehorror Avatar
17 months ago
Another Gurman exclusive. Does he get paid by the rumor or does he just get bored.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)