Apple's First M3 MacBooks Coming Next Year, Claims Shipment Forecast

Apple will release its first MacBooks based on TSMC's 3nm fabrication process in 2024, not this year as some rumors have suggested. That's according to a new five-year global notebook shipments forecast published by DigiTimes.

m3 feature black
Predicting an end to a two-year decline in the notebook market, the report forecasts a 4.7% shipment growth in 2024 driven by the easing of inflation and the introduction of new products, including new MacBooks powered by 3nm-based chips. From the report:

In 2023, the share of notebooks built using Arm-based processors will likely decrease rather than increase because Apple, which adopts in-house designed Arm-based CPUs for most of its notebook lineups, is expected to experience a significant decline in shipments in 2023 as the US brand vendor plans to transit to CPUs built by a 3nm node at TSMC for performance upgrading in 2024.

In July, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said October of this year could see the announcement of the first Macs with the M3 chip. Given that Apple launched new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models in January, and more recently new 15-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, ‌Mac Studio‌, and ‌Mac Pro‌ models in June, Gurman said the first beneficiaries of the new M3 chip would likely be the next ‌iMac‌, 13-inch ‌MacBook Air‌, and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

However, more recently in September, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that it seemed Apple will not launch new MacBook models with M3 series chips before the end of this year. Kuo only ruled out new MacBooks though, which appears to leave open the possibility of a new iMac coming this year. The current model featuring the M1 chip has now been on sale for over two and a half years.

DigiTimes itself recently suggested Apple would make a MacBook Pro announcement before the holidays. The Taiwan-based outlet earlier this month claimed Apple is preparing to ship new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with more power-efficient mini-LED displays before the year is out. That report did not mention the processor the models would be based on, but Gurman has previously said the next version of these two machines will feature M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, and that they will "probably" launch by the middle of 2024 at the latest.

The as-yet-unannounced M3 chip is widely expected to be fabricated with TSMC's 3nm process for performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the current 5nm-based ‌M2‌ chip, which debuted in June 2022. It will also likely feature an all new GPU with hardware ray-tracing, first introduced on the iPhone 15 Pro's A17 Pro chip last month.

Tags: DigiTimes, M3

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...

Top Rated Comments

G3Blue Avatar
23 months ago
M3 Ultra 3nm can also be used to heat a hot tub



Attachment Image
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anakin44011 Avatar
23 months ago

How much faster & better will an m3 be over m2? Wait or buy m2 on Black Friday?
For about 98% of use cases…If you already have an M1 or better, you are fine. If you have an Intel, upgrade now.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MayaUser Avatar
23 months ago

M3 Ultra 3nm can also be used to heat a hot tub


why the M3 Ultra 3N and not the Intel+nvidia gpu combo?! M2 ultra barely reach 39-40C under full load
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
giggles Avatar
23 months ago
No M3 before the last M2 product (Vision Pro) is out.

Doesn't take a genius.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CalMin Avatar
23 months ago

How much faster & better will an m3 be over m2? Wait or buy m2 on Black Friday?
Only Apple knows. Expect 15-20% boost on some benchmark's. Perhaps slightly better battery life. Kind of like M1 to M2 which despite being faster is barely noticeable for most daily computing tasks.

I’d just get one now if you need a computer. M1/M2 are spectacular if you’re coming from an older IntelMac. An M3 won’t do anything an M1/M2 can’t do.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Leon Ze Professional Avatar
23 months ago

M3 Ultra 3nm can also be used to heat a hot tub


Nah, this is an Intel picture. Proudly powered by there overheating CPU.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)