Apple Tests Next-Gen Macs with M3 Chips for Improved Performance and Compatibility

Apple has initiated testing of the upcoming Mac computers equipped with the M3 chip, and it is being tested with third-party applications to ensure compatibility with the software ecosystem. The first Mac computer featuring the M3 chip is expected to be launched either by the end of this year or early next year.

According to Bloomberg, Apple's Mac business witnessed a 31% decline in sales in the previous quarter, falling short of analysts' already pessimistic expectations. The company needs new ways to attract customers to purchase their products, and the M3 chip can help achieve this. Data collected and shared by App Store developers with Power On concluded that the tested M3 chip variant is configured with at least 12 CPUs, 18 GPUs, and 36GB of memory. The chip's CPU consists of six high-performance cores and six efficient cores, with the former handling the most intensive tasks and the latter managing low-power operations.

The report states that during these tests, the M3 chip will be running on the upcoming macOS 14.0 operating system, likely on the future high-end MacBook Pro, which could be the base version of the M3 Pro expected to be launched next year. If the chip in testing indeed represents the basic level of the M3 Pro, it would imply a similar leap in core count compared to the M2 Pro, similar to the transition from M1 Pro to M2 Pro. It would feature two more energy-efficient CPU cores and two additional graphics cores. Additionally, in this scenario, the amount of memory on high-end configurations would also increase by 4GB.

If the M3 Max achieves similar gains as the M2 Max (compared to the M1 Max), it would mean that Apple's next-generation high-end MacBook Pro chip could feature up to 14 CPUs and over 40 GPUs. Further speculation suggests that the M3 Ultra chip could potentially reach a maximum of 28 CPUs and over 80 GPUs, while the limit for the M1 Ultra is set at 64 cores.

Furthermore, the report highlights that Apple's ability to integrate a significant number of cores on a single chip is due to the adoption of the 3-nanometer manufacturing process. This method allows for higher chip density, meaning designers can fit more cores into a processor that is already compact in size.