We may need to wait longer for the 3nm MacBook than we’d previously hoped. New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are on the horizon, according to a new prediction from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, but they’re unlikely to be the 3nm process. Refreshes of the excellent professional MacBooks “will enter mass production” in Q4 of 2022, Kuo tweeted this morning.
Kuo’s intel indicates that they “may still adopt the 5nm advanced node,” which is the same process node that the recent M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models use. That would, if true, mean that Apple’s first 3nm MacBook chips, also rumored to be entering production later this year, will not debut in these machines.
New 14" and 16" MacBook Pro with new processors will enter mass production in 4Q22. Given TSMC's guidance that the 3nm will contribute revenue starting in 1H23, processors of 14" and 16" MacBook Pro models may still adopt the 5nm advanced node.
— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) August 22, 2022
Previous reports have indicated that Apple had plans to launch MacBooks powered by the new M2 Pro (not to be confused with the M2 MacBook Pro, the recent 13-inch MacBook Pro that’s powered by the regular M2 chip) and M2 Max chips this fall. Others have suggested that the M2 Pro chip will adopt the 3nm node (which Kuo’s leak would appear to contradict).
While the current leak landscape is confusing, all will (we hope) be cleared up at Apple’s October launch event. We expect a few new iPads, including an M2 iPad Pro and 10th-generation iPad, to debut at this event, as well as multiple Mac computers (including a possible M2 Mac Mini).