Apple may introduce M3 chip, upgraded iPad Air soon after iPhone launch

The M3 chip would debut in the upgraded iMac, MacBook Air 13, and MacBook Pro 13, said Bloomberg's Mark Gurman

Just a month ago, Apple launched its new Mac laptop, a 15.3-inch version of the MacBook Air (M2) at the worldwide developer conference, 2023 (WWDC23), now, the company is expected to release its next-generation Mac laptops, M3 Macs, XDA has reported. Speculations say that the M3 Macs may be launched later this year.

In its launch last month, Apple launched an upgraded Mac Studio (M2 Ultra) along with the larger MacBook Air. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has said that Apple might be launching M3-powered Macs in October. The launch could include upgraded iMac, MacBook Air 13, and MacBook Pro 13 models. 

Earlier, the launch was expected in early 2024, however, the timelines seem to have been revised as Apple may launch the devices as early as October 2023, the report said.

Besides the upgraded Mac laptops, Apple could also update the hardware on its iPad Air as the model currently on sale comes with the base M1 chip. This will be in addition to the much-anticipated iPhone 15 series launch and fresh Apple Watch models in September.

The M3 chipset is expected to come with the same number of cores as in its predecessor. However, the performance and energy efficiency of the chip will see improvements as Apple has shifted to the 3nm manufacturing process, the XDA report said.

The company is unlikely to launch the boosted M3 Pro, M3 Max, and M3 Ultra versions of the M3 chips in October as these products may be launched only in 2024. Thus, new MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch models, Mac Studio, or Mac Mini are also unlikely to be launched in October, the XDA report said.