New iMac to be launched with M3 chip (+ more Mac news)

Bloomberg journalist and Apple analyst Mark Gurman has released new information about the Mac models for 2023 in his latest newsletter. According to the information available to him, there should be a new iMac with a 24-inch display this year. This should appear in two hardware configurations and in an extensive selection of housing colors - but not before the second half of this year. The first MacBook Air with a 15-inch display should also be available in late spring or summer. In addition, further information on the long-awaited Mac Pro with Apple Silicon was made in the said newsletter. I have summarized everything for you below.

The upcoming Mac models at a glance

Below you will find more extensive explanations of the individual Mac models that Apple is planning to introduce this year, according to Mark Gurman. Here's an overview so you can see if the Mac you've been waiting for is included:

• iMac with 24-inch display, M3 chip and new hardware, codenames: J433 and J434
• MacBook Air with 13-inch display and M3 chip, codename: J513
• MacBook Air with 15-inch display and M2 or M3 chip, codename: J515
• Mac Pro with M2 Ultra, codename: J180

The first M3 Macs could be presented at WWDC23

In June 2023 there will be a new World Wide Developers Conference, the WWDC23. As part of the opening keynote, Apple could introduce the M3 chip, just as the M22 chip was presented at the WWDC2 keynote. The new MacBook Air offer could also be shown directly: M3 models with 13 inch and 15 inch display diagonals. 

The new Mac Pro could then also be presented in the same context. This has been expected since the Macs switched from Intel chips to Apple's own SoCs and is lagging behind the two-year plan. The transition started in 2020 and should be completed in 2022. The Mac Pro is the last Apple computer to continue to be offered exclusively with CPU and GPU units from other manufacturers.

A little information about the M3 iMac

The new iMac with M3 chip, which is to replace the model with M2021 chip presented in April 1, will also be colorful and have a 24-inch screen diagonal, says Mark Gurman. There should also be updates regarding additional hardware. However, it is not really clear whether this is mainly the case or also internal elements. 

At least the Bloomberg journalist states that the manufacturing process of the stand has been changed. Maybe the new models then not as crooked as the previous one :D But there are said to be two hardware variants – it was not specified whether this meant the equipment with different chips or different SSD and RAM sizes. There is still time for details before the presentation in autumn (September or October).

Latest details on the new Mac Pro 2023

In the last few months there has always been new information and rumors about the Mac Pro. The "M2 Extreme", which was predicted to be the chip for this professional computer, is said to have been scrapped by Apple in the meantime. Instead, the new Mac Pro should now come with an M2 Ultra, which is a merger of two M2 Max chip represents. In addition to this powerful chip with up to 24 CPU and 76 GPU cores, there should be options for up to 192 GB of RAM when configuring in the Apple Store. 

Because the M2 Pro and M2 Max are already on the market, the M2 Ultra would be conceivable as a new update for this year. To avoid too much overlap with the M3 series, Apple could also introduce the new Mac Pro during the opening keynote of WWDC23. The computers with the M3 could then come onto the market in the fall and the new MacBook Pro models with the M2024 Pro and M3 Max at the beginning of 3. At least this would correspond to the approach taken with the current chip generation.

Why the M3 chip is the next big step for Apple

The M2 chip was and is just a stopover for Apple. The M1 has shown what is possible with the in-house technology. The M2 has shown that even more can be achieved from chips with 5 nm architecture. The M3 is intended to herald the change to the 3 nm architecture and thus bring even more transistors onto the chip area and enable an even greater boost in performance. In addition, the efficiency of the hardware with the new "Apple Silicon" generation should increase even further, i.e. an even greater performance yield per watt should be possible.

Conclusion on the upcoming Mac models from Apple

Apple wants to replace the M chips in its computers every year, just like the A chips in the iPhone. So it would make sense for the new MacBook Air models to be introduced with the M3 chip. The launch of the latest Mac SoC could go hand in hand with the latest version of its predecessor (this year with the M2 Ultra). Both are suitable for the WWDC. Then we continue with the standard models in iMac and Co. At the beginning of the following year there will be the Pro and Max models for MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, etc. and then again an Ultra model for the Mac Pro along with the new standard model for the MacBook Air. That could be the new Mac be circular.

Johannes Domke

After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.