We may need to wait longer for the 3nm MacBook than we previously expected. New 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are on the horizon, but they’re unlikely to be a 3nm process, according to a new prediction from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo tweeted this morning, the refresh of the excellent professional MacBook “will enter mass production” in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Kuo’s wisdom indicates that they “may still adopt the 5nm advanced node,” which is the same process node that recent M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models use. If that’s true, it would mean that Apple’s first 3nm MacBook chips, which are rumored to enter production later this year, won’t debut on these machines.
Previous reports have indicated that Apple planned to launch a MacBook powered by the new M2 Pro (not to be confused with the M2 MacBook Pro, the more recent 13-inch MacBook Pro powered by the regular M2 chip). ) and the M2Max chips are out this fall. Others have suggested that the M2 Pro chip will adopt a 3nm node (which Kuo’s leak would seem to contradict).
While the current leak landscape is confusing, Apple’s October launch event will all (we hope) be cleared. We expect the event to debut a few new iPads, including the M2 iPad Pro and the 10th generation iPad, as well as several Mac computers (including a possible M2 Mac Mini).