This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
The cadence isn't about keeping a distance to a previous version - it is about technology being available. 3nm is available to Apple and only Apple. No reason to wait.
Am I the only one who misses the old days when a full integer update meant more? It's weird to see iPhones, OSes, and processors all getting a full step up for incremental updates each year...
That being said, if they do drop the M3 then hopefully that will help me know whether to go ahead and get an M2 Mac Studio this fall or wait until the M3 studio comes along. I have a feeling it won't be a big enough difference to wait longer.
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
It also uses the term "chipset" improperly. While I realize the M-series is an SoC design, the chipset is the not the processor . . .
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
The cadence isn't about keeping a distance to a previous version - it is about technology being available. 3nm is available to Apple and only Apple. No reason to wait.
Pretty much. Apple likes the leading edge.
What was Jobs so mad about IMB for? Not pushing CPUs hard enough on the Mac. Mmlagging behind new CPUs.
What has Cook’s struggle with Intel been? Lagging behind. Putting out roadmaps and failing to meet them. 2015 MacBook Pro anyone?
With Apple Silicon, Apple has the timeline squarely in their hands. They are free to push the tech, push the release timing, etc.
i think there has been a bit of a misunderstanding with the m1 to m2 release gap. Remember that apple went through a significant brain drain during the m1 run. That showed in the m2 series as well as its release timing. The m3 will show some of the fruit of shoring up the AS team - as we are likely seeing with the timing of the higher spec m3 launch.
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
It also uses the term "chipset" improperly. While I realize the M-series is an SoC design, the chipset is the not the processor . . .
I mean, it does meet the criteria for a chipset. The problem is that it exceeds the criteria and includes just about everything, so that it’s a whole system on a chip. So the chipset moniker does not do it Justice and is indeed incorrect as you have stated. Old habits die hard. I don’t give the writer a hard time about it. But yes. Technically the term chipset doesn’t belong and should be referred to as System On a Chip or SOC.
Apple loves patterns, and the M-series processors seem to follow a release pattern that's slightly accelerating.
It seems to me that it's actually Apple observers (fans, pundits, etc) who love to try and find patterns in things Apple does in order to try and predict the future. But I'm not so sure that Apple is so enamored of patterns. I think Apple likes doing what makes the most sense in any given situation.
Am I the only one who misses the old days when a full integer update meant more? It's weird to see iPhones, OSes, and processors all getting a full step up for incremental updates each year...
That being said, if they do drop the M3 then hopefully that will help me know whether to go ahead and get an M2 Mac Studio this fall or wait until the M3 studio comes along. I have a feeling it won't be a big enough difference to wait longer.
What day was this? I remember back in the PPC days where there would be an update to the PowerMac G4 tower at a MacWorld Expo Keynote and it was actually slower than the outgoing model. Shit like would happen. Also during the PPC days it would just very little updates here and there. With the G5 it was the same way because the thermal limitations of that architecture.
So I'm not sure what day you're thinking of but it kinda was always like this. When a product matures there isn't any significant changes you can do to it because its already at what it could be.
Base M3, 2 flavors WiFi 6E support (7 would be nice for future-proofing, but this is Apple, so no.) Thunderbolt 3 ports updated to 4 Bluetooth 5.0 updated to 5.3 Gigabit Ethernet included on all models (maybe 10Gb is an option) USB-C Keyboard & Mouse Maybe improved memory bandwidth? (Couldn't find spec for current model) Maybe loses wired headphone jack? Maybe one or more new colors to replace least popular choices?
I don't know why anyone thinks the update might be M2. There is a less than 0% chance of that. You don't "update" a 30-month old model with a 16-month old chip that everyone knows is about to be replaced.
It's clear there's going to be more than one Mac product upgrade but "scary fast" implies something above what currently exists across the entire product line(s). So that's either a high-end iMac (M2 / M3 Pro / Max), MacPro / MacBook Pro / MacStudio (M3 Pro / Max) or a new M2 Extreme chip. and no M3 at all.
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
The cadence isn't about keeping a distance to a previous version - it is about technology being available. 3nm is available to Apple and only Apple. No reason to wait.
With Apple Silicon, Apple has the timeline squarely in their hands. They are free to push the tech, push the release timing, etc.
Apple Silicon roadmap is a complete joke. With Intel, and even PowerPC, Apple released faster Macs each year with newer and faster CPUs and GPUs. What do we get with Apple Silicon? Macs released with CPUs that are over a year and a half old and Apple calling them new. 15" MacBook Air with a year and a half old M2 CPU. iMac with a 3 year old M1 with memory cut from 128GB to 16GB and a GPU that ran at a 1/4 of the speed of the iMac it replaced.
People want a 27" or larger iMac with a M Pro or M Max CPU option and fast graphics. If that is what they mean by Scary Fast, then people will be happy. If it is another base model M chip that is 10% faster than the old CPU, then disappointment.
Am I the only one who misses the old days when a full integer update meant more? It's weird to see iPhones, OSes, and processors all getting a full step up for incremental updates each year...
That being said, if they do drop the M3 then hopefully that will help me know whether to go ahead and get an M2 Mac Studio this fall or wait until the M3 studio comes along. I have a feeling it won't be a big enough difference to wait longer.
Yeah, let’s go back to the days when a new CPU every year meant a 5% increase in processing for a 10% increase in power use. That was just great, wasn’t it? Maybe, if we were lucky, we would get a 10% increase in processing for a 15-20% increase in power use in some years.
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
The cadence isn't about keeping a distance to a previous version - it is about technology being available. 3nm is available to Apple and only Apple. No reason to wait.
With Apple Silicon, Apple has the timeline squarely in their hands. They are free to push the tech, push the release timing, etc.
Apple Silicon roadmap is a complete joke. With Intel, and even PowerPC, Apple released faster Macs each year with newer and faster CPUs and GPUs. What do we get with Apple Silicon? Macs released with CPUs that are over a year and a half old and Apple calling them new. 15" MacBook Air with a year and a half old M2 CPU. iMac with a 3 year old M1 with memory cut from 128GB to 16GB and a GPU that ran at a 1/4 of the speed of the iMac it replaced.
So stop complaining and buy a Windows machine where you’re guaranteed to get 5% every year, or maybe once every three years or so, a bigger jump. Take your 250 watt CPU and your 300 watt GPU with you.
You don't "update" a 30-month old model with a 16-month old chip that everyone knows is about to be replaced.
Apple gave you a 15" MacBook Air with an M2 that was over a year old.
No choice. The M3 was flat out not ready. It was more important to get a 15" MBA to market than waiting around for months. It also kept the two MBA screen sizes at processor parity, which I think will be Apple's strategy going forward. We'll probably see the M3 MBAs around April-June.
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
The cadence isn't about keeping a distance to a previous version - it is about technology being available. 3nm is available to Apple and only Apple. No reason to wait.
With Apple Silicon, Apple has the timeline squarely in their hands. They are free to push the tech, push the release timing, etc.
Apple Silicon roadmap is a complete joke. With Intel, and even PowerPC, Apple released faster Macs each year with newer and faster CPUs and GPUs. What do we get with Apple Silicon? Macs released with CPUs that are over a year and a half old and Apple calling them new. 15" MacBook Air with a year and a half old M2 CPU. iMac with a 3 year old M1 with memory cut from 128GB to 16GB and a GPU that ran at a 1/4 of the speed of the iMac it replaced.
Ummm…. The “good old days” were not as rosy as you remember them.
This article jumps around illogically, M2 or M3… and misses the initial point that it would be 16 months from M2 release to M3 vs 19 months from M1 release to M2.
The cadence isn't about keeping a distance to a previous version - it is about technology being available. 3nm is available to Apple and only Apple. No reason to wait.
Actually it was not only available to Apple. It was available to anyone who wanted it, The fact is, TSMC introduced a newer cheaper process for the first half of next year and the others who wanted 3nm decided to skip the first process, specifically Intel, in favor of the cheaper process. Apple is basically one of the few companies that could really afford this first process, so they are taking 100% of TSMc’s capacity to produce wafers. They have more than enough capacity to produce both the A17 Pro and the base M3. Apple will make up the cost in volume, where others simply can’t.
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That being said, if they do drop the M3 then hopefully that will help me know whether to go ahead and get an M2 Mac Studio this fall or wait until the M3 studio comes along. I have a feeling it won't be a big enough difference to wait longer.
i think there has been a bit of a misunderstanding with the m1 to m2 release gap. Remember that apple went through a significant brain drain during the m1 run. That showed in the m2 series as well as its release timing. The m3 will show some of the fruit of shoring up the AS team - as we are likely seeing with the timing of the higher spec m3 launch.
It seems to me that it's actually Apple observers (fans, pundits, etc) who love to try and find patterns in things Apple does in order to try and predict the future. But I'm not so sure that Apple is so enamored of patterns. I think Apple likes doing what makes the most sense in any given situation.
So I'm not sure what day you're thinking of but it kinda was always like this. When a product matures there isn't any significant changes you can do to it because its already at what it could be.
Base M3, 2 flavors
WiFi 6E support (7 would be nice for future-proofing, but this is Apple, so no.)
Thunderbolt 3 ports updated to 4
Bluetooth 5.0 updated to 5.3
Gigabit Ethernet included on all models (maybe 10Gb is an option)
USB-C Keyboard & Mouse
Maybe improved memory bandwidth? (Couldn't find spec for current model)
Maybe loses wired headphone jack?
Maybe one or more new colors to replace least popular choices?
I don't know why anyone thinks the update might be M2. There is a less than 0% chance of that. You don't "update" a 30-month old model with a 16-month old chip that everyone knows is about to be replaced.
Apple gave you a 15" MacBook Air with an M2 that was over a year old.
lets go back to that!
So stop complaining and buy a Windows machine where you’re guaranteed to get 5% every year, or maybe once every three years or so, a bigger jump. Take your 250 watt CPU and your 300 watt GPU with you.
Actually it was not only available to Apple. It was available to anyone who wanted it, The fact is, TSMC introduced a newer cheaper process for the first half of next year and the others who wanted 3nm decided to skip the first process, specifically Intel, in favor of the cheaper process. Apple is basically one of the few companies that could really afford this first process, so they are taking 100% of TSMc’s capacity to produce wafers. They have more than enough capacity to produce both the A17 Pro and the base M3. Apple will make up the cost in volume, where others simply can’t.