Apple is reportedly preparing updated versions of the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, with both of them expected to be outfitted with the M3 SoC, the company’s second silicon that is said to be mass produced on TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process. Unfortunately, consumers who were looking to upgrade later this year will be met with extreme disappointment, with one report mentioning that these portable Macs will not be available until next year.
At the earliest, the M3 MacBook Air lineup will be available ‘between spring and summer’
In Mark Gurman’s ‘Power On’ newsletter, the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models have reached the engineering verification testing phase, but even that will not be sufficient to proceed with a launch in the last few months of 2023. The report states that at the earliest, the first products outfitted with the M3 are said to arrive between spring and summer.
“Those waiting for a new MacBook Air will likely need to hold on a bit longer. I’m told that the 13-inch and 15-inch M3 models have just reached the EVT stage, or engineering verification test, which would put them on schedule for between spring and summer of next year at the earliest.”
Apple has not confirmed the following, but supply issues may have prevented the company from launching the M3 earlier. Since the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are said to be in high demand globally, production for the A17 Pro that is exclusively found in these two models might have been ramped up, likely leaving no available capacity for the M3.
In an earlier report, Samsung and TSMC were both struggling to improve the yields of their respective 3nm technologies, so a delay of the MacBook Air was likely inevitable. Due to seemingly low demand for iPads and Macs, Apple is also rumored to have cut orders for the M3. In that case, launching the new MacBook Air family in 2024 can give TSMC sufficient time to alleviate its yield issues while also generating a large enough time gap that will force consumers to upgrade, propping up those shipment numbers.
From the looks of this report, the only remaining products that have yet to launch this year are the iPad mini 7, iPad Air 6, and possibly an updated version of the entry-level iPad. Assuming there are any changes to Apple’s M3 MacBook Air launch timeline, our readers will be updated accordingly, so stay tuned.
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