iPad Pro and MacBook Pro: 5 nm chips in 2022, 3 nm in 2023

Apple’s suppliers and contractors will begin production of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, as well as the new iPad Pro in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst, however, specifies that there will not be a transition to an engraving of the main chip in 3 nm.

On Twitter, Kuo noted that TSMC, Apple’s chipmaking partner, won’t begin shipping chips with 3nm etching until January 2023. The new MacBook Pro and iPad Pro in 2022 are therefore expected to retain 5nm chips. The new M2 chip-equipped iPad Pro is slated for release in October, but the timeline for the new MacBook Pros is less clear, with some rumors suggesting a release later this year and others pointing to a 2023 launch.

MacBook Pros are expected to have the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, with a recent rumor indicating that these could be Apple’s first chips with 3nm engraving. But given Kuo’s information of the day, this will not be the case and we have to wait until next year for this engraving. Note that the iPhone 15 in 2023 will be entitled to 3 nm engraving with the A17 chip.

(2/4)
TSMC’s 3nm chip production cycle is about 4 months, so though TSMC said it would start mass production of 3nm from Sep, it would take until Jan 2023 to ship at the earliest. It’s why TSMC offered the guidance that 3nm will contribute revenue from 1H23.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) August 26, 2022