An analyst by the name of Ming-Chi Kuo has said once again that the new MacBook Pro models will begin full production by the end of this year, and that they will be accompanied by the new iPad Pro models. In addition, Kuo states that the next MacBook Pro and iPad Pro would come equipped with new CPUs; however, these processors will be produced using the older 5nm production node rather than the more recent 3nm process node.
Kuo tweeted earlier this week that the beginning of mass production of the next 14-inch and 16-inch variants of the MacBook Pro would take place in the fourth quarter of this year. On the other hand, the new CPUs that would be used to power these two new generations of the MacBook Pro would be produced using the 5nm technology, since TSMC has said that the 3nm chips won’t begin shipping until 2023 at the earliest.
Kuo has recently been tweeting a series of messages in which he restates his forecasts while also providing us with a possible explanation.
“EMS must buy components from October at the latest for products that will enter mass production in 4Q22, but 3nm chips won’t be available until January 2023,” said Kuo in a tweet. He went on to add that this is the reason why new processors will not adopt a 3nm fabrication process. “EMS must buy components from October at the latest for products that will enter mass production in 4Q22,” Kuo said.
According to Kuo, TSMC has plans to start manufacturing 3nm chips in big quantities the next month, i.e. September. Since the manufacturing cycle at TSMC is estimated to be four months long, this indicates that the chip will not be ready for sale until January 2023 at the earliest.
If we were to believe Kuo, then we would have to wait a bit longer for the updated M2 Pro and M2 Max models, despite the fact that rumours stated that these models would have been built on TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing node. We do not know what kind of performance gain or upgrades to anticipate from the next M2-series chips if they will be constructed on the same 5nm node. This is because we do not know what kind of performance boost or advancements they will provide.
Published at : 10 Aug 2022 09:52 AM (IST)