Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air and new Mac Pro could launch later than initially believed. The machines are reportedly on track to launch between late spring and summer.
This hints at the possibility of the new Macs debuting at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple silicon-powered Mac Pro might launch at WWDC23
Apple usually holds a March event to announce new products. Rumors previously claimed the long-overdue Apple silicon Mac Pro and the 15-inch MacBook Air could debut this month. But at this point, that seems unlikely to happen.
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple will launch three new Macs between late spring and summer. This suggests the company could launch the new Macs at WWDC23.
Apple typically holds its yearly developers conference in the first week of June. At WWDC22, the company announced the M2 chip and an upgraded 13-inch MacBook Air. So, new Macs debuting at this year’s event is a probability.
As for the new Macs, Apple is preparing to launch the following products, according to Gurman:
- Mac Pro, code-named J180
- 15-inch MacBook Air, code-named J515
- 13-inch MacBook Air refresh, code-named J513
15-inch MacBook Air could use the M2 chip
Apple reportedly plans to offer the Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip, featuring a 24-core CPU, 76-core GPU and up to 192GB RAM. As for the new MacBook Air models, it remains unclear which M-series chip could power them.
Rumors indicate Apple could use its existing 5nm M2 SoC inside the 15-inch MacBook Air. The 13-inch Air could feature a more power-efficient M3 chip.
Since the beginning of the Apple silicon transition, Apple has used the MacBook Air as the launch platform for its new SoCs. The M1 chip debuted on the 2020 MacBook Air, while the M2 SoC first appeared inside the 2022 MacBook Air. So, Apple could continue that trend with this year’s M3 chip and 13-inch MacBook Air refresh.
Based on TSMC’s 3nm node, the M3 is expected to bring a notable boost in performance and efficiency. This would be unlike the M2 chip, which introduced marginal performance improvements over the M1.
