What you need to know before buying a new Mac

This June, at the WWDC conference, Apple unveiled the M2 chip, the successor to the M1, as well as two new Macs: the MacBook Pro M2 and the MacBook Air M2. These devices have, of course, many arguments. And just in terms of performance, the improvements are quite substantial.

Indeed, according to Apple’s explanations, compared to the M1 chip, the M2 has an 18% more efficient CPU, a 35% more efficient GPU, as well as a 40% more efficient neural engine. The firm has also equipped this new chip with 50% more memory bandwidth compared to its predecessor.

But the small downside is that the M2 chip is still engraved at 5 nm, a technology that was already used by the M1 chips. To take advantage of chips engraved in 3 nm, you will still have to wait.

As a reminder, the smaller this engraving, the more transistors there are inside the chip, which increases performance as well as energy efficiency. And the good news is that TSMC, the company that makes Apple’s chips, is already working on its 3nm node.

According to a Taiwanese company webpage, 3nm etching “will offer the most advanced foundry technology in PPA and transistor technology when introduced. N3 technology will deliver up to 70% gain in logic density, up to 15% speed improvement at the same power, and up to 30% power reduction at the same speed compared to N5 technology . »

TSMC plans to begin mass production of N3 chips this year. And although Apple does not yet mention this technology, it will certainly be one of the first to take advantage of it.

Macs with N3 chip would be on the program for this year

As mentioned above, the M2 chip in the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro offers significant advantages over the M1 chip. But for those who are waiting for Apple Silicon chips engraved in 3 nm, know that rumors are already circulating about them. And apparently, you won’t even have to wait for the M3 chip to take advantage of this technology.

In a recent article, our colleagues from MacRumours relayed a publication from DigiTimes about the next chips from Apple. According to this source, Apple has already reserved production capacity for 3 nm engraved chips at TSMC in order to produce its future M2 Pro and M3 chips.

In other words, the M2 Pro chip could show a significant performance boost over the M2, thanks to this transition from the 5nm node to the 3nm node.

For his part, journalist Mark Gurman (Bloomberg) recently indicated in a newsletter that the M2 Pro chip should equip a new 14-inch MacBook Pro, a 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as a high-end Mac mini. As for the M3 chip, it would use a new 13-inch MacBook Air, a 15-inch MacBook Air, a new iMac, and a 12-inch MacBook.

As usual, this information should always be considered with caution, since it comes from unofficial sources. But what is certain is that Apple will take advantage of TSMC’s N3 technology to offer more efficient chips. And when these chips are available, we should be able to benefit from significant improvements.