M3 could be coming sooner than you think - and to the best MacBook

(Image credit: Apple)

If you were expecting the M3 chip to debut at WWDC 2023 and felt disappointed at its absence, there may be some light in the M3 tunnel soon.

According to Mark Gurman's 'Power On' newsletter, Apple is well-underway on an M3 version of its 15-inch MacBook Air model, which is to be expected, with the M2 Ultra seemingly closing out the M2 line after its debut in June 2022.

But that's not all - he also says that a new iMac and a MacBook Pro with M3 are in development too, and we could see all of these begin to appear by the end of the year.

So if you're waiting for an M2 15-inch MacBook Air to be in stock soon, here's why it may be worth holding off still.

M3 to the Future

M2 Ultra logo

(Image credit: Apple)

While Apple introduced the M2 Ultra with the Mac Pro and an updated Mac Studio just last week, the gains from M1 to M2 back in June 2022 shouldn't be forgotten.

For example, the memory you could use with an M1 Mac compared to an M2 jumped from 16GB to 24 GB - so if someone does a lot of video editing, a Mac with an M2 chip can better manage multiple 8K videos at once.

There are also the graphical improvements to consider - a 25% gain may seem small to some, but with Apple's newest efforts for gaming, such as the Game Porting Kit, this can result in better framerates. So when it comes to an M3 MacBook Air, it could be one of the first Macs to consider as a powerful Gaming machine, especially once macOS Sonoma arrives with its Game Mode later this year.

More cores and even more memory in this model could be the Mac to beat when it comes to gaming and video editing - and that's even before we consider what an 'M3 Pro' could be capable of.

Regardless, an M3 MacBook Air is an exciting prospect - but are you already planning on pulling the trigger for the 15-inch M2 model? Let us know in the iMore forums.

Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use everyday to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64 and Daily Star.