The Apple M3 is an ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple. Senior VP Johny Srouji introduced it on October 30, 2023 during a "Scary Fast" special event, where Senior VP John Ternus also introduced the updated 24-inch iMac and 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip, which were released on the following November 7th.[1][2] Updated 13 and 15-inch MacBook Airs with the M3 chip were released on March 8, 2024.[3][4]
Specifications[]
The M3 is manufactured by TSMC to Apple's design specifications. The die contains 25 billion transistors that are fabricated through a 3 nm process. Dynamic RAM (DRAM) is built onto the package and is shared through Apple's unified memory architecture (UMA) to eliminate the need to copy data from the CPU to GPU, which are both part of the package.[5]
The 8-core CPU contains four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, similiar to the ARM big.LITTLE architecture used by the Apple M1 and other mobile devices for power efficiency. The GPU contains 10 cores for graphics, though only 8 may be activated in entry-level iMac and MacBook Air models, indicating the practice of binning. It supports up to two external 6K displays when the laptop display is closed.[5][6]
Performance[]
Apple claimed that the M3's CPU performance and efficiency cores were 30% and 50% faster than the respective cores in the Apple M1. The GPU supports Dynamic Caching to improve rendering speed up to 2.5x faster over that of the M1. While containing the same number of cores, the updated Neural Engine can deliver up to 18 trillion operations per second, about 60% more than the M1.[5]
Limitations[]
DRAM must be ordered in advance in 8, 16, or 24 GB configurations as they are part of the M3's SoC package. The memory controller is also slower than that of the M2.[5][6]
Variants[]
The Apple M3 family
On the same day that the M3 was introduced, Apple also announced the Apple M3 Pro with support for up to 36 GB of RAM at 150GB/s memory throughput, and Apple M3 Max with support for up to 128 GB of RAM at up to 400GB/s memory throughput. These were used in the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros.[1][5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Apple Event - October 30 by Apple, YouTube, 2023-10-30.
- ↑ Apple unveils the new MacBook Pro featuring the M3 family of chips, making the world’s best pro laptop even better, Apple Inc. 2023-10-30.
- ↑ Apple supercharges 24‑inch iMac with new M3 chip, Apple Inc. 2023-10-30.
- ↑ Apple unveils the new 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with the powerful M3 chip, Apple Inc. 2024-03-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Apple unveils M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max, the most advanced chips for a personal computer, Apple Inc. 2023-10-30.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Choose your new MacBook Air., Apple Inc. Accessed 2024-03-08.
External links[]
- Apple M3 specs at GadgetVersus
- Apple M3 at NotebookCheck
- Apple M3 at Wikipedia
Articles[]
- M2 vs. M3 Buyer's Guide: How Much Better Really Is M3? by Hartley Charlton at MacRumors (2023-11-25)
- Apple’s “October Surprise”: the M3 SoC Family and the A17 Bionic Reprise by Brian Dipert at Electronic Design News (2023-11-01)