Report: Apple’s expected M3 MacBooks may not be coming this year

For most of the last year, the rumor mill has indicated that the first wave of Apple’s M3 Macs will be hitting sometime this fall—perhaps in October, a month Apple has often used for iPad and Mac announcements that can’t be crammed into its iPhone and Apple Watch-focused product events in September.

But according to reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company won't launch those models before the end of the year. Kuo didn't share specifics, but he has sources inside Apple's manufacturing supply chains that often give him reliable information about the company's plans.

Apple's timing shifted similarly last year when M2-based MacBook Pro and Mac mini designs that were apparently intended for late 2022 launched in January 2023 instead. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the source of most of what we know about the various M3 chips, has also changed his tune about the possibility of some kind of October Mac announcement. He believes that Apple will have some products to launch after September, including a possible iPad Air refresh, but that Apple is more likely to launch those products via press releases rather than prerecorded announcement videos.