We might not have to wait much longer for Apple’s new M3-based MacBook Pro.
In his weekly Power On newsletter Sunday, Bloomberg report Mark Gurman said that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips have reached the design validation test stage, meaning they are on the cusp of reaching mass production.
Given how far along in the process the devices are, Gurman says that he expects a consumer release of the laptops to come between early and spring 2024, matching the timing for last year’s MacBook announcements.
Apple is also reportedly working on new versions of MacBook Air; however, those aren’t quite as far along, Gurman says that the 13-inch and 15-inch M3 MacBook Air models are both in the engineering verification test stage which means they likely won’t launch until the spring or summer of next year.
Beyond the new MacBooks, Gurman also addressed Apple’s upcoming iPad release. While he originally had speculated that Apple would launch a new iPad this month, he now thinks that’s likely not the case.
Gurman says that a new entry-level iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini are all in development with faster chips; however, he doesn’t expect any of the devices to launch soon.
One thing he does expect to launch soon is a new way for Apple to update your iPhone in the store. Soon when you purchase a new iPhone at an Apple retail location, Apple will be able to place your phone still sealed in its box on a pad-like device in the store and update it to the latest version of iOS while it’s still sealed in the box. That feature is expected to roll out in stores by the end of the year.
