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Apple M3
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Apple M3
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| Designer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Introduced | October 2023 ("Scary Fast" event) |
| Process | 3 nm N3B (TSMC) — first 3-nanometer computer chips |
| CPU | 8-core: 4P + 4E · Pro: 11/12-core · Max: 14/16-core · Ultra: 28/32-core |
| GPU | 8/10-core — Dynamic Caching, hardware ray tracing · Pro: 14/18-core · Max: 30/40-core · Ultra: 60/80-core |
| Neural Engine | 16-core (18T ops/s) · Ultra: 32-core |
| Unified memory | Up to 24 GB (100 GB/s) · Pro: 36 GB (150 GB/s) · Max: 128 GB (up to 400 GB/s) · Ultra: 512 GB (800 GB/s) |
| Devices | MacBook Pro 14"/16" (2023) · iMac (2023) · MacBook Air 13"/15" (2024) · iPad Air (2025) · Mac Studio (2025, M3 Ultra) |
| Predecessor | Apple M2 |
| Successor | Apple M4 |
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The Apple M3 generation, launched at October 2023's "Scary Fast" event, brought 3-nanometer fabrication to computers first and rebuilt the GPU: Dynamic Caching allocates on-chip memory per task in hardware, and ray tracing and mesh shading reached the Mac for the first time — the architecture Apple's later gaming and rendering push stands on.
1 Variants✎
The generation launched Pro and Max variants on day one, though the M3 Pro was deliberately rebalanced — fewer performance cores and 150 GB/s of bandwidth, sharpening the gap to the Max tier. The M3 Ultra arrived far off-cycle in March 2025's Mac Studio with up to 32 CPU cores, an 80-core GPU, Thunderbolt 5, and a 512 GB memory ceiling squarely aimed at running large AI models locally.
2 Legacy✎
The M3 proved the 3-nanometer bet (N3B was expensive and Apple bought essentially all of it) and its GPU architecture became the foundation every subsequent generation builds on. Its Ultra variant outliving the generation — shipping two chip cycles late as the memory-heavy AI workstation option — showed Apple decoupling the Ultra tier from the yearly cadence.
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