Login
Login

Apple M3

{{Short description|System on a Chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc.}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}

{{Infobox CPU

| name = Apple M3 Series

| image =

| alt =

| code =

| microarch =

| size-from = 3 nm (N3B)

| designfirm = Apple Inc.

| manuf1 = TSMC

| arch = ARMv8.6-A{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/main/llvm/unittests/TargetParser/TargetParserTest.cpp|title=llvm-project/llvm/unittests/TargetParser/TargetParserTest.cpp at main · llvm/llvm-project |website=GitHub |date=10 September 2024|access-date=10 September 2024}}

| gpu = Apple-designed integrated graphics (8–80 core)

| co-processor=NPU: 18 TOPS

| transistors = 25–184 billion

| numcores = 8–32 (4–24 high-performance and 4–8 high-efficiency)

| application = Desktop (iMac, Mac Studio), notebook (MacBook Air, MacBook Pro) and tablet (iPad Air)

| memory = LPDDR5-6400 memory (8–512 GB)

| clock = 4.05 GHz (performance cores){{Citation | url = https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/apple-m3-cpus-hit-405-ghz-challenge-raptor-lake-in-geekbench | title = Apple M3 CPUs hit 4.05 GHz, challenge Raptor lake in Geekbench | work = Tom’s Hardware}} 2.75 GHz (efficiency cores)

| l1cache = Performance cores
192+128 KiB per core

Efficiency cores
128+64 KiB per core

| l2cache = Performance cores
M3 and M3 Pro: 16 MiB
M3 Max: 32 MiB
M3 Ultra: 64 MiB
Efficiency cores
M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, M3 Ultra: 4 MiB

| llcache =

| variant = Apple A16

| predecessor = Apple M2

|produced-start={{Start date and age|2023|10|30}}

|successor=Apple M4|soldby=Apple Inc.|produced-end=M3 Pro and Max: {{Start date and age|2024|10|30}}}}

{{AppleARM}}

Apple M3 is a series of ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) designed by Apple Inc., part of the Apple silicon series, as a central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) for its Mac desktops and notebooks and the iPad Air tablets. Released in late 2023, it is the third generation of ARM architecture intended for Apple's Mac computers after switching from Intel Core to Apple silicon, succeeding the Apple M2.

Release

Apple announced the M3 on October 30, 2023, at its Halloween-themed Scary Fast online event,{{cite web |url=https://www.macworld.com/article/2114818/apple-scary-fast-event-m3-imac-macbook-pro.html|title=Apple announces 'Scary fast' event for Halloween Eve night |author=Jason Cross|date=October 24, 2023| work =Mac World}} along with models of the iMac and the MacBook Pro using the M3.{{Cite web | url= https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23938867/apple-m3-imac-macbook-pro-biggest-announcements-m3 |title= Apple 'Scary Fast' Mac launch event: the 4 biggest announcements | work =The Verge |date=October 30, 2023|access-date=October 30, 2023}}{{cite web |url= https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/apple-unveils-new-laptops-imac-and-trio-of-more-powerful-chips-1.1991619|title= Apple Unveils New Laptops, iMac and Trio of More Powerful Chips|last= Gurman|first= Mark|date= 30 October 2023|website= BNN Bloomberg|publisher= |access-date=}}{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/everything-to-know-about-apples-new-m3-m3-pro-and-m3-max-processors/|title=Apple introduces new M3 chip lineup, starting with the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max|author=Andrew Cunningham|date=October 31, 2023|publisher=Ars Technica}}

Design

The M3 series is Apple's first 3 nm design for desktops and notebooks. It is manufactured by TSMC.{{cite web|url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Apple-unveils-new-M3-processors-as-Arm-PC-chips-gain-traction|title=Apple unveils new M3 processors as Arm PC chips gain traction|author=Yifan Yu|date=October 31, 2023|publisher=Nikkei}}{{cite web|url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20231031PD220/3nm-iphone-15-tsmc.html|title=TSMC expected to enjoy double-digit sequential increase in 4Q23 revenues|author=Monica Chen, Rodney Chan|date=November 1, 2023|publisher=DigiTimes}}

= CPU =

  • M3: 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
  • M3 Pro: 11- or 12-core CPU with 5 or 6 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores
  • M3 Max: 14- or 16-core CPU with 10 or 12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
  • M3 Ultra: 28- or 32-core CPU with 20 or 24 performance core and 8 efficiency cores

= GPU =

The redesigned GPU includes features like Dynamic Caching, Mesh Shading, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.{{Cite web |title=Explore GPU advancements in M3 and A17 Pro - Tech Talks - Videos |url=https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/tech-talks/111375 |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Apple Developer |language=en}}

The Dynamic Caching technology allocates local memory in real time. Unlike conventional approaches, Dynamic Caching ensures that only the precise amount of memory required for a task is used, thereby optimizing memory usage and potentially enhancing performance and efficiency. This is particularly beneficial for graphics-intensive tasks, where dynamic memory allocation can be critical.{{Cite web |last=Roston |first=Brittany |date=2023-10-31 |title=Apple Reveals 3nm M3 Chipset Family, With Pro And Max Available Right Out Of The Gate |url=https://www.slashgear.com/1434289/apple-m3-pro-max-cpus-3nm/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=SlashGear |language=en-US}}

Supported codecs on the M3 include 8K H.264, 8K H.265 (8/10bit, up to 4:4:4), 8K Apple ProRes, VP9, JPEG and AV1 decoding.{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Tom |date=2023-10-31 |title=Apple's new M3 chips have big GPU upgrades focused on gaming and pro apps |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23938676/apple-m3-chip-gpu-upgrade-hardware-accelerated-ray-tracing-gaming-specs-release-date |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=The Verge}}

= NPU =

The M3 contains dedicated neural network hardware in a 16-core Neural Engine capable of executing over 18 trillion operations per second, which is faster than the A16 Bionic's 15.8 trillion operations per second NPU seen in the iPhone 14 Pro series.

== AI ==

Apple specifically targeted AI development and workloads, both with the Neural Engine and with the increased maximum memory (128 GiB) of the M3 Max, allowing AI models with high numbers of parameters. Apple claims a 15% performance improvement for AI workloads on the M3 (compared to the previous generation M2). {{Cite web |last=Mehrotra |first=Shikhar |date=2023-11-20 |title=M3 vs. M2: How Does Apple's New Silicon Compare to Its Predecessor? |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/apple-m3-vs-m2/ |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=How-To Geek |language=en}}

= Memory =

The M3's Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) is similar to the M2 generation; M3 SoCs use 6,400 MT/s LPDDR5 SDRAM. As with prior M series SoCs, this serves as both RAM and video RAM. The M3 has 8 memory controllers, the M3 Pro has 12 and the M3 Max has 32. Each controller is 16-bits wide and is capable of accessing up to 4 GiB of memory.{{Cite web |last=Smith |first= Ryan |title=Apple Announces M3 SoC Family: M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max Make Their Marks |url=https://www.anandtech.com/show/21116/apple-announces-m3-soc-family-m3-m3-pro-and-m3-max-make-their-marks |access-date= 2023-12-04 |website= Anand tech}}

The M3 Pro and 14-core M3 Max have lower memory bandwidth than the M1/M2 Pro and M1/M2 Max respectively. The M3 Pro has a 192-bit memory bus where the M1 and M2 Pro had a 256-bit bus, resulting in only 150 GB/sec bandwidth versus 200 GB/sec for its predecessors. The 14-core M3 Max only enables 24 out of the 32 controllers, therefore it has 300 GB/sec vs. the 400 GB/sec for all models of the M1 and M2 Max, while the 16-core M3 Max has the same 400 GB/sec as the prior M1 and M2 Max models.{{cite web|url=https://www.macrumors.com/2023/10/31/apple-m3-pro-less-memory-bandwidth/ |title= Apple M3 Pro Chip Has 25% Less Memory Bandwidth Than M1/M2 Pro|author=Tim Hardwick|date=October 31, 2023| work =Mac Rumors}}

= Other features =

Other components include an image signal processor (ISP), a NVM Express storage controller, a Secure Enclave, and a USB4 controller that includes Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 5 support.

Products that use the Apple M3 series

= M3 =

= M3 Pro =

= M3 Max =

= M3 Ultra =

Variants

The table below shows the various SoCs.

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! rowspan="2" |Variant

! colspan="2" |CPU

! colspan="3" |GPU

! colspan="2" |NPU

! colspan="2" |LPDDR5-6400 memory

! rowspan="2" |Transistor
count

!rowspan="2" |TDP
(W)

! rowspan="2" |used in

P-cores{{Efn|Performance Cores|group=Variants}}

!E-cores{{Efn|Efficiency cores|group=Variants}}

! Cores{{Efn|Each GPU core has 16 execution units (EUs) and 128 arithmetic logic units (ALUs)|group=Variants}}

!EU

! ALU

! Cores

! Performance

! Controllers{{Efn|Each LPDDR5-6400 memory controller contains a 16-bit memory channel and can access up to 8GiB of memory.|group=Variants}}

! Bandwidth

A16

|2

| rowspan="4" |4

|5

|80

|640

| rowspan="8" |16

|15.8 TOPS

|4

|51.2 GB/s

|16 billion

|8

|iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max / iPhone 15 / iPhone 15 Plus

rowspan="3" | M3rowspan="3" | 48

|128

1024

| rowspan="7" |18 TOPS

| rowspan="3" | 8

rowspan="3" | 102.4 GB/srowspan="3" | 25 billionrowspan="3" | 20

|MacBook Air M3

9

|144

1152

|iPad Air M3

10

|160

|1280

|MacBook Air M3 / MacBook Pro M3

rowspan="2" | M3 Pro5

| rowspan="2" |6

14

|224

1792rowspan="2" | 12rowspan="2" | 153.6 GB/srowspan="2" | 37 billionrowspan="2" | 27

| rowspan="4" |MacBook Pro M3 Pro / M3 Max

618

|288

2304
rowspan="2" | M3 Max10

| rowspan="2" |4

30

| 480

384024307.2 GB/srowspan="2" | 92 billionrowspan=2 | 78
1240

|640

512032409.6 GB/s
rowspan="2" | M3 Ultra20

| rowspan="2" |8

60

| 960

7680

| rowspan="2" |32

| rowspan="2" |36 TOPS

| rowspan="2" |64

| rowspan="2" |819.3 GB/s

| rowspan="2" | 184 billion

rowspan=2 | 140

| rowspan="2" |Mac Studio M3 Ultra

2480

|1280

10240

{{Notelist|group=Variants}}

See also

References

{{reflist}}

{{Apple Inc.}}

{{Apple silicon}}

{{Apple hardware}}

{{Application ARM-based chips}}

Category:Computer-related introductions in 2023

Category:Apple silicon