New M3 Pro MacBook Pro chip from Apple set to improve performance with additional cores

Apple is reportedly testing its newest M3 Pro MacBook Pro chip, according to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The M3 Pro MacBook Pro chip is said to have two more cores than the M2 Pro, with 12 CPU cores and 18 GPU cores.

The additional CPU cores are of the power-efficient type, meaning they are utilized when the device is not under a heavy workload. The new chip is believed to be the base model, with a higher specced version, the M3 Max, offering up to 14 CPU cores and 40 graphics cores.

The M3 Pro MacBook Pro chip is being tested on a beta version of macOS 14, with an upper limit of 36GB memory. Apple is utilizing a new 3nm manufacturing process to make this chip possible. The release window for the M3 Pro MacBook Pro chip is "next year", while standard M3 chips may arrive in Macs later in 2023.

This report comes as Apple is expected to announce the 15-inch MacBook Air at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, powered by the M2 chip. Earlier rumors suggested that the M3 chip would be used, but this is now unlikely. The current M2 Pro MacBook Pro is already considered fast, but the new M3 Pro chip is expected to improve performance with its additional cores.