Everyone buying their high end gear is buying something waiting to be refreshed now.
AMD is somewhat of an exception/unique case though, having chipsets and monolithic depending on the use case and console/semicustom offerings, so that doesn't map fully.
Also, let's not forget in Apples case, that they actually go phone first, the Air+iPad, then Pro and finally Studio. Feel that the lower end devices should priority personally though, efficiency gains are more valuable in connected devices with limited space for batteries over my 16 incher with 100wh.
Course, would be nice if we just got the entire range updated at once, but I doubt even Apple could pull such a supply chain miracle off, even if they bought all of TSMC and the entire island to boot...
Most of their buyers aren’t buying the highest end parts. Those are a niche market.
Focusing on the smaller parts first makes sense because they’re easier to validate and ship. The larger parts are more complicated and come next.
Smaller chips means more of a wafer is usable when a defect exists
The standard practice is to start by producing the chips with the smallest die size.
Looks like the Pro and Max will be on a three month delay.
Buyers who walk into an Apple store for a base MacBook Pro will wait if they hear a new model is coming out. So if you have a buyer basing purchases on the generation number, it makes sense to launch that model as soon as possible.
Pro/Max buyers generally are checking into specs and getting what they need. Hence the M2 Ultra still being for sale, for some niches that have specific requirements.
People in the U.S. are starting to think about their Christmas shopping lists right about now.