Whenever Apple starts a new generation of chips, the Mac mini is always the first desktop Mac to get it. With the M3, coming soon, that means a new Mac mini is likely around th ecorner.
That also means rumors and reports about a new M3 Mac mini will surface. To gather that information in one spot–as well as to provide insight as to what’s feasible and what’s not–we have this article to help you figure out what’s happening with the M3 Mac mini. If you’re interested in investing in one, you can plan accordingly. We’ll update this article whenever new information becomes available.
Apple released the M2 Mac mini in January 2023. Before that, the M1 Mac mini was released in November 2020. That’s 14 months between the M1 and M2 Mac mini, but remember, that was also in the middle of the Covid pandemic that affected production. So, while the M2 Mac mini has not been out for a year, it has been out long enough for Apple to upgrade it.
In early August 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was performing preliminary tests on a M3 Mac mini. Gurman also noted that the Mac mini was being tested with macOS Sonoma 14.1, the first major point update since Sonoma was released in September. Sonoma 14.1 is in the later stage of its beta cycle and a release candidate is out, which means the official release is pending. Apple could time the M3 Mac mini to coincide with Sonoma 14.1’s official release, or not long after it. So, we’re looking at late October or early November for the M3 Mac mini.
Apple also offers an M2 Pro Mac mini. When Apple releases a new M-series chip, it does not introduce the Pro, Max, and Ultra versions at the same time as the base chip. When Apple releases the M3 Mac mini, the M2 Pro will stay in the lineup. According to Gurman, the Pro, Max, and Ultra chips will be released throughout 2024, so the M2 Pro Mac mini will be upgraded to the M3 Pro next year.
The M2 Pro Mac mini will likely stay in the lineup even after the M3 Mac mini is released.
Jason Cross / Foundry
New M3 Mac mini: Price
- Current standard configuration prices: $599/£649, $799/£849
- No rumored price changes
Rumors about the M3 Mac mini have not addressed prices. We can take a look at Apple’s pricing history, current prices, and other product releases to get an idea of whether Apple will raise prices or not.
Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro uses a 3nm A17 Pro chip, which is the first 3nm chip in an Apple product. The M3 is likely going to also be a 3nm chip and will be the first 3nm chip for the Mac. So, the assumption could be made that Apple would raise prices to recoup the cost of research and production for those new chips.
But when Apple unveiled its iPhone 15 lineup, it did not raise the prices of the Pro models. That’s a good sign for the M3 Mac mini–it could follow the same standard configuration prices of $599/£649 and $799/£849 when it is finally released.
Actually, looking back historically, Apple lowered the standard configuration prices when it released the M2 Mac mini. In 2020, the M1 Mac mini had prices of $699/£699 and $899/£899; the M2 Mac mini is currently at $599/£649 and $799/£849. That opens the door for Apple to increase the price of the M3 Mac mini.
New M3 Mac mini: Processor and specs
- 3nm chip with 8 CPU cores, 10 GPU cores
- Maybe more unified memory
According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, here’s what to expect with the M3 in the Mac mini:
- System on a Chip created using the 3nm process
- 8 CPU cores: 4 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores
- 10 GPU cores
Several reports by different sources have stated that the M3 will be manufactured using a new 3nm process. This allows more transistors to fit on a chip, which could potentially provide a performance boost that exceeds the typical 15 to 20 percent seen between chip generations. The M3 could also offer better power efficiency, so the temperature considerations required for the M1 or M2 Mac mini aren’t the same as the M3, which could run faster because it doesn’t get as hot.
As for the amount of unified memory, Apple currently offers the standard configuration M2 Mac mini with 8GB. The M3’s possible memory configuration has been covered only vaguely; Gurman has reported that the M3 Macs that have been tested have increased memory. If Apple does boost the memory, we could see the base M3 Mac mini come with 16GB, configurable to 32GB or 48GB.
No reports have been made about the features of the M3, such as the core clock speeds, Neural Engine cores (likely to stay at 16 cores), or media engines.
New M3 Mac mini: Ports/Connectivity
- Likely no change from the two Thunderbolt/USB-C configuration
When Apple released the M1 Mac mini in 2020, the company reconfigured the ports so that it had two Thunderbolt/USB-C ports instead of the four that were on the Intel-based Mac mini. Apple. Apple will likely stick with this port configuration with the M3 Mac mini, which also includes two USB-A ports, a gigabit ethernet port, HDMI, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The M2 Mac mini already has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, but Apple could opt for Wi-FI 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
Apple will likely not change the port configuration on the M3 Mac mini.
Apple
New M3 Mac mini: Design
- Likely no change to the compact box
Rumors of the M3 Mac mini focus on the M3 chip and lack information about the design. Apple will keep the 7.75-by-7.75-by-1.41 inch (19.7-by-19.7-by-3.6 centimeter) external design. Because of the new 3nm M3, it’s possible Apple will change how the internals are laid out, but users won’t need to be concerned with that.
