Apple’s M3 chip has been available since the end of October 2023. It equips the MacBook Pro M3 and iMac and was recently added to the MacBook Air, but it is still absent from the Mac mini. How long will it take for Apple to roll out the M3 to the rest of the range? Or will Apple ignore it and decide to release a new Mac mini with an M4 chip?
This article is designed to help you understand what’s happening with the M3 and M3 Pro versions of the Mac mini, or if Apple is skipping the M3 series and going straight to the M4. We have gathered all the information from rumors and reports in one place and will give you an overview of what is feasible and what is not.
We will update this article whenever new information becomes available.
Updated 04/22/24: Bloomberg report reiterates that the Mac mini could be updated with an M4 chip later this year, skipping an M3 update.
Check out our MacBook Pro M3 review and our MacBook Pro M3 Pro review. We also have an iMac M3 review and a MacBook Air M3 review.
New Mac mini: going from M3 to M4?
An April 11 report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple plans to update the Mac mini with an AI-enhanced M4 chip in the second half of 2024. On Apple 21, Gurman says Apple will likely skip an M3 update for the Mac mini and jump straight to the M4 later this year.
New Mac mini: release date
Apple launched the Mac mini M2 and M2 Pro more than a year ago, in January 2023. Before that, the Mac mini M1 was released in November 2020. That’s more than two years between the Mac mini M1 and the M2 , but the Covid pandemic affected production. There should be no reason for the launch of the M3 and M3 Pro Mac mini to be delayed, especially since the M3 and M3 Pro chips are available in other models.
If Apple continues with an M3 Mac mini, we could see it this spring or at WWDC. In early August 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple was conducting preliminary testing of an M3 Mac mini, suggesting that a new M3 model was in the works.
Gurman’s reports from April 2024 indicate that Apple will skip the M3 and go straight to the M4. He indicated that the M4 Mac mini could arrive later this year.
The M2 Pro Mac mini.
The M2 Pro Mac mini.
Jason Cross / Foundry
The M2 Pro Mac mini.
Jason Cross / Foundry
Jason Cross / Foundry
New Mac mini: Price
- Price drops outside the United States are somewhat likely.
The Mac mini M3/M4 rumors have not addressed pricing and the price is unlikely to change in the US. However, we are hopeful that there will be price drops outside the US to reverse the price increases of a few years ago.
Apple has adjusted its prices following previous price increases. When Apple has updated its Macs and iPhones since late 2023, it has reduced some prices in countries outside the United States. UK prices for the MacBook Air M3, for example, ‘match’ US prices. For example, the MacBook Air M2 now costs $999/£999. That’s a good sign for the M3 Mac mini: it could follow the same standard configuration prices of $599/£599 (currently £649) and $799/£799 (currently £849) when it’s finally released. In 2020, the M1 Mac mini had prices of $699/£699 and $899/£899.
New Mac mini: processor and specifications
- M3: 3nm chip with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB unified memory (16GB and 24GB options)
- M3 Pro: 11 or 12 core CPU, 14 or 18 core GPU, 18 GB unified memory (36 GB option)
- M4: AI enhancements
We have a good idea of what to expect from the Mac mini M3 and M3 Pro because we’ve already seen these chips in the MacBook Pro, iMac, and MacBook Air. Apple will reportedly emphasize AI on the M4, so it could have similar CPU and GPU specs to the M3, but with a larger neural engine and more unified memory.
The new 3nm process used for the M3 (and eventually the M4) allows more transistors to be placed on a chip, which should improve performance. The M3 will also offer better power efficiency, so the temperature considerations required for the M1 or M2 Mac mini are not the same as the M3, which could allow it to run faster because it’s not as hot .
Additionally, the M3 GPU is faster and more efficient and includes dynamic caching, a new technology that brings features like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading to the Mac.
As for the amount of unified memory, Apple still offers the standard 8GB configuration for the M3 and 16GB and 24GB options, as for the M2. For the M3 Pro, up to 36 GB of unified memory is available, but the standard configuration is now 18 GB of memory (instead of 16 GB).
For more information, learn how different generations of Mac processors compare.
New Mac mini: ports/connectivity
- Probably no change from both Thunderbolt/USB-C configurations
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 to 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 probably won’t change the port configuration on the Mac mini M3.
Apple probably won’t change the port configuration on the Mac mini M3.
Apple
Apple probably won’t change the port configuration on the Mac mini M3.
Apple
Apple
New Mac mini: design
- Probably no changes to the compact body despite rumors to the contrary from a few years ago.
Mac mini M3/M4 rumors focus on the M3 chip and lack information on the design. Apple will keep the external design of 7.75 x 7.75 x 1.41 inches (19.7 x 19.7 x 3.6 centimeters). Due to the new 3nm M3, Apple may change the layout of the internal components, but users won’t have to worry about it.