Apple's M3 chip reportedly being tested in a Mac mini

Apple is testing yet another Mac with an M3 chip, rumors allege, with the standard edition of the processor surfacing in what is guessed to be a future Mac mini update.

Apple is in the midst of the M2 generation, and has launched all four tiers of the chip. With a shift to the M3 generation anticipated for the fall, Apple is busy testing its upcoming product changes that use the next chip generation.

According to Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg on Sunday, Apple has apparently been seen testing out the base model of M3 chip.

Gurman writes that the chip is the same configuration as its M2 counterpart, consisting of four efficiency cores and four performance cores for the CPU as well as a ten-core GPU. The version caught being tested also apparently offers configurations of up to 24 gigabytes of memory.

It is reckoned that the specifications of the chip, and the timing, could be held inside a next-generation Mac mini. Gurman previously wrote on July 23 that an M3-equipped Mac mini and updated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models probably won't ship in the fall, and that a 2024 launch was more plausible.

While the M3 will be fairly similar in configuration to the M2, the M3 Pro will apparently outpace its predecessor by having a 12-core CPU and 18 graphics cores. A high-end M3 Max is estimated to offer a 14-core CPU and over 40 graphics cores.

Aside from the Mac mini, Gurman believes that Apple's testing includes an M3 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Air, M3 iMac, and M3 Pro and M3 Max 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.

14 Comments

inexco 11 comments · 12 Years

About 1 year ago

I am ready for the M3. Waiting to replace my Last Generation Intel Chip iMac.
Going back to the Mac Mini my favorite Mac and the even Bigger Screens...

I admit that I am desktop stuck. Carry the iPad Pro when not at desk.

9secondkox2 3120 comments · 8 Years

About 1 year ago

My Intel 2016 MacBook Pro 15” just died… well, the screen did. Because I spilled coffee in it the first week of ownership and the screen got progressively worse since. Poor thing. I’d abused it with heavy lifting every day of its life snd it served me well. Love that laptop. Touch Bar and all. The screen replacement cost at this point is too much to justify when it can go toward a new Mac that isn’t obsolete.

I tried a base m1 iMac to tide me over, but it really wasnt up to the task with the creative suite work I do. Ran out of application memory constantly and beachballed too many times for me.

So I borrow a work machine and wait for the M3 generation. My personal iMac 5k now donated and in the hands of some junior designers who really needed it and they’re ecstatic since it’s the first computer they’ve used with actual horsepower - plus it looks amazing. But that leaves me out of a personal machine.

Yet after dealing with base m1, I know even the m3 base won’t suit me. So I’ll be enduring the long wait for the m3 max MacBook Pro - or, God willing, the next big iMac. M1 Max Mac Studio is pretty great. But it’s not the same when it’s not yours. And it really doesn’t fill the spot my iMac did.

Waiting…

chasm 3589 comments · 10 Years

About 1 year ago

9secondkox2 said:

My Intel 2016 MacBook Pro 15” just died… well, the screen did. Because I spilled coffee in it the first week of ownership and the screen got progressively worse since. Poor thing. I’d abused it with heavy lifting every day of its life snd it served me well. Love that laptop. Touch Bar and all. The screen replacement cost at this point is too much to justify when it can go toward a new Mac that isn’t obsolete.
I tried a base m1 iMac to tide me over, but it really wasnt up to the task with the creative suite work I do. Ran out of application memory constantly and beachballed too many times for me.

Yet after dealing with base m1, I know even the m3 base won’t suit me. So I’ll be enduring the long wait for the m3 max MacBook Pro - or, God willing, the next big iMac. M1 Max Mac Studio is pretty great. But it’s not the same when it’s not yours. And it really doesn’t fill the spot my iMac did.

Waiting…

2016-2023 — Seven years is a VERY good run for a pro-level machine, particularly one that had coffee spilled in it!

Yeah, at this point I think it is obvious that the non-Pro or non-Max Mx chips aren’t designed for the demands of Adobe apps, which are memory pigs and always have been since they went cross-platform. That’s about the only way I can think of to beachball an Mx Mac.

If the rumour mill is correct, you may get your wish for an updated iMac, but I expect it will be the same size and design as it is now, and won’t offer the Pro or Max variations (maybe when they come out with one with a much bigger screen, though). We can all hope for an iMac Pro return …

At least you don’t have to wait too many more weeks to find out what your options are! Looks like we’ll know on September 12th or 13th.

charlesn 1151 comments · 11 Years

About 1 year ago

chasm said:

9secondkox2 said:

My Intel 2016 MacBook Pro 15” just died… well, the screen did. Because I spilled coffee in it the first week of ownership and the screen got progressively worse since. Poor thing. I’d abused it with heavy lifting every day of its life snd it served me well. Love that laptop. Touch Bar and all. The screen replacement cost at this point is too much to justify when it can go toward a new Mac that isn’t obsolete.
I tried a base m1 iMac to tide me over, but it really wasnt up to the task with the creative suite work I do. Ran out of application memory constantly and beachballed too many times for me.

Yet after dealing with base m1, I know even the m3 base won’t suit me. So I’ll be enduring the long wait for the m3 max MacBook Pro - or, God willing, the next big iMac. M1 Max Mac Studio is pretty great. But it’s not the same when it’s not yours. And it really doesn’t fill the spot my iMac did.

Waiting…

2016-2023 — Seven years is a VERY good run for a pro-level machine, particularly one that had coffee spilled in it!
Yeah, at this point I think it is obvious that the non-Pro or non-Max Mx chips aren’t designed for the demands of Adobe apps, which are memory pigs and always have been since they went cross-platform. That’s about the only way I can think of to beachball an Mx Mac.

If the rumour mill is correct, you may get your wish for an updated iMac, but I expect it will be the same size and design as it is now, and won’t offer the Pro or Max variations (maybe when they come out with one with a much bigger screen, though). We can all hope for an iMac Pro return …

At least you don’t have to wait too many more weeks to find out what your options are! Looks like we’ll know on September 12th or 13th.

There's a big difference between "not designed for the demands of Adobe apps" and "not designed for the demands of professionals who work with Adobe apps," which would seem to describe 9secondkox2. If you're not earning your living with Adobe Creative Suite, there's no issue running it on a base M1 machine, although an upgrade of memory from 8GB would be recommended. For pros it's a different story--time is money, and the time they'll save with faster proccessors and more memory will easily pay for those upgrade costs.

It's interesting how even though the base M1 machines could outpace Intel pro machines in many areas, the online tech echosphere still discusses them as if they were the underpowered base machines of old, suitable only for grandma sending emails and posting to Facebook.

gadgetcanadav2 690 comments · 11 Years

About 1 year ago

Top spec 16” M3 Max MBP with 64GB memory and 8TB of storage next spring for me to replace my 2019 Intel MBP which I regret not speccing higher. I’ll keep it for windows boot camp though. Hopefully the M3 Max should last quite awhile.