Rumors have been circulating online that Apple may be testing out an M3 Mac Mini. The speculated new device is said to be an example of Apple’s M-series ARM-based Macs and could be released as soon as this year.
The rumour first surfaced in a tweet by longtime Apple stable leaker @L0vetodream, who wrote, “M3 cpu Mac mini coming.” This tweet was followed up by more tweets with images of what is believed to be a prototype Mac Mini running the M3 CPU inside.
The M-series ARM-based Silicon chips are currently used in Apple’s latest iPad Pro and MacBook Air devices. The use of the M-series chip shows Apple’s commitment to building more powerful Mac devices with improved performance, batteries life, and graphics capability.
The speculation surrounding the new Mac Mini is that the CPU will be the M3 from the A12Z Bionic. This would make the new Mac Mini an entry to mid-level consumer device, similar to the MacBook Air. There is also the possibility that Apple could take a page from their iPad strategy and offer different versions of the Mac Mini with various amounts of RAM and storage.
If the rumors are true, the new Mac Mini will be the first Mac device to feature an M3 chip and will likely be released later this year likely alongside other new Macs with the new M-series Chips.
While Apple has yet to confirm the existence of the new Mac Mini with an M3 chip, the speculation and rumors certainly make the notion more plausible. It is likely that the release of the new device, if it happens, will be accompanied by an announcement from Apple. It will be interesting to see how the Mac Mini performs compared to the current Intel-based variants.