Apple May Be Testing an M3 Mac Mini, Based on Developer Logs

Apple may be actively testing an M3 version of the Mac mini, based on specifications found in third-party developer logs and reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

mac mini purple
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said Apple is testing a Mac under model identifier "Mac 15,12" that includes eight CPU cores (consisting of four efficiency cores and four performance cores), 10 graphics processor cores, and 24GB of RAM.

The machine is said to be running macOS Sonoma 14.1, the first point update of Apple's forthcoming operating system, and given the similar specifications to the base M2 Mac mini (bar the existing model's 8GB RAM as standard), Gurman believes it represents a next-generation Mac mini.

In his latest newsletter, Gurman repeated that he expects the first M3-powered Macs to debut as early as October. However, based on previous reporting, he does not expect the Mac mini to be one of the first models with the M3 chip. They are likely to be the 13-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook Air, and 24-inch iMac.

Gurman last month said that he did not expect a new Mac mini to emerge until late 2024 at the earliest. If the developer logs do indicate Apple is testing an M3 Mac mini, that could mean we could see it sooner than previously expected. That said, the latest Mac mini models are less than a year old, having been introduced in January 2023.

The ‌M3‌ chip is widely expected to be fabricated using TSMC's 3nm process for significant performance and power efficiency improvements compared to the 5nm-based ‌M2‌ chip in existing devices.

Related Roundup: Mac mini
Buyer's Guide: Mac Mini (Neutral)
Related Forum: Mac mini

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

reverie Avatar
25 months ago
Just because this self-marketing genius needs to fill his regular newsletter doesn’t mean that there is a story worth reporting for MacRumors? “An M3 Mac Mini will at some point exist.” What’s the news value in that?
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ScottishDuck Avatar
25 months ago
Rumour has it there will be an M4 after the M3
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cromulent Avatar
25 months ago
People come to a rumour site and complain when the rumour site posts rumours.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wokis Avatar
25 months ago

The specs, for instance.
Here's the scoop on the specs!


* M3
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pacmania1982 Avatar
25 months ago
Please don't take this the wrong way - but colour me NOT surprised... I'd be more surprised if Apple weren't testing their M3 CPUs in products at this point.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
25 months ago

Just because this self-marketing genius needs to fill his regular newsletter doesn’t mean that there is a story worth reporting for MacRumors? “An M3 Mac Mini will at some point exist.” What’s the news value in that?
Do you know what site you are on? I highlighted it again in bold just in case ;)

Also, the annual media "summer slump" is still on going
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)