Apple Likely Planning to Skip M3 Mac Mini for M4 Refresh in Late 2024

Sunday April 21, 2024 5:16 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple is likely to skip an M3 version of the Mac mini in favor of a bigger update with M4 chips toward the end of the year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

M4 Mac Mini Feature
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that he does not expect Apple to refresh the ‌Mac mini‌ with M3 chips. Apple last updated the ‌Mac mini‌ with the M2 and ‌M2‌ Pro chips in January 2023. Other new features included two extra Thunderbolt 4 ports and an HDMI 2.1 port for ‌M2‌ Pro configurations, Wi-Fi 6E support with a compatible router, and Bluetooth 5.3.

Gurman previously said that Apple is planning to release new ‌Mac mini‌ models with M4 and M4 Pro chips "between the end of 2024 and early 2025." Now, he has clarified that with new Mac minis arriving as soon as the end of the year, there is not sufficient "room for M3 models to come out before then, so it's probably safe to say that those Mac desktops will skip the M3 generation."

Such a move would not be unprecedented since the iMac skipped the ‌M2‌ chip entirely, holding off until a bigger performance bump with the M3 chip late last year. With the M4 chip series, the ‌Mac mini‌ should get a significant CPU performance improvement compared to the existing models with the ‌M2‌ series. The M4 chips are also rumored to have a faster Neural Engine for artificial intelligence tasks.

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Tags: Bloomberg, M4 Macs, Mark Gurman

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Top Rated Comments

cicalinarrot

33 months ago

Fine. 16GB RAM minimum, please.

Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Thakk

33 months ago

I hope it has a higher limit for RAM. 16 GB is just not enough anymore,

I'm typing on an M2 Pro Mac Mini with 32GB of memory.

Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Carrotstick

33 months ago

The mini needs 64GB RAM.

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

CausticSoda

33 months ago

I see no issue with skipping chips in some models like this and the MBA. For the average user, like me, the difference between Mx and Mx+1 is insignificant. As for the RAM, I see it differently... RAM is so absurdly cheap these days that you would hope even the most devoted fan boys can by now see that the 8 GB base model is all about making people pay more than the base price that is advertised or making it more likely they have to ditch their computer in the future earlier than they might have done, had it had 16 GB. I wonder what "Mother Earth" thinks of this screamingly obvious ploy? Now cue all the people who don't get the point and say 8 GB is fine for the average user (which, today, is true)...

Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

HobeSoundDarryl

33 months ago

If we "think different," there's probably another choice than only increasing the price at the price Apple charges for that upgrade now. For example, what if Apple just ate the probably $8-$15 added cost to make 16GB base and spun it as "we heard you" value add in the rollout pitch? How well would that go over with pretty much EVERYONE? Then this entire whine goes away (this is called spending a little money to grow customer goodwill). Perhaps overall Apple margin slides from north of 47% to perhaps 46.X% if they can't find $8-$15 per unit somewhere else... but traditional Apple margin was already relatively sky high back when the target was 38%-40%. And there's plenty of marketing punch in 'leading' the industry to 16GB base.

Apple's cost is not $200... not even close. That's just the price they demand from buyers. To get a sense of Apple's approx. cost, shop 16GB RAM on Amazon and then estimate some profit to Amazon and some profit to the manufacturer to shave off of retail pricing... AND consider this is quantity ONE unit pricing instead of buying in Apple volume. I'll save anyone interested the trouble (and this is not even the cheapest option)...

Since a few people seem confused about the idea here, I am NOT suggesting slotted RAM... but that Apple RAM doesn't have to be priced at $200 vs. what RAM costs from RAM-makers at substantially below $200. The point is that 16GB of RAM can cost consumers considerably LESS THAN $50. It does not need to be $200 for 8 more GBs of it in the upgrade.