Mark Gurman’s newest Energy On e-newsletter for Bloomberg compiles the newest rumors and leaks as common however usually accommodates an fascinating new wrinkle or two. The difficulty printed yesterday isn’t any exception, revealing that Apple has added yet one more Mac with an M3 chip to its testing suite: a Mac mini.
Based on Gurman’s sources, the Mac in query options eight CPU cores (4 effectivity and 4 efficiency cores), 10 GPU cores, and 24GB of reminiscence. Gurman believes this to be a Mac mini. The M2 Mac mini was launched in January, so a brand new mannequin this yr can be the quickest refresh for an Apple silicon Mac.
One other fascinating however unsurprising observe: it’s operating macOS Sonoma 14.1, the primary “level replace” for the as-yet-unreleased working system. It’s possible that macOS Sonoma model 14 will launch in September or early October, with 14.1 coming in October or November together with new M3 Macs for which it allows help.
This check unit matches the configuration of a maxed-out M2: 8 CPU cores (4 efficiency / 4 effectivity), 10 GPU cores, and 24 GB of RAM.
Together with this new system, Gurman now has info confirming 5 Macs in testing with the bottom M3: 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Professional, iMac, and now the Mac mini. As well as, he believes there are two MacBook Execs being examined: a 14-inch mannequin with an M3 Professional and a 16-inch mannequin with M3 Max.
It’s unknown whether or not the M3 can be a 3nm chip or nonetheless a 5nm chip just like the M2. It’s believed to be a 3nm chip, however the 3nm course of remains to be new and your complete provide could also be wanted for the iPhone 15 Professional’s A17 chip. A new report from The Info particulars how Apple’s particular take care of TSMC has the corporate solely paying for working chips from the brand new course of, inflicting TSMC to soak up the price of failed chips.
It’s an uncommon association—most firms purchase total silicon wafers and hope to get as many working chips as potential from them. Nonetheless, with out realizing what Apple pays for the chips or for the privilege of taking all of TSMC’s preliminary 3nm manufacturing, it’s educational and doesn’t essentially influence prospects or costs.