Yesterday, we reported that Apple is planning to update several Macs with the M4 series of chips, and while this next update will mainly focus on performance improvements related to AI, one interesting tidbit was that there would be “at least one Mac model that would get more dramatic changes,” according to Bloomberg. Now, that same source came out with another report for today that Apple is developing a Mac mini with an all-new design that will be “far smaller than its predecessor.”
The Mac mini was originally introduced by Steve Jobs in January 2005 at MacWorld San Francisco, and it initially came with the PowerPC G4 processor. The original design features aluminum along the sides with a white polycarbonate (plastic) face on top. The first redesign for the Mac mini occurred when Apple updated that computer via its press release in June 2010, and the design has remained the same since then. The design we all know today features a beautiful, silver aluminum unibody enclosure. (The 2018 Mac mini models briefly switched to the Space Gray finish before Apple reverted to Silver for Apple Silicon-based models.)
So what other details can we expect for the next Mac mini besides the dramatic redesign? According to Bloomberg, Apple is developing at least two models with “at least three USB-C ports on the back” alongside the AC cord and an HDMI port. Since the current Mac mini is available in both M2 and M2 Pro configurations, we can expect the same configurations for the next Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro, which the latter being configurable with more unified memory and CPU/GPU cores.
Here’s how Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman describes the redesign Mac mini:
“People involved in the development of the new Mac mini say it’s essentially an iPad Pro in a small box ”” an approach that takes advantage of the lower power requirements of the company’s in-house silicon. The current Mac mini starts at $599, and while the new model may be cheaper to make, it’s unclear if the company will pass along any savings to the consumer.”
The source also says that the redesigned Mac mini will be smaller in footprint, yet slightly taller to possibly accommodate for components such as an active-cooling fan. By comparison, the current Mac mini is 7.75 inches square and 1.41 inches tall, and the current Apple TV is 3.66 inches square and 1.2 inches tall.Â
With the innovations in performance and energy efficiency that Apple Silicon brings, Apple is able to introduce all-new designs for several Mac models, especially the thinner MacBook Airs and iMacs. Ever since the introduction of Macs with Apple Silicon, I’ve always imagined the possibility of an even smaller Mac mini, or something called a “Mac nano.” We’ve had the Apple TV that takes up significantly less space, yet Apple is able to put all of that performance of Apple Silicon in such a smaller footprint. Three years ago, we even had previous reports of a possible redesign of the Mac mini with a plexiglass top; however, that design never came to fruition. So it seems that a Mac mini’s long-awaited redesign is finally starting to become a reality as Apple has always been all on miniaturization.
We’ve seen that when Apple went from the Power Mac G4 Tower to the G4 Cube and more recently from the Mac Pro to the Mac Studio. Since Apple is expected to update the Mac mini before the Studio and Pro, it’s still likely that we’ll see another fall event for Apple to announce the upcoming Macs, and the mini will surely be the star of the show. Plus, the upcoming Mac mini will surely be every Mac user’s dream of owning a very tiny desktop computer and will compete very well against other mini PC form factors such as the Intel Nuc.
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