Just as you least expected, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reported that the Mac mini could get updated in the “coming days,” likely ahead of Apple’s annual fall event, which is likely to take place on Wednesday, September 9. We’ll know the official date once Apple sends out its invites later this week.
Anyway, as Gurman claims that the updated Mac mini will likely be the last product unveiled before John Ternus steps in as Apple’s CEO, then it would have to be announced by the end of this month. It’s been quite occasional for Apple announced new Macs at this time of year, but it wouldn’t be the first time. For example, Apple unveiled the redesigned iMac with aluminum and glass in August of 2007.
The Mac mini last saw an update back in October 2024 when it received the M4 chip, so it’s been almost two years. Gurman states that Apple has tested prototypes of the Mac mini with both the M5 and M6 chips. Although he has no word on which chip the new Mac mini will use, I would expect that the machine will get updated with the M5 chip instead, as the M6 chip would probably not be ready by now. This would allow Apple to save the M6 for the 14-inch base MacBook Pro and the iMac later this fall.
Currently, the Mac mini has been highly popular for AI workloads, and consequently, it’s been seeing severe shipping delays due to the excessive demand. Even Apple briefly stopped offering the base 256GB storage configuration of the M4 model, but Apple brought it back after Apple raised prices across many of its products, including Macs and iPads.
Now, Apple has just opened its Houston Advanced Manufacturing Center, where the company plans to assemble the Mac mini (in the United States!) this year, so the future remains optimistic for the Mac mini.
