The next Mac mini: Apple’s smallest desktop to get the M1 Pro and Max treatment
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When the Mac mini launched in 2005 as the first BYODKM Mac (bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse), it had the potential to be one of the most popular Macs ever made. Nearly two decades later, it hasn’t really lived up to its hype, as specs, prices, and performance never quite reached the heights we expected. But rumors have been swirling that Apple is preparing a refresh to the high-end Mac mini that could blow our minds and finally deliver the tiny Mac of our dreams.
2022 Mac mini: The latest rumors
January 23, 2022: Leaker dylandkt tweeted that a Mac mini with an M1 Pro and M1 Max will be released this spring.
December 6, 2021: Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reports that Apple will launch two Mac mini models in 2022: a high-end one with an M1 Pro processor and an M2 refresh of the lower-end M1 machine.
October 4, 2021: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the new Mac mini will arrive “at some point” after the launch of the new MacBook Pro.
2022 Mac mini: Design
The Mac mini has had a similar square design ever since it burst onto the scene, and that isn’t likely to change this year. However, it has gotten thinner. When it launched with a CD drive, it was two inches high, and now it’s just 1.4 inches (without an optical drive). According to reports, it could get even thinner. Jon Prosser claims that the next Mac mini will shrink even further, which could put it at less than an inch tall, based on renders.
The Mac mini will reportedly have four Thunderbolt ports.
The body could be getting a change too. While the Mac mini has had its aluminum chassis since 2010, Apple is reportedly considering a “plexiglass” top, according to Prosser. That could mean Apple will bring a little pizzazz to the Mac mini, which is limited to silver and space gray. Finally, the circular rubber pad on the bottom will reportedly be replaced with two horizontal strips as we see on the underside of the 24-inch iMac stand.
In August, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that the Mac mini will have “an updated design and more ports than the current model.”
2022 Mac mini: Apple silicon
The Mac mini was among the first Macs to get the M1 processor, so it makes sense that the next model would be the first to get the follow-up. Gurman reports that the low-end Mac mini will be getting the M2 chip once it arrives, while the higher-end model chip will get the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that are in the new MacBook Pros. Dylandkt tweeted that Apple will release M1 Pro and M1 Max Mac minis this spring. The numbering is confusing, but the M1 Pro will still be significantly faster than the M2.
Specifically, the M2 CPU will likely feature the same eight cores as the M1, evenly split between performance and efficiency, with an 8-core GPU. The M1 Pro’s CPU features eight or 10 cores with six or eight high-performance cores, as well as a 14-, 16-, 24-, or 32-core GPU.
The M1 Mac mini is fast, but the next model could be way faster.
Roman Loyola/IDG
2022 Mac mini: RAM and specs
The M1 in the Mac mini has just two RAM configurations—8GB and 16GB—while the Intel version maxes out at 64GB. The M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro machines, on the other hand, start at 16GB and top out at 64GB of memory. That’s likely the same memory options we’ll see in the 2022 Mac mini models.
Storage is likely to start at 256GB for the M2 models and 512GB on the M1 Pro model, with both topping out at 2TB. As far as ports, the new Mac mini could get two additional Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports for a total of four, along with the other ports on the current model: two USB-A ports, ethernet, and HDMI. However, Prosser says the new mini likely won’t bring back the SDXC card slot that appeared on the MacBook Pro.
2022 Mac mini: Price and release
Apple actually lowered the price of the M1 Mac mini from $799 to $699, so it’s possible that the higher-end Mac mini gets a price cut too. Apple currently sells it for $1,099, so it could drop to $999. However, the 16-inch MacBook Pro increased in price versus its Intel predecessor. ($2,499 vs $2,399).
We originally expected the new Mac mini to arrive in the fall alongside the new MacBook Pro, but clearly, that didn’t happen. The next likely release would be in the spring, around the time when Apple launched the 24-inch iMac. Dylandkt tweeted that the pro-level Mac mini could be released at an Apple event in the spring.
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He’s still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.
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