Apple is working on a redesigned version of the Mac Mini, the company’s most affordable computer, according to a report. The upcoming Mac Mini model could be launched in the coming months as the company’s smallest version of the device, resembling another compact device from the iPhone maker. It is said to be powered by Apple’s M4 and M4 Pro chipsets — the former made its debut on the iPad Pro (2024) that was unveiled by the company in May.
A Bloomberg report citing people aware of the company’s plans states that Apple will launch the next generation Mac Mini model later this year with a new design, while retaining the same aluminium body. While the current Mac Mini (2023) model (Review) resembles the one launched in November 2020, the new model — codenamed J773 —will be nearly as small as the Apple TV set-top box (STB), according to the report.
While the overall size of Apple’s next Mac Mini model could get smaller, it is expected to be taller than the existing device, Bloomberg reports. The Mac Mini (2023) is 35mm tall, while the Apple TV 4K is slightly shorter at 31mm. Meanwhile, the Mac Studio (2023) is 95mm tall.
The upcoming Mac Mini model is also expected to run on an M4 chipset, while the company will reportedly offer a more powerful variant of its computer that is equipped with an M4 Pro chip. The chipset was introduced for the first time on the 2024 iPad Pro model that is also the company’s first tablet to be equipped with a two-stack ‘Tandem OLED’ screen.
Connectivity options on the Mac Mini (2024) are said to include “at least three USB ports” along with an HDMI port and a power port. There’s currently no word on whether the computer will feature an Ethernet port like the current model, which is equipped with two Thunderbolt 4 ports (M2 model) and four Thunderbolt 4 ports (M2 Pro variant). The 2023 model also features two USB Type-A ports, along with HDMI, Ethernet, and a 3.5mm audio port.
There’s no word on how much the M4-powered Mac Mini could cost — the current generation Mac Mini is priced at Rs. 59,999 for the base configuration with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of built-in storage. In any case, we can expect to hear more about the Mac Mini (2024) in the coming months.