The Cupertino-based company is seeking to update all Macs using M4 chips, while the Mac mini might receive a refresh by the end of 2024.
- The Mac mini will be refreshed alongside the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models in late 2024.
- Apple wants to put their new M4 chip in all future Macs.
- They might also update the Mac mini computer by the end of this year in 2024.
- It seems Apple is skipping the M3 chip and focusing on its custom-designed processors like the M4. These processors are found in the chips they put in their Macs (like little computers on a single chip).
This guide highlights everything that we know about the Mac mini refresh so far.
M4 Chip
Apple will skip the M3 line for the Mac mini and go directly from M2 to M4 by introducing Apple’s M4 and M4 Pro chips on the Mac mini. The M4 chip was unveiled by Apple in the iPad Pro. It uses the same second-generation 3nm technology as the chip. The M4 chip has up to 4x faster rendering speeds compared to the M2 while offering 50% more CPU processing power.
“The M4 chip comes with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. A version of M4, which comes with a 9-core CPU, is less likely to be used in the Mac mini by Apple; instead, it will be saved for iPad Pro and future MacBook Air.”
In addition, the GPU has hardware accelerated ray tracing, which is not available with the M2 and the 16-core Neural Engine is more advanced than it. Apple, refers to the M4 chip’s Neural Engine as an “absolute powerhouse for AI.” No details have been released about the M4 Pro yet because it is not supposed to be released before the end of this year.
Design
Apple hasn’t changed the Mac mini design in many years, and there are no rumors of any design update for 2024. When it was refreshed in 2023, Apple made a Mac mini that is slightly thicker and lighter but likely uses the same design as the 2024 model.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in January that the “next new Mac mini” will have the same “form factor design.” Back in 2021, there were rumors that Apple was working on a Mac mini with a plexiglass top and other design changes, but that device never materialized.
Apple’s Mac mini is a tiny, very convenient desktop machine, weighing only 7.75 inches square and 1.41 inches deep, and meant to be connected to a standalone display, keyboard, and mouse which are not included as this is a barebones machine without an operating system installed on it.