There was no Mac Mini in 2021, but that may be about to change.
The latest Mac mini was introduced two years ago. Apple’s entry-level desktop needs a boost now that the Mac Studio is available.
The reported Apple M2 processor might be used in a future Mac mini to expand upon the existing Mac mini’s Apple M1 chip. However, a new design is also being considered for the small PC to give it a fresh appearance. The Mac mini could alternatively use an M1 Pro or M1 Max processor, but a more efficient M2 seems to be the best option.
Regardless, the speculated Mac mini 2022 will be covered in the following paragraphs.
Reports of the Mac mini’s 2022 release date are circulating.
So far, all signs point to a new Mac mini debuting this year. Apple Peek Performance in March was supposed to be the big reveal, but the Mac mini was nowhere to be seen. At least we got the Mac Studio.
What’s next? As of now, the only thing we know for sure about the next new Mac mini is that it will be available in the second half of this year. From this allegation, our first guess is that WWDC 2022 or at some time in autumn product announcements are the most probable launch windows.
According to LeaksApplePro, the Mac mini will be unveiled with the MacBook Air at WWDC. On June 6, Apple’s annual developer conference begins with a keynote address. It’s likely that the Mac mini will make a debut during that keynote.
As a result, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that the upcoming updated Mac mini won’t really be released until 2023. Obviously, we’re crossing our fingers that he’s misreading this.
Rumors about Mac Mini prices in 2022
Even if there will be no new Mac mini in 2021, the Mac mini 2022 is a serious possibility, particularly with the announcement of new CPUs and their capabilities. Apple’s current pricing approach for the Mac mini allows us to make an informed bet as to how much the company’s next smallest desktop computer will cost.
When the first Mac mini was released in 2005, it cost $499, while the newest edition, the 2020 model with the M1 processor, cost $699 when it was released in 2018. That’s now down to $649, which suggests that Apple is seeking to sell inventory in anticipation of a new product release.
Because we expect any new Mac mini to be an incremental advance over the existing model, with beefier internals and a redesigned look, we expect it to be priced the same as the outgoing model: $699. Apple is taking a big risk by raising the entry-level model’s price past $700, but we won’t know for sure until we see what the Mac Mini 2022 has to offer in terms of features.
A Pro or a Max model is now a viable possibility thanks to the addition of two processors. There are two models of the M1 Pro: one with 32GB of RAM, and the other with 64GB of RAM. A limited group of media producers who prefer the Mac mini’s compact size over the MacBook Pro laptop or the Mac Pro desktop might be provided with these more powerful combinations at a substantially higher price point.
Apple’s rumoured Mac Mini 2022 design and specifications.
Whatever we know about the next Mac mini’s internal components suggests a redesigned chassis with more ports and an M1 Pro, M1 Max, or M2 processor.
Using the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in the latest MacBook Pro laptops has already impressed us. The M2 processor is a follow-up to the M1 and is expected to debut in the MacBook Air 2022, focusing on efficiency rather than sheer performance.
We’ll get both M1 Pro and M2 chip Mac minis this year, according to Mark Gurman. Because it’s using an older chipset, he thinks the M1 Pro version will be released first, but the M2 version and other Macs using the same new silicon will follow shortly afterwards.
This has been significantly tainted by a recent rumour. According to the article, Apple no longer supports the Mac mini M1 Pro and M1 Max due to the existence of the Mac Studio. In place of the M2 and M2 Pro chips, we’ll see a redesigned Mini. Insider sources dispute on which chips we’ll be able to choose from, but we should still be able to select a variety.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros (J414 and J416 respectively) are expected to use M2 processors, as did last year’s comparable M1 silicon, while an M2 Pro-powered Mac mini (J474) is currently being tested.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is testing a new Mac mini with the M1 Pro and M1 Max CPUs. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this, but it was commonly considered that the Mac Studio could have rendered these models obsolete – however the firmware of the Studio Display seems to reference current models, so possibly not.
The most solid speculations about the upcoming Mac mini’s appearance came from well-known leaker Jon Prosser, who said in May that it will be smaller and include more ports. According to him, the new 24-inch iMac 2021 will come with the same magnetic charging connection as the new Thunderbolt 3 connectors, two USB-A ports, Ethernet, and HDMI ports.
That’s all well and good, but there’s no assurance that any of it will really happen. As a matter of fact, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, the new Mac mini will not get a design makeover when it is released.
The future of the Mac Mini
A new Mac mini is expected to be released in 2022; the only uncertainties are when, what’s inside and how it’s going to appear. Some serious issues, to be sure.
In any case, we’re looking forwards to seeing what Apple has in store for the next major release of its tiniest computer.