This is also the first major design change for the Mac Mini desktop computer since the era of Steve Jobs. Its appearance will be reduced to the size of an Apple TV set-top box, and developers have called it the "iPad Pro in a small box." Apple plans to replace all Mac computers with M4 chips by next year, and the introduction of AI functionality is a major selling point, hoping to revive sales.
On Thursday, August 8th, according to Mark Gurman, a well-known technology journalist for a financial media outlet, citing insiders, the Mac Mini consumer desktop computer will undergo a complete redesign, not only equipped with the latest self-developed M4 and M4 Pro chips when it is released this fall, but will also become the smallest computer in Apple's history. $Apple (AAPL.US)$
This will also be the first major design change for the Mac Mini desktop computer since the era of Steve Jobs in 2010. The device is said to be much smaller in appearance than the previous generation of products, closer in size to the Apple TV set-top box, and has been referred to as an "iPad Pro essentially fitted into a small box" by the developers involved in its creation. The current design has been in existence for at least fifteen years.
Some analysts suggest that the new Mac Mini will not only be the smallest Mac computer, but also the smallest desktop computer in the world, representing the most portable desktop computer equipment as well.
It is reported that the latest version of the Mac Mini under testing at Apple will be equipped with at least three USB-C ports on the back of the machine, as well as a power cable interface and an HDMI port for connecting to a TV and display screen, with an aluminum casing. The new Mac Mini model, which will be equipped with M4 and M4 Pro self-developed chips that have not yet been released, is internally referred to as "J773".
Prior to this, market rumors had suggested that the new Mac Mini would feature a short and stout all-aluminum design and that the power supply would be moved outside the device, which would enable the use of the power plug of the iMac all-in-one computer.
MacRumors, a website that tracks Apple news and product information, has expressed certainty about the possibility of a more compact appearance for the Mac Mini. On the one hand, Mac computers equipped with Apple's self-developed chips do not have expandable RAM or storage space, so they do not require a larger size. At the same time, the Intel chips that were previously used in Mac Mini were prone to overheating, requiring Mac Mini to be designed with sufficient heat dissipation space. Since the Mac Mini was first switched to Apple's self-developed chips in 2020, there has been no need for such heat dissipation requirements in terms of size.
As one of the four product models of Apple desktop computers, the Mac Mini is a consumer-level alternative to the iMac all-in-one machine, inferior in performance to the high-end Mac Studio and professional-level Mac Pro. In November 2020, the fifth-generation Mac Mini became the first Mac desktop model to be equipped with Apple's self-developed chip M1. In January 2023, Apple put the next generation of Mac Mini based on M2 and M2 Pro on the official website without holding a press conference.
Since then, both the Mac Mini and Mac Studio desktop computers have not been upgraded to the M3 chip, but have always used the M2 chip. In addition, the MacBook Air lightweight notebook product line launched in March this year with the latest version of the M3 chip.
According to reports, Apple plans to upgrade all its Mac computer models to the latest M4 chips, and in addition to the M4 Mac Mini to be released this fall, it will also release an iMac desktop computer and a MacBook Pro high-end notebook product line equipped with the M4 chip. It plans to release the MacBook Air notebook computer equipped with the M4 chip in the spring of next year, and the M4 Mac Studio and Mac Pro desktop computers in the middle of next year.
Some analysts say that upgrading the entire Mac computer product line to the M4 chip, which supports AI processing capabilities, marks the latest milestone in Apple's development because it is the first time in the company's history that the same generation of chips is used in all Mac models. Earlier this year, Apple released its first product with the M4 chip, the iPad Pro, which provides strong support for the latest AI features to be launched this fall.
Currently, market rumors suggest that Apple suppliers will begin shipping Mac Mini equipped with the M4 chip in August, and may launch it together with the new iPhone in September. The Mac Mini equipped with the M4 Pro higher-end chip may not be launched until October this year. The current starting price of the Mac Mini is $599, and although the production costs of the latest model may be lower, it is unknown whether Apple will lower the official price.
It has been pointed out that Apple held a rare new product launch event in October last year, ahead of Halloween, to launch the MacBook Pro high-end notebook and iMac desktop all-in-one computer equipped with the M3 chip. It would not be surprising to hold another press conference this October.
The market expectations are that Apple will promote the M4 chip released in May this year as the company's strongest neural engine to date, providing the necessary processing power for all-new AI features, in the hope of boosting the market demand for Mac computers, which has slowed down since the onset of the late stage of the pandemic. In the latest earnings report, Mac sales increased by 2.5% year-on-year to about $7 billion.
After the announcement of the Mac Mini, Apple's stock price rose 1.66% on Thursday, having risen for two consecutive days, recovering nearly half of the decline since last Friday.
Editor/Somer