Key Takeaways
- Apple plans to use the M4 chip to make the Mac mini even smaller, bringing it closer to the Apple TV.
- The new Mac mini’s compact size may impact your port options.
- The update to the M4 chip in iMacs and MacBook Pros will ensure that the devices are future-proofed for upcoming AI features.
The Mac mini is small, but Apple plans to make it even smaller with its recently released M4 chip. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the M4 Mac mini, which the company plans to release later this year, could be the smallest computer the company has ever sold thanks to its new compact design.
Efficiency and power are the name of the game for Apple’s M-series chips, and over the past few years they’ve enabled a variety of sleek, fanless redesigns of the company’s popular products. The iMac essentially became a giant iPad on a stand with the introduction of the M1, the MacBook Air stayed roughly the same size but got more powerful with the M2, and more recently, the new OLED display and M4 made the 13-inch iPad Pro the thinnest device Apple has ever sold. Now it’s the Mac mini’s turn.
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According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to update several Macs with the new M4 chip later this year, including the iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. These updates will likely also involve the introduction of more powerful versions of the M4 chip, likely the M4 Pro or M4 Max, but Apple may save that for the new Mac Pro. The spec upgrades are nice and should help future-proof these new Macs for the Apple Intelligence features that Apple wants to roll out over the next few years, but when it comes to the Mac mini, the company isn’t stopping there.
Not only will the new Mac mini continue to be Apple’s cheapest Mac, it will also reportedly be the company’s smallest Mac. The desktop is “much smaller than its predecessor, closer to the size of an Apple TV set-top box,” Bloomberg writes. While the current Mac mini is slim and designed to be stacked in a server rack if needed, this new Mac mini appears to sacrifice some of that slimness for a more compact aluminum body overall. That means it might not fit on or under a shelf or monitor stand like the current M2 Mac mini, but it should be easier to toss in a backpack and carry around.
If you’re not looking for a laptop, the Mac mini is the easiest way into Apple’s ecosystem. It’s for PC switchers who already have their own monitor, keyboard and mouse, for those who want to create their own media server, and for anyone who needs a second computer.
According to Bloomberg, the new computer is “essentially an iPad Pro in a little box,” but unlike the iPad, it should offer a few more ports to choose from: Apple has reportedly tested a version with at least three USB-C ports, an HDMI port, a power connector, and we’re hoping there’ll also be an Ethernet option for wired internet connections.
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Why Apple is making a smaller Mac mini
Apple’s renewed interest in making its products thinner isn’t necessarily a good thing, but I don’t think that applies to the Mac mini. If you’re not looking for a laptop, the Mac mini is the easiest way into the Apple ecosystem. It’s for PC converts who already have their own monitor, keyboard, and mouse, people who want to build their own media server, and people who need a second computer. These computers are marketed on their discreetness and flexibility. It makes sense that Apple would want to make them smaller.
Apple typically updates its Macs in October, so it’ll be a few more months before we know how much the Mac mini will change, but based on what’s been released so far, the move to M4 looks like it’ll be a good thing for all of the company’s devices.
