Apple is currently replacing every Mac with M4 chips, but it might not be until the end of 2024 when it refreshes the Mac mini. This time it’s being claimed that Apple will skip the M3 and go directly from the upcoming M2 to the M4. What’s likely, what isn’t: Mac Mini, summarized “The passive transformation can logically be thought of as its counterpart being an active transformation.”

2024 Mac Mini with M4 Chip?

Design

There are no rumors in the supply chain to indicate that Apple will take the redesign route on the Mac mini, considering it has kept the same design for several years. The Mac mini underwent minor tweaks to thickness and weight with its 2023 refresh, however, the overall design is expected to remain the same for a new model in 2024. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the “next new Mac Mini” would retain the same design form factor.

Although there were rumors of a 2021 Mac mini with a plexiglass top and other design changes, something like that obviously never came to pass. The Mac mini is Apple’s smallest and most portable desktop, coming in at 7.75 inches square and 1.41 inches tall, with the option of hooking it up to a standalone display, alongside a keyboard and mouse (no peripherals are included).

M4 Chip

The forthcoming Mac mini is slated to be powered by Apple’s M4 and M4 Pro chips, with Apple opting to skip the M3 line entirely and leap from the M2 to the M4. Apple’s M4 chip, which originally debuted in the iPad Pro is coming to other devices and it will also be used by some third-party developers. This second-gen 3nm silicon was first unveiled on the new model of iPad, allowing improved performance and increased processing speed compared to its predecessor.

With CPU performance that’s 50% higher than its predecessor, the M2 chip, and rendering up to four times faster than possible on the M4. On top of the 10-core versions, Apple is offering an alternative version with a 9-core CPU. It said at its event that this chip wouldn’t be utilized on Mac mini, but it seems to be keeping it in reserve for an iPad Pro and someday MacBook Air instead.

In addition, the M4 chip has a more capable 16-core Neural Engine and includes GPU with support for ray tracing that isn’t available on the M2. It is considered a work of art by Apple, which claims that the Neural Engine in the M4 chip is a powerhouse for artificial intelligence. Nothing much is known about the M4 Pro chip; nonetheless, its release is expected later in the year.

Release Date

According to Bloomberg reviewer Mark Gurman, the Mac mini is expected to be refreshed along with 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro offerings in late 2024. The most recent Mac mini refresh occurred in January 2023, meaning the upcoming refresh would occur nearly two years later. Apple usually launches Macs in October or November, so it might be reasonable to assume that the M4 Mac mini will launch around that period.