A more powerful Mac Mini has long been rumored, and according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, it could even feature the upcoming M2 Pro chip.
Gurman said Apple is readying the launch of an M2 Mac Mini and an M2 Pro Mac Mini, which we assume Apple will call the Mac Mini Pro. The compact PC will keep its iconic boxy design as well.
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“Expect a Mac Mini refresh to include both M2 and M2 Pro options,” Gurman wrote in the Power On newsletter. “I also don’t believe the machine will be getting any major redesign in the near term.”
Apple’s new M2 chip will power the updated Mac Mini, while the Pro version will include an as-yet unreleased M2 Pro chip with eight performance cores and four efficiency cores. This M2 Pro will, we assume, have significantly improved graphics over the M2 with extra GPU cores.
Apple had been working on an M1 Pro Mac Mini since 2020, according to Gurman. It was due to launch last year or early this year, but Gurman’s sources told him an M1 Pro-powered Mac Mini “is now off the table.” That makes sense as the sequel chip is already out in the wild in both the M2 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13-inch.
9to5Mac corroborated Gurman’s sources and added the codenames for the new minis: J473 refers to the M2 Mac Mini, while J474 refers to the upgraded Mac Mini with an M2 Pro chip. Apple will not be releasing a Mac Mini with M2 Max or Ultra chips, the website added.
The M2 Pro Mini would compete directly with Apple’s own Mac Studio, just released last year. 9to5Mac even added that Gurman thinks Apple will discontinue the M1-powered Studio altogether.
An M2 Pro Mac Mini is one more rumored release that may be announced later at Apple’s fall event, usually in October or November. There will most likely be refreshed 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, as well as a refreshed M2-powered iPad Pro 11-inch.