Mac mini, the smallest member of Apple’s desktop computer family, may be renewed in a short time. According to information provided by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to announce the new Mac mini model “in the coming days.” It is stated that the product may be introduced before the iPhone 18 Pro event, which is expected to be held on Wednesday, September 9. It is not yet clear which Apple Silicon processor will be used in the new model. Apple is said to be testing Mac mini prototypes with both M5 and M6 processors.
Gurman’s news also includes another remarkable detail about the timing of the new Mac mini. Accordingly, the device may be the last new product introduced by the company before Tim Cook leaves his post as Apple CEO on September 1. In such a scenario, Apple needs to make the announcement before the end of August. Considering that the company does not always hold a big event for Mac models and announces some of its products directly through a press release, it does not seem necessary to hold a separate event for Mac mini. For this reason, the emergence of the new computer with an announcement on Apple’s website is among the possible options.
New Mac mini may come with M5 or M6 processor
The biggest question mark about the new Mac mini arises on the processor side. According to Gurman, Apple has tested both M5 and M6 processor versions of the computer, but it is not yet known which of them will be used in the model that will be available for sale. The current Mac mini can be configured with the standard M4 or higher-performance M4 Pro processor options. While memory options start from 16 GB and go up to 48 GB, storage capacity can reach 8 TB in the highest configuration. Therefore, whether changes will be made to the memory and storage options in addition to the processor update will be one of the factors that will determine the price-performance balance of the new model.
Pricing for the Mac mini has changed several times in recent months. At the beginning of May, Apple removed the $599 starting model with 256 GB storage from sale, thus making the $799 version with 512 GB storage the most affordable option. Towards the end of June, the company added the 256 GB capacity configuration to its product range again, but this time the price of the model in question was determined as $ 799. In the same period, prices of Apple TV, HomePod products and Vision Pro, as well as Mac and iPad models, also increased. Due to these changes, the starting price at which the new Mac mini will be offered is one of the issues that will be watched as closely as the hardware innovation.
It is stated that the widespread use of artificial intelligence models running on the device is also effective in the recent increase in demand for Mac mini. Its small size, combined with the performance and energy efficiency of Apple Silicon processors, makes Mac mini one of the systems that can be used for native artificial intelligence applications. However, the ongoing memory chip shortage negatively affects supply times. Delivery times for Mac mini configurations available on Apple’s US online store range from four to 10 weeks, depending on the hardware selected. If the new model is announced, how Apple will manage the current demand and the transition to the new product will also be decisive in terms of delivery times.
On the production side, new capacity in the USA stands out. Apple announced in February that Foxconn would begin assembling some Mac mini models at its factory in Houston, Texas, later in the year. The facility in question became operational this month, and Tim Cook attended the opening along with US government officials. For this reason, there is a possibility that the assembly activities carried out in the USA will be highlighted in the new Mac mini announcement. Despite this, the main determining points of the new computer for users will be processor selection, initial memory and storage capacity, pricing and availability; In particular, the choice between M5 and M6 will show how meaningful the update will be compared to the current M4 generation.
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