Mark Gurman: Redesigned Mac mini with M1X processor and more ports coming 'in the next several months'

Mac Mini Ports
Mac Mini Ports (Image credit: Jon Prosser x RendersbyIan)

What you need to know

  • Apple may release a new Mac mini "in the next several months."
  • The new Mac mini will feature a new design with M1X processor and more ports.
  • The news comes from the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The Mac mini, which feels like it just got some love, might be getting another boost.

According to Mark Gurman's latest Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing to say goodbye to the world of Intel for the Mac mini with its next release. The reporter believes that the next Mac mini will come in a brand new design that not only opts for the expected "M1X" processor but also features more ports than the current generation.

Gurman says that the new Mac mini could release "in the next several months."

Last fall, as part of its trio of initial Macs to transition over to Apple Silicon chips, the company updated the older Mac mini design with the M1 processor. The Mac mini is used for more basic tasks like video streaming, but many people use it as a software development machine, as a server or for their video editing needs. Apple knows that, so it kept the Intel model around. Well, expect that to go away in the next several months with a high-end, M1X Mac mini. It will have an updated design and more ports than the current model.

Mac Mini Front

Mac Mini Front (Image credit: Jon Prosser x RendersbyIan)

Gurman's latest prediction lines up with his own reporting back in May, which also predicted that the new generation would feature the M1X chip that is expected to also come with the redesigned Macbook Pro models. Jon Prosser also reported on the potential new design with some renders of what the new Mac mini might look like.

Apple has also been working on a more powerful version of the Mac mini (code name J374) with the same chip as the next MacBook Pro. It's expected to have four ports versus the pair available on the current low-end version and to sit above the current entry-level M1 Mac Mini.

Gurman's prediction seems likely, especially when it comes to a redesign. Aside from the M1 chip's original launch, every Mac model that has or is expected to come later is also expected to come with a redesign enabled by efficiencies of the new processor.

Apple is expected to release the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models this fall.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.