Last week, @LeaksApplePro alleged that Apple had delayed the M1X Mac mini for 'marketing reasons'. In the same tweet, they added that the mini-PC would probably launch in Q1 or Q2 2022 alongside a revised MacBook Air, which has leaked several times already. However, Mark Gurman has now contradicted @LeaksApplePro's assertion and has made no mention of any delays.
Writing in his Power On newsletter, Gurman alleges that the next Mac mini will arrive 'in the next several months', eschewing the current Intel model. While a vague statement, its wording implies that a new Mac mini will arrive before the end of the year. Continuing to offer an 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor for your flagship Mac mini in 2021 makes a mockery of the mini-PC, in our opinion, so we would be surprised if this persisted until next year.
Gurman adds that the new Mac mini will feature an updated design too, and more ports than the current Intel or M1 editions. Incidentally, the design of the next Mac mini may have already leaked courtesy of Jon Prosser and @LeaksApplePro. Unsurprisingly, the revised model resembles the existing Mac mini, albeit with a square base and top.
Finally, Gurman still expects Apple to release an updated Mac mini with an M1X SoC, the successor to last year's M1. Supposedly, the M1X has eight high-performance computing cores, two power-saving cores and will be available in two editions, 'Jade C-Chop' and 'Jade C-Die'. Reputedly, Apple will distinguish these models with different volumes of GPU cores, with sixteen for Jade C-Chop and 32 for Jade C-Die. The M1X is expected to debut in the MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16, so we doubt that Apple will unveil a new Mac mini before these laptops.
Source(s)
Bloomberg, Jon Prosser - Image credit