Bloomberg: A more powerful Mac mini with new Apple silicon to replace the current Intel version

According to a new report, Apple has been developing a more powerful Mac mini around the same chip as the next MacBook Pro to replace its high-end Intel-based counterpart.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Apple currently sells two Apple silicon Mac minis.
  • The third, most powerful model still uses Intel chips.
  • But, Apple will replace it with a new Apple silicon model.
  • Also, the next Mac mini will have double the USB-C ports.

A higher-end Mac mini is in the works

Apple in 2020 introduced its own silicon in the diminutive Mac mini, its most affordable computer. Following the launch of the first M1-powered Mac mini models, Apple immediately discontinued the entry-level $699 and $899 configurations with Intel Core i3 chips.

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The lone Intel-based model that can be configured with either a Core i5 or Core i7 CPU has remained on sale to this date. And that’s the model that Apple now wants to phase out with an upcoming new Mac mini (code name J374), according to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman.

The computer will reportedly run the same chip as the next MacBook Pro.

Apple silicon in the next Mac mini

As we separately reported, Apple’s overhauled MacBook Pros are thought to use new Apple silicon chips with the following features:

  • Apple silicon (code name Jade C-Chop): 10-core CPU, 16/32-core GPU, 64GB RAM
  • Apple silicon (code name Jade C-Die): 10-core CPU, 16/32-core GPU, 64GB RAM

Although Gurman doesn’t specify the number of cores to power this high-end Mac mini, he literally writes that the machine will have “the same chip as the next MacBook Pro” so those are pretty much the specifications you should expect from the next Mac mini.

The new Mac mini is 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. Apple could delay or cancel the new mini’s launch—as it has in the past—but eventually the company will likely replace the Intel-equipped version it now sells.

The current M1 Mac minis feature two Thunderbolt / USB4 ports.

The piece adds that Apple is also working on a larger iMac.