Apple’s next-generation Mac mini will be its first machine to offer new “M2” and “M2 Pro” chips, according to a new report. The new compact desktop, which is said to be codenamed “J473” internally, is expected to launch in 2022.
Sources say Apple originally planned to make Mac mini significantly more powerful by adding its beefy M1 Pro and M1 Max chipsets. But those plans were supposedly scrapped in favor of the all-new Mac Studio.
Mac mini could be first with ‘M2’ and ‘M2 Pro’ chips
Most of us expected Apple’s first M2 chipset to debut on Tuesday in a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro, which was to be more powerful than its predecessor but still more affordable than the latest 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro options.
But that machine did not appear during Cupertino’s big Peek Performance event. Instead, we got the incredibly impressive Mac Studio and its insane M1 Ultra chip — which may have killed plans for a more powerful Mac mini.
Apple scrapped more powerful Mac mini
“Apple had plans to introduce high-end versions of the current Mac mini with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, but they were probably scrapped to make way for the Mac Studio,” reports 9to5Mac, citing unnamed sources.
But Mac mini will be upgraded later this year. And the same report claims it will come with next-generation M2 and M2 Pro chipsets, dubbed “Staten” internally, that are based on the A15 Bionic chip that powers iPhone 13.
Like the original M1, which debuted in Mac mini in 2020, M2 is expected to feature an 8-core CPU — with four high-performance cores named “Avalanche” and four efficiency cores known as “Blizzard” — and a 10-core GPU.
M2 Pro will feature a 12-core CPU — with eight high-performance cores and four efficiency cores — the sources say. But it seems its GPU may be the same.
Coming this year
“M2 Mac mini development is nearing completion, and its release date is expected to be announced sometime later this year,” the report adds. “Apple currently has no plans to release a version with the M2 Max or Ultra chips.”
Until the new Mac mini makes its debut, Apple is expected to continue offering the Intel model — which wasn’t discontinued alongside the 27-inch Intel iMac this week. However, it is likely to finally disappear later.
