New Mac Mini Reportedly Set to Launch Before iPhone 18 Pro Event

[TVreporter]

They should call it the Mac Mini pro and announce them at the same time. "One more thing" for Steve Jobs to announce after the iPro 18.

If Jobs is announcing, I think that would steal the iPhone spotlight…

 

[svish]

Very surprised. Was thinking that a new mini is not coming anytime soon. Waiting to see if there will be a price hike. Not sure which chip it will be using.

 

[CWallace]

If there is a base and Pro model, then I expect M5 and M5 Pro.

If there is only a base model, then I expect M6.

 

[kikomendes]

I ordered a Mac mini in June and still haven't received it... might as well cancel it and get the M5 or 6...

 

[GregoryPeckEPA]

and up to 8TB of storage.

All for a cool $49,999.99!!! Why just get one!!

 

[coolfactor]

All the huff-huff about data centres, it would be awesome for Apple to take the industry by storm and announce anonymous "grid" technology. They've toyed with this in the past. With the number of devices online these days, a distributed data centre would be an amazing solution. All the devices sitting idle in people's pockets.

How is this relevant to Mac mini... well, with grid technology built in, if you want to get a more powerful computer, just add another Mac mini to your network.. and boom! All devices on the network are upgraded because processing is distributed across more of them. The thinking that hardware needs to replaced entirely needs to be retired with the powerful and fast networking that we have.

 

[coolfactor]

I ordered a Mac mini in June and still haven't received it... might as well cancel it and get the M5 or 6...

Wow! That's a painful wait! I'd be so cheesed!

 

[JPack]

Not going with the M6 would probably be a mistake. Except for the final cost maybe.

M4 users will be slow to jump to M5 but would be more prone to jump to a M6. Anyone with a mini prior to M4 might as well wait for the M6, unless they really need a new machine now.

How could it be a "mistake" when M4 Mac mini has a 6-8 week lead time right now?

M5 or M6, buyers will lap it up.

 

[manhattanboy]

How could it be a "mistake" when M4 Mac mini has a 6-8 week lead time right now?

M5 or M6, buyers will lap it up.

This is likely to be the M5. Apple is in a bind becuase if they price this too high then you might as well wait for the M6 MacBook Pro coming in October and skip the mini altogether.

 

[Rychiar]

Better drop the new studio too

 

[wyliej]

A lot of people buying minis (including myself) use them as servers or connected to a NAS and therefore don't need a ton of storage space. Id rather have 256 and cheaper then a base 512 at a higher price. But sure if they can get 512 for the same price as the old 256 no problem.

This. For use in an office or something like that, where users store their files on a NAS, it is fine. I don't normally defend low base specs, but there is an entire market that is totally fine with 256GB of storage because the users store nothing locally. That said, there is no good reason for it not to be user-upgradable using M.2 or some other standard form factor of SSD.

 

[macduke]

It don’t think it would be the M6, because there is not supposed to be an M6 Pro. There is an M5 Pro.

Now, it could be that Apple is returning the Mac mini back to a base model only, at least until AI-related memory costs come back down (lol). Maybe an outside chance they could offer the M5 Pro alongside the M6 if it’s not much of a jump. Or they could roll out a Mac mini with M7 next year when those are supposed to drop with the advanced AI chip. Since a lot of recent Mac mini buyers are buying them for AI, an M6/M7 Pro split launch could make sense. Normies who just want a cheap Mac and AI junkies can wait for the M7 or just get the Mac Studio which is seeming like less of a good idea, especially post-price increases.

I’m looking forward to an M7 Pro if that’s the case. I have three specific use cases in mind: 1. Dedicated Codex and OpenCode box and playground for the latest open weight programming models, 2. NAS, and 3. An occasional computer for my daughter to have an account on for when she becomes a teen next year and I begin to wean her off the iPad and onto a real computer.

 

[chars1ub0w]

Doesn't make sense the M6 is ready. If imminent, M5 Pro. Assembled in USA. Then introduced M6 variants of the Mini in November. So people can choose M5 Pro or higher efficiency M6.

 

[Siliconguy]

All the huff-huff about data centres, it would be awesome for Apple to take the industry by storm and announce anonymous "grid" technology. They've toyed with this in the past. With the number of devices online these days, a distributed data centre would be an amazing solution. All the devices sitting idle in people's pockets.

How is this relevant to Mac mini... well, with grid technology built in, if you want to get a more powerful computer, just add another Mac mini to your network.. and boom! All devices on the network are upgraded because processing is distributed across more of them. The thinking that hardware needs to replaced entirely needs to be retired with the powerful and fast networking that we have.

The return of Beowulf Clusters?

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Why would the audience dislike that? Isn’t the audience big Apple fans? Put the Mac mini at the end as one more thing and let’s have fun !

No, the September event, which is Apple’s biggest event of the year, is mostly for iPhone fans.
This also includes clientele like phone carriers.
And historically, with rare exception, Apple’s iPhone events in September are usually relegated to the iPhone and products that connect to the iPhone.
The last time a flagship iPhone and a Mac computer were introduced at the same event was back in 2009. This was back when the iPhones were introduced at WWDC in June.
That was 17 years ago.

 

[Mark DB]

I hope it costs the roughly the same as a 13" MacBook Air, but with an older processor and no screen, battery, or components while still being out of stock everywhere.

 

[JPack]

This is likely to be the M5. Apple is in a bind becuase if they price this too high then you might as well wait for the M6 MacBook Pro coming in October and skip the mini altogether.

I agree it'll likely be the M5.

Why would Apple waste the fanfare on $799 Mac mini when they can force consumers to spend $1,999 for M6 MBP?

 

[poematik13]

The prices (and lead times) will be biblical

 

[uczcret]

if its true then i guess we can't expect M6 Mini as otherwise they would wait till the usual October event.

They did introduce the M4 with the iPad Pro four months before the iPhone with the same architecture A chip (A18), so stranger things have happened.

I wouldn't rule out an M6/M5 Pro combination.

 

[- rob -]

A lot of people buying minis (including myself) use them as servers or connected to a NAS and therefore don't need a ton of storage space. Id rather have 256 and cheaper then a base 512 at a higher price. But sure if they can get 512 for the same price as the old 256 no problem.

I have been using a base m4 mini for a home server with lots of connected storage and still find the internal drive just too limiting.

I’m using it for a mix of CI and various hosted applications—I do want to upgrade to pick up more memory but I do not think I’d get less than a TB.

 

[gilby101]

Assembled in USA

That bothers me. If so, it is likely to be US only sales.

 

[iriejedi]

Apple plans to unveil a new Mac mini in the "coming days," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The new Mac mini will potentially be unveiled before the iPhone 18 Pro event, which is likely to take place on Wednesday, September 9, the report said. Gurman said the new Mac mini will likely be Apple's final new product unveiled before Tim Cook steps down as CEO on September 1, and if so, then it would need to be announced before August ends.

Apple has tested versions of the Mac mini with both M5 and M6 chips, according to Gurman, but it remains unclear which generation of chips Apple ultimately plans to use in the next model. Currently, the Mac mini can be configured with a standard M4 chip or a higher-end M4 Pro chip, 16GB to 48GB of RAM, and up to 8TB of storage.

At the start of May, Apple stopped offering the Mac mini with 256GB of storage for $599, resulting in a 512GB model for $799 becoming the lowest-priced configuration available. Then, in late June, Apple reintroduced the 256GB configuration for $799 after raising prices on all Macs and iPads, the Apple TV, HomePods, and the Vision Pro.

Due to the rising popularity of the Mac mini for on-device AI models, combined with the ongoing memory chip shortage, the Mac mini has been facing extended delivery estimates over the past few months. Currently, the Mac mini has a 4-10 week delivery estimate on Apple's online store in the U.S. depending on the configuration.

In February, Apple announced that Foxconn would begin assembling some Mac mini units at a factory in Houston, Texas later this year. The facility opened this month, with Cook joining U.S. government officials to celebrate the grand opening. So, perhaps Apple's announcement for the new Mac mini will emphasize U.S. assembly.

Article Link: New Mac Mini Reportedly Set to Launch Before iPhone 18 Pro Event

This is bad timing - I told my wife literally yesterday - that I was going to buy the next Mac mini rumored to be released "in the fall" - if this comes out tomorrow there is NO WAY she will believe me that I did not know this.... have the M2 now - great machine. Heard the M4 was amazing... so M5 or M6 - I'm in....

 

[IvyKing]

If there is a base and Pro model, then I expect M5 and M5 Pro.

If there is only a base model, then I expect M6.

On that basis, I suspect the new Mini will be M5 based as not having a Pro would be sacrilege. I would hope that the M5 Pro would be available with 64GB of RAM - had no idea how prescient I was to get 64GB on my M4 Pro Mini in late 2024.

 

[chars1ub0w]

That bothers me. If so, it is likely to be US only sales.

iPhone are still made in China. So, it was a deal done with Trump to indicate that Apple is serious about bringing some manufacturing back to the USA. So, start with the unpopular low-volume items like the mac mini.

Apple accelerates U.S. manufacturing with Mac mini production

Apple today announced a significant expansion of factory operations in Houston, bringing the future production of Mac mini to the U.S. for the first time.

www.apple.com

 

[zapmymac]

I love my base m2 Mini, and especially the price I paid for it 🥰. Still on Sonoma as well. 🥳 Great value for a general purpose compute hooked up to an entry level 32” LG 4k monitor.