Apple Mac mini: High-end mini-PC rumoured to be skipping Apple M3 for newer and more powerful Apple M4 options

Mark Gurman has offered some insights into the state of Apple's Mac mini line (curr. $549 on Amazon). To recap, the series has not been refreshed in over a year. For context, Apple has released two MacBook Air 15 generations since it upgraded the Mac Mini to Apple M2 chipsets in January 2023.

With that being said, the Mac mini is one of several product lines that remain on older chipsets. Currently, Apple has not upgraded the Mac Studio or Mac Pro beyond Apple M2 generation chipsets either, which also applies to iPad Air and iPad Pro tablets. However, Apple has strongly hinted that these latter two categories will be refreshed next month during a 'let loose' special event.

According to Gurman, the Mac mini will miss out on Apple M3 chipsets altogether. As MacRumors notes, Apple has precedence for this by bypassing Apple M2 chipsets for newer Apple M3 options when upgrading the iMac last October. Consequently, the next Mac mini will ship with Apple M4 generation chipsets, which could be headed to all of Apple's Mac product stack, including the Mac Studio and Mac Pro.

For now, Gurman still believes that next-generation Mac mini models will land towards the end of this year or in early 2025. Supposedly, the updated Mac mini will arrive alongside updated MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 machines, with new MacBook Air models appearing in spring 2025. Unfortunately, it remains to be seen whether Apple is planning more upgrades for the Mac mini than another round of new chipsets.