This Year’s M4 Mac mini Will Lose Some Ports
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Although next week’s Glowtime event is expected to be all about the iPhone 16, Apple also reportedly has some new M4-equipped Macs on deck for later this fall, including new pro-level MacBooks and a significantly smaller Mac mini.
The MacBooks are expected to follow the same design introduced with the first M1 Pro/Max models three years ago, but rumor has it that Apple will redesign the Mac mini for the first time in well over a decade, shrinking it down to a form factor that more closely resembles the Apple TV set-top box.
It’s a long-awaited change for Apple’s most affordable Mac, which has retained the same square footprint since its inception. The original Mac mini, released in 2005, measured 6.5 inches by 6.5 inches and came in an aluminum frame with a polycarbonate top and an optical drive slot.
Apple switched from a PowerPC G4 chip to an Intel CPU the following year but retained the same case design until 2010, when the first unibody model debuted. This model eliminated the CD/DVD drive and slimmed down by over half an inch while expanding the footprint by about an inch in each direction.
Since then, the design has remained mostly unchanged. Apple switched to a Space Gray finish in 2018, although we also saw a return to silver for the 2020 M1 model. Apple has also rearranged the ports on the rear a few times, moving from a full array of four USB-A ports on the 2014 and earlier models to a mixture of USB-C and USB-A ports in the 2018 Intel version and subsequent M-series models.
However, with the Mac mini finally shrinking, Apple will need to make some compromises. It shouldn’t be surprising that those larger USB-A ports will be the first to go.
That’s the latest word from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who first shared the reports of the planned redesign early last month. The good news is that Apple plans to make up for that with even more USB-C ports — up to five, according to Gurman — and doesn’t plan to skimp on any other ports.
I’ve received a lot of questions about the ports on the new Mac mini. In the past, Apple has removed connectors to simplify designs, irking customers in the process. So here’s the good news: The M4 Pro version will have five USB-C ports (three on the back and two on the front like the Mac Studio). That model will also retain an Ethernet port, HDMI connector and headphone jack.Mark Gurman
Apple abandoned USB-A ports on its MacBook years ago. In fact, from 2016 until 2020, MacBook had USB-C ports exclusively, requiring users to carry around an assortment of dongles if they wanted to connect to USB-A devices or external monitors. Even power was supplied via a USB-C connector. The iMac followed suit in early 2021 when it adopted the M1 chip.
With the Mac mini expected to eliminate USB-A, this will leave the Mac Studio and Mac Pro as the only Macs with the older and larger port standard. There’s a certain logic to that, as those are both higher-end professional machines, but Gurman ponders whether that’ll continue when Apple gives those Macs the M4 treatment next year.
Another piece of good news is that Gurman’s sources have said that, despite its smaller size, the Mac mini will still have an internal power supply. That will be a relief to folks who were concerned they might have to deal with an external power brick. Two years ago, a hobbyist repackaged an M1 Mac mini into a smaller casing, but he couldn’t fit in the power supply. However, he also didn’t have the luxury of redesigning all the internal components for a better fit.
Gurman notes that suppliers are already preparing to ship the first M4 Mac mini units to Apple warehouses but don’t expect any new Mac announcements next week. Apple’s September events have always been focused on the iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and other devices in that part of the ecosystem. Macs are always handled at a separate event, usually in October or early November, and that’s likely when the M4 Mac mini will show up. The version currently shipping is also just the standard M4 model, while the higher-end M4 Pro version isn’t expected to start going out until October.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
