A high-end Mac Mini with the M1X chip could be just months away

By Alex Blake Published August 23, 2021

The current Mac Mini is one of the best Macs you can buy right now thanks to its powerful M1 chip and excellent value for the money. But ever since it launched, people have been wondering when Apple would release a high-end version of its compact desktop Mac. Now, according to reporter Mark Gurman, we might not have long to wait for it to happen.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman explains his belief that Apple will upgrade the Mac Mini within “the next several months” with a more powerful processor (the Apple M1X) and additional ports. When we reviewed the M1 Mac Mini, we lamented the fact that Apple had halved its USB-A ports from four to two when making the transition from Intel to its own chips. If Gurman is right, the next Mac Mini could bump up the number of ports once again – although Gurman was coy as to whether the increase would affect the Thunderbolt 3 or USB-A slots.

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The company’s move away from Intel was not all-encompassing for the Mac Mini, as Apple still sells an Intel Mac Mini for $1,099 (compared to $699 and $899 for its own Apple Silicon models). According to Gurman, that Intel model will soon be removed.

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“The Mac Mini is used for more basic tasks like video streaming, but many people use it as a software development machine, as a server or for their video-editing needs. Apple knows that, so it kept the Intel model around. Well, expect that to go away in the next several months with a high-end, M1X Mac Mini. It will have an updated design and more ports than the current model.”

Gurman is not the only person to predict a Mac Mini revamp. In May 2021, leaker Jon Prosser released renders of what he claimed was a redesigned Mac Mini, which featured a slimmer design with a plexiglass top, a magnetic charging port like that on the 24-inch iMac, and an increase in Thunderbolt 3 ports from two to four.

Apple is widely expected to launch redesigned MacBook Pro models containing the M1X chip later this year, potentially in October or November. That could be a good time for the company to also introduce its Mac Mini refresh. If you’ve been looking to upgrade, stay tuned for updates.

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Computing Writer

Alex Blake has been working with Digital Trends since 2019, where he spends most of his time writing about Mac computers…

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