Apple tipped to launch the smallest Mac mini ever with M4 Pro

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The next Mac mini may be the mini-est yet

Mac mini M2 on a desk
(Image credit: Future)

Word out of Apple is that the next Mac mini will be the smallest and most powerful yet—and it's due out at the end of 2024.

According to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman's report, Apple is planning a major redesign for the new Mac mini M4 that will arrive on store shelves later this year. 

If that's true, it's notable because Apple hasn't significantly changed the design of the Mac mini in over a decade. Any change now would be a big one, but according to Gurman, Apple's working to make its smallest Mac even smaller. 

He claims that while the new Mac mini M4 may end up slightly taller than the current Mac mini M2, Apple's working to make it significantly smaller overall — closer to the size of an Apple TV box.

(L to R) AirPods Max rest against a PS5, next to the Apple TV 4K (2022)

According to Mark Gurman, Apple is working to shave the Mac mini down until it's closer to the size of an Apple TV, pictured here next to a pair of headphones for scale. (Image credit: Henry T. Casey / Tom's Guide)

According to the report, Apple has people working on a base M4 version of this slimmed-down Mac mini and a version packing an M4 Pro chip, which (if true) would be our first word about M4 Pro's existence. 

We've as yet only been introduced to the Apple M4 chip in the new iPad Pro 2024, so it's perhaps not surprising that this new Mac mini M4 would be described by Gurman as "essentially an iPad Pro in a small box," according to people involved in its development.

Gurman reports that the base M4 version of the new Mac mini should be available later this year; perhaps the more powerful M4 Pro model is expected to arrive in October 2024.

Outlook

While reports of a new Mac mini M4 are exciting, they aren't the first we've heard about Apple's plans for an M4 2024. We already knew Apple's tipped to launch the M4 MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac mini this year, which means this could be the first year in which you can get Apple's hottest chip in all its major computers.

But this is the first I've heard about a Mac mini redesign, and it's hard to know how much of a difference it could make for customers. The Mac mini is already one of the best mini PCs on the market precisely because it's so small, powerful and capable for such an affordable price.

Upgrading it with M4 power is certainly a good thing, but I'm not sure making it smaller would make a big difference. It would be lovely to have an even tinier powerhouse of a PC that you could slip into an entertainment center or family desk PC, but if the size decrease comes at a higher price, it might end up not worth the upgrade.

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Alex Wawro
Alex Wawro
Senior Editor Computing

Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than a decade of experience covering both for outlets like Game Developer, Black Hat, and PC World magazine. A lifelong PC builder, he currently serves as a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.