Besides the iMac, there’s never been an Apple desktop quite like the Mac mini. It’s small yet powerful while still being whisper-quiet on your desk — and with the M4 model, you finally get front-facing ports.

Still, just like they often do with other Apple products, accessory makers were quick to try and fix its biggest flaws: an inaccessible power button and the lack of full-sized ports. While Cupertino wanted you to leave your new machine running full-time and toss out all your USB-A cables, many people like myself just weren’t ready to be that drastic.

That’s why the first accessory I added to my new desktop was a USB hub that doubled as a stand. I had one on my older M2 model for the same reason, so when Satechi released an upgraded version for this new completely redesigned Apple mini PC, I was ecstatic.

After using Satechi’s M4 Hub & Stand for months, I eventually swapped it out for a similar accessory from Orico that transformed my Mac mini into a miniature Mac Pro. Both devices worked well, but recently, I decided to give one more dock a chance, and I’m glad I did.

I didn’t expect to like this add-on from a company best known for its chargers and NAS devices, but Ugreen just might have made the most useful one yet. Here’s why.

Docked and fully loaded

At first glance, I wouldn’t blame you for mistaking Ugreen’s Mac mini M4 dock for Satechi’s. Both have a similar design and a matching silver finish, but Ugreen trades a third USB-A port up front for a full-sized SD card reader sitting next to a microSD one. It’s also slightly taller, measuring at just over an inch versus Satechi's sleeker, sub-inch height.

The one thing that really surprised me about Ugreen’s dock, though, is that it isn’t made from aluminum like Satechi’s. Instead, it’s entirely made from plastic with a very convincing paint job. Although this might sound like a downgrade at first, by opting for plastic over anodized aluminum, Ugreen solved one of the biggest issues docks like this have when sitting under your Mac mini: signal interference. From Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, having a big block of metal underneath one of the best mini PCs can significantly hamper your connections.

When you flip Ugreen’s dock over, you can easily add more storage to your Mac mini without having to pay the Apple Tax. Unlike Satechi’s hub, which caps out at 4TB, you can add up to an 8TB drive here. Now, I know that’s easier said than done, as we’re currently living through RAMageddon which has also greatly affected storage prices. However, it’s nice to have the option to add all that extra room, and who knows — maybe once the AI boom dies down, you just might be able to.

Besides that extra storage potential, it’s the rear ports that convinced me to give Ugreen’s dock a try in the first place. While Satechi keeps all of its connectivity up front and leaves the back bare, Ugreen did the complete opposite. You still get the hardwired USB-C cable that plugs into your Mac mini to get things started, but the back expands into even more ports than you do on the best MacBooks, including three more USB-A ports and two USB-C ones.

Interestingly, Ugreen also included another USB-C port on the back. Instead of using it to connect more accessories, it’s designed to plug directly into a power adapter, as the “IN 5V” label underneath it suggests. You see, with an 11-in-1 hub like this one, there’s no way you’d be able to reliably run all of those rear connections, the front card readers, and a high-speed SSD off the Mac mini’s bus power alone. By plugging Ugreen’s dock into a power strip underneath your desk, you completely avoid slow data transfer speeds, disconnected peripherals, and worst of all, random SSD disconnects that could corrupt your data.

If all those rear ports and extra power weren’t enough, Ugreen’s Mac mini M4 dock has one more trick up its sleeve that completely took me by surprise.

Power with a twist

As I’m currently in the process of reviewing MSI’s new Pro Max QD-OLED Mac monitor, I decided to set up my Mac mini M4 with Ugreen’s dock next to it. However, as this is one of the rare Mac monitors you can also play PC games on — unlike Apple’s new Studio Display XDR — I also have the Khadas Mind 2S with the company’s Mind Graphics 2 eGPU next to it.

In my testing, Ugreen’s dock for the Mac mini M4 worked in a similar way to Satechi’s. It gave me quick access to full-sized ports and an SD card reader without having to use a bulky dongle. One thing I prefer about it, though, is that with Ugreen’s dock, I can hide the 2.4GHz USB dongles for my keyboard and trackball mouse at the rear instead of having them front and center like with Satechi’s dock. Likewise, if you need to run cables from the back of your Mac mini behind your desk, this dock is the better option hands down.

I didn’t think to test and compare the Wi-Fi speeds on my Mac mini when using these two docks. However, with Ugreen’s, I didn’t notice any interference at all, nor did my speeds dip down. If you want me to put both docks through a Wi-Fi speed showdown, let me know in the comments below.

Even though I’ve come to terms with the Mac mini’s awkward power button placement after leaving it on for over a month, it’s still nice to be able to easily reach it. While Satechi has a standard cutout to make it more accessible, Ugreen took things a step further.

At the top left corner of Ugreen’s dock, there’s a physical plastic pass-through lever that makes pressing the Mac mini’s power button almost effortless. A simple press up and your Mac mini magically springs to life, while holding it down while the device is on brings up Apple’s shutdown menu. It’s a small detail, but in my day-to-day use, it made a noticeable difference.

Now, if you’re thinking about adding this dock underneath your own Mac mini, you do need to be careful. You see, Ugreen actually makes two docks for this mini PC, not just a single one. The $89 base version doesn’t have an SSD slot on the bottom, nor does it have this lever. Instead, it uses a basic cutout just like Satechi’s.

For $10 more, though, you can get the dock I have here which supports up to an 8TB SSD. Because it houses that drive, it’s slightly taller, hence the inclusion of that ingenious power button lever at the back.

A final docking place

There are only so many times you can redo your Mac mini M4 setup, and after years of experimentation, I think I’ve finally found my forever dock.

While I love how Satechi’s standard dock is an exact match to the design and materials Apple used, its lack of rear ports and smaller SSD capacity hold it back. Alternatively, you could pair your Mac mini with Satechi’s Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock if you want even more power, much higher data bandwidth and support for up to an 8TB SSD. Then again, that professional powerhouse costs $399 on its own, whereas all of these other docks sit comfortably under $100.

Orico’s dock, on the other hand, is as much of an enclosure for Apple’s mini PC as it is a dock. I’ll admit, it did look really cool on my desk. However, it forces your Mac mini into an awkward sideways position, meaning you lose out on seeing the beauty and compactness of Apple’s redesign. It does support up to an 8TB SSD, but you are ultimately left with fewer ports overall.

Having tried all three of these options for extended periods, Ugreen’s is my favorite yet, and for good reason. Those extra ports and having them hidden at the back really make a massive difference. At the same time, since it can be independently powered, I know that all of my connected devices won’t be constantly fighting for wattage.

You really can’t go wrong with any of these docks, but the right one for you will depend entirely on your specific workflow. If you just managed to pick up a new Mac mini or you’re looking to give your current setup a serious upgrade, at least you have plenty of great options.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve reviewed a ton of mini PCs and my favorite Mac mini alternative just got cooler and quieter
• I went all-in on this 40-inch ultrawide and it’s incredibly immersive without breaking the bank
• I finally tried a vertical mouse and it was the ergonomic upgrade my desk setup was missing — here’s why

Today (April 20), Apple announced that CEO Tim Cook is stepping aside to become the executive chairman of the firm's board of directors. John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, will become the next steward of Cupertino starting September 1, 2026.

Cook will help transition Ternus this summer and will likely host WWDC 2026, which kicks off in June.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company. I love Apple with all of my being" Cook said in a press release.

Tim Cook has led Apple for the past 14 years since Steve Jobs resigned in 2011. In total, Cook has worked at Apple over 25 years.

Ternus joined Apple in 2001 as part of the company's product design team and became the VP of hardware engineering in 2013.

"Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor," Ternus said. "I am filled with optimism about what we can achieve in the years to come."

Who is John Ternus?

John Ternus has been a front runner to take over the head seat for awhile now, and currently is the youngest top executive at the company at 50 years old. Assuming things go well, he could have an equally long tenure.

The rise of Ternus suggests the company is looking for a more hardware and engineering focused future.

Ternus joined the executive team in 2021 when he became the the senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. He has overseen the production and introduction of a number of product lines including the iPad, AirPods and several generations of the iPhone, Mac and Apple Watch.

He unveiled the M1 chip, Apple's first in-house designed CPU in 2020, and the iPhone Air last year.

Ternus' most recent impact was with the MacBook Neo, Apple's take on a budget-friendly laptop that quickly made an imprint on that category and has sold out so quickly

"“We’re always focused on ‘how do we make a given product better,’” said Ternus in an interview with Tom's Guide. “We’re always pushing. And we never think like, ‘well, what impact if we did something here would have on a product over here?’”

What's next for Apple?

Ternus will take over at an interesting, and somewhat fraught time for Apple and tech as a whole.

Tim Cook has already been navigating the tariff situation, and now the ongoing Iran War. There's also the RAM crisis which isn't expected to abate until 2028, at the earliest. Apple has seemingly been on top of things but reports have shown that even Apple is eating costs associated with sky high memory prices.

Meanwhile, the 20th anniversary of the iPhone is coming next year and rumors suggest it will be a huge change. Plus, Apple is expected to debut its first pair of smart glasses later this year and the first foldable iPhone this September.

Both devices are new categories for Apple that come at a time when price hikes, memory shortages, and AI are the talk of tech.

It'll be interesting to see how Ternus navigates these choppy waters while trying to bring new enthusiasm to the company.

Johny Srouji named Apple's Chief Hardware Officer

As Ternus transitions to CEO, Apple also announced a new head of hardware in Johny Srouji.

“Johny has been an incredible partner on the executive team, and is going to be an extraordinary chief hardware officer,” said incoming Apple CEO John Ternus in a press release. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with him in our new roles.”

Srouji joined Apple in 2008 and led development of the A4 chip, Apple's first in-house iPhone silicon. Since then he has been in charge of hardware engineering teams from silicon and batteries to cameras and sensors.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple's touchscreen MacBook Pro could be 'pushed back' — here's what we know
• Scammers are weaponizing Apple’s own notifications in a dangerous new phishing attack — don’t fall for this
• 'Pull the rug out': Mark Gurman explains Apple’s plan to launch smart glasses and stop Meta’s momentum

Although you certainly can leave your Mac on for days at a time without any issues, a newly discovered macOS bug will certainly make you think twice about doing so.

As reported by Tom’s Hardware, the AI infrastructure and developer tools startup Photon recently discovered a “ticking time bomb” that affects every Mac. Fortunately, though, this isn’t a security bug that can be exploited by hackers. Instead, it’s the kind of bug that could leave you scratching your head if you use one of the best MacBooks and leave your laptop on for over a month at a time.

According to a blog post from Photon, “every Mac has a hidden expiration date.” No, your Mac won’t become unusable, and you won’t have to upgrade to a new machine. However, “after exactly 49 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes and 47 seconds of continuous uptime,” macOS experiences an “integer overflow” that “freezes the internal TCP timestamp clock.”

But what does this mean for the average Mac user? Well, once your machine has been running for exactly this long, existing TCP network connections won’t expire as they normally should. Essentially, this means that your Mac won’t be able to connect to the internet, which is why many of us get a computer in the first place.

Photon likely let Apple know once it discovered this issue, and the firm is currently working on its own solution. However, there’s an easy fix that won’t require an update or bringing your Mac to an Apple Store.

A simple workaround

If you’re worried about your Mac losing internet connectivity, don’t be. The issue itself stems from integer overflow, where your Mac’s TCP timestamp clock keeps counting until it reaches a max value of 4,294,967,295 seconds or 49.7 days.

To get around this, all you have to do is reboot your Mac before the 49-day mark, and everything will be fine. Just like on one of the best iPhones, you should reboot your Mac every week. To make things easier, you can even schedule your Mac to turn off and on.

Besides fixing this specific macOS bug, a reboot also flushes memory leaks, clears system caches and temp files, cools down the machine and resets peripheral controllers, which can help rectify other odd glitches with Bluetooth and USB-C docks.

Apple isn’t alone here either, as Windows 98 also crashed after 49.7 days of uptime. Likewise, when it comes to running out of digits while counting, this same issue is why we were all so worried about Y2K back in 1999, and it’s also why the year 2038 could lead to similar concerns when Unix is no longer able to measure time for the same reason. But that’s a problem for another day.

I’m sure that Apple is aware of this issue and is taking steps to address it, hopefully in the next big macOS update. In the meantime, though, just remember to give your Mac a reboot every seven days, and you’ll be perfectly fine.

More from Tom's Guide

• I built a hidden network hub to declutter my home office but it can do so much more
• How to view Wi-Fi passwords on Mac
• I thought speed tests were the be-all and end-all way to measure my internet connection until I tried Orb

Apple has discontinued the infamous cheese grater Mac Pro and its $700 wheels. As of March 26, the iconic Apple Mac Pro is no longer on the Apple website; instead, would-be shoppers are redirected to other Mac computers.

Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac that it will no longer be offering the Mac Pro, and that there are no plans to develop new models.

With this week's discontinuation that drops Apple's desktop lineup to three devices:

• 24-inch iMac M4
• Mac mini M4 or M4 Pro
• Mac Studio with M4 Max or M3 Ultra

Plus the three laptops; MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.

A short history

The cheese greater Mac Pro debuted in 2019 alongside the Pro Display XDR (also recently discontinued). The original version was powered by an Intel Xeon W chipset, featuring 32GB of ram and 256GB SSD. A $52,000 version had a 28 core Intel Xeon W chip with 1.5TB of RAM and a 4TB SSD.

The last update it got was in 2023, when Apple refreshed the model with the M2 Ultra chip, and priced it at $6,999. As recently as June 2025 it was rumored that a new M5-powered Mac Pro would arrive this year and a low-end Mac Pro. With a lack of significant updates, the writing has been on the wall for the Mac Pro for a couple of years now.

Perhaps wait on a Mac Studio

If you're looking for a high-end Apple desktop, all we have left is the Mac Studio, but you may want to wait on upgrading. Currently, Apple offers the Studio in mismatched M4 Max and M3 Ultra CPU options.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has claimed that an M5 Ultra-powered Mac Studio is coming this year. Though, he hedged that it will arrive after Apple announced the M5 Ultra and Max chipsets.

At the beginning of March, Apple revealed the new MacBook Pro M5 Pro and M5 Max, but has yet to announce the M5 Ultra. In previous years, Apple launched its M ultra chips in March for the M1 and M3, with the M2 Ultra debuting in June.

It's possible that Apple could reveal the M5 Ultra at WWDC 2026, which takes place June 8 - 12.

If that's the case, Apple may debut the Mac Studio M5 Ultra this October when it typically reveals its new MacBooks and MacBook Pro laptops. This year's versions have been rumored to feature an M6 chip and OLED display.

More from Tom's Guide

• I returned my iPhone Air, but now it's on sale for £699, and that's a no-brainer purchase
• iOS 26.4 is here — 13 new upgrades for your iPhone you need to know
• I ran a half marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 970 to test the GPS and heart rate accuracy — here’s the winner

Whether you’re thinking about upgrading from a Chromebook or ditching Windows for good, there’s never been a better time to switch to Mac, especially with the release of the new MacBook Neo. Starting at $599 (or $499 for education), this is Apple’s most affordable MacBook yet and a great way to get started with macOS. However, it’s not your only option at this price point.

Released back in 2024, the Mac mini M4 also starts at $599 (with that same education discount available). Sure, you will need a separate monitor along with a keyboard and mouse but chances are, you probably already have a display and your existing peripherals will likely work with macOS. While the MacBook Neo is arguably the best budget laptop you can get right now, the Mac mini M4 is one of the best mini PCs overall.

If you don’t plan on bringing the Neo with you and will mostly be using it at home, then the Mac mini M4 becomes a much more compelling option. Then it just comes down to whether or not you prefer to be anchored to a desk or sitting on the couch when using your computer. Although you’re paying $599 for either machine, one comes equipped with a mobile chip while the other uses a full-blow desktop chip that’s significantly more powerful.

Now that we’ve tested and reviewed the MacBook Neo, we can see how it stacks up against Apple’s smallest Mac mini yet. If you only have $599 to spend on a new Mac, read this first before you rush out and buy the Neo as the Mac mini M4 is an equally impressive machine.

MacBook Neo vs Mac mini M4: Specs

MacBook Neo vs Mac mini M4: Design

The design of these two Macs couldn’t be more different. While the MacBook Neo is a 13-inch laptop, the Mac mini M4 is a compact mini PC that Apple redesigned in 2024 to be its smallest Mac ever.

Despite being the most affordable MacBook yet, the Neo borrows quite a lot from the aesthetic of the MacBook Air. It sports a fanless design, an ultra-thin chassis made from aluminum and comes with rounded corners for a more modern look.

In addition to Silver, the Neo is also available in three vibrant shades: Blush (pink), Indigo (deep blue), and Citrus (yellow). Meanwhile, like other desktop Macs, the Mac mini M4 only comes in Silver.

At 2.7 pounds, the Neo is very light and extremely portable which makes it easy to slip into a backpack. On the other hand, the Mac mini M4 is technically lighter at just 1.5 pounds. However, since you’ll need a monitor along with a keyboard and mouse, it’s not nearly as easy to bring with you.

On the MacBook Neo, you get two USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the left side of the laptop with no ports on the right side at all.

Unlike with the previous model, Apple decided to add ports to the front of the Mac mini M4 and just like on the Neo, there are two USB-C ports as well as a headphone jack. Around back though, the Mac mini M4 comes equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, a gigabit Ethernet port and a power port.

When it comes to power, the Mac mini M4 can only be powered using the AC port at the back and the included power cable. The Neo comes with a compact 20W charger and is capped at a slower charging speed so you can’t use a higher-wattage one to quickly charge it.

You can use either of the Neo’s USB-C ports for charging. However, the front one is the better option for charging as it’s a slower USB 2.0 port while the one at the rear is USB 3 and can be used to connect to an external display or for an external SSD.

The keyboard on the Neo feels great to type on with 1mm of travel but it isn’t backlit. On the base model, you also don’t get Touch ID like on more expensive MacBooks.

If you want to use your fingerprint to login or for authentication instead of entering your password, then you’re going to need to spend an extra $100 on a Neo with this functionality and extra storage. Likewise, the Neo has a mechanical trackpad instead of a Force Touch one like on the MacBook Air.

MacBook Neo vs Mac mini M4: Performance

Performance varies greatly between the MacBook Neo and the Mac mini M4, as they’re powered by entirely different classes of silicon. While the Mac mini uses the desktop-grade M4 chip, Apple brought the Neo’s price down to $599 by using the A18 Pro — the same mobile processor that powered the iPhone 16 Pro back in 2024.

In our lab tests, both chips showed comparable single-core performance. This means for 'burst' tasks like opening apps or loading a heavy webpage, both Macs will feel equally snappy. However, the Mac mini M4 pulls ahead in multi-core workloads, making it the superior choice for video editing or heavy multitasking.

The biggest performance divider isn't just the chip, but the memory. The $599 Mac mini M4 ships with 16GB of RAM as standard, whereas the Neo is stuck with 8GB and there’s no way to upgrade. In our real-world stress test, the Neo began to struggle once we hit 20 open browser tabs, leading to sluggishness and tab reloads. The Mac mini, with double the memory, handled twice that load without breaking a sweat.

Thermals also play a big role when it comes to performance. The Neo’s fanless design makes it completely silent, but it will eventually throttle or slow down during long 4K video exports or heavy gaming sessions to stay cool. The Mac mini M4 features an internal fan that, while near-silent, allows it to maintain peak performance indefinitely.

MacBook Neo vs Mac mini M4: Display

The MacBook Neo has a 13-inch LED-backlit panel with a 2408 x 1506 resolution at 219 pixels per inch (ppi). As such, it meets Apple’s “Retina” standard and it’s also quite bright at 500 nits. Still, even with this extra brightness, you’re better off using it indoors since it has a glossy finish and you can’t upgrade to Apple’s Nano-Texture glass option like you can with more expensive MacBooks.

With only one high-speed USB-C port, you’re limited to connecting the Neo to a single external display. Likewise, you’re also stuck at 60Hz which means you won’t be able to take full advantage of high refresh rate monitors that go up to 120Hz — like Apple’s new Studio Display XDR — or even higher.

You don’t get a display with the Mac mini but thanks to the power of the M4 chip driving it, you can connect up to three external displays at the same time. When it comes to their resolution, you can run two displays at 6K at 60Hz and a third at 5K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt 4. There’s also an HDMI port around back that can output at 4K at 60Hz. Likewise, if you only want to run a single monitor, the Mac mini M4 can actually drive an 8K display at 60Hz or a 4K display at 240Hz.

Using the Neo with a single, large external display will likely be enough for most people. However, if you want to run a dual or even a triple-monitor setup for maximum productivity, then the Mac mini M4 is the better option.

MacBook Neo vs Mac mini M4: Graphics

Both the MacBook Neo and the Mac mini M4 are surprisingly capable gaming machines for $599, thanks to their support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading. However, while the Neo often relies on MetalFX upscaling to hit playable framerates, the Mac mini M4 has the raw horsepower to push higher settings natively.

Since the Neo uses the A18 Pro, it handles AAA titles that have been ported to iOS remarkably well. In our testing, Resident Evil 4 and the long-awaited Hollow Knight: Silksong played surprisingly well on the Neo's 13-inch screen. You can also tap into the entire Apple Arcade library, including the newly released Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea, which looks beautiful on the Neo's glossy Retina display.

However, Cyberpunk 2077 pushed this budget MacBook to its absolute limits. Since the Neo is fanless, it began to thermally throttle after about 20 minutes of gameplay, causing the framerate to dip into the low 20s. The 8GB of RAM also led to occasional stutters in open-world sections.

The Mac mini M4 is a much better option for extended play sessions. With 10 GPU cores and 16GB of RAM as standard, it didn’t slow down at all during our hour-long Cyberpunk stress test. Its internal fan kept the temperature stable, allowing the M4 to maintain its clock speeds indefinitely. If you’re a casual gamer who wants to play indie hits or mobile ports on the go, the Neo is a delight. However, if you want a machine that can actually act as a budget gaming PC at your desk, the Mac mini M4 is the clear winner.

MacBook Neo vs Mac mini M4: Outlook

Switching to Mac has never been easier with two excellent options for the same $599 price. However, choosing between the two isn’t necessarily about which one is better, but rather where you plan on working.

The MacBook Neo is the most affordable MacBook yet and as such, it’s the perfect laptop for students, writers and travelers that need a machine they can go from a backpack to open on a table in seconds. You are giving up raw power for portability but in return, you’re getting a beautifully designed laptop with a 13-inch retina display that blows most budget Windows laptops and especially Chromebooks out of the water.

Now if you want a desktop workstation on a budget and already have a monitor and the necessary peripherals, then the Mac mini M4 is a more powerful though stationary computer. With double the RAM and a desktop-class chip, it’s ideal for multitasking and more demanding workloads. Plus, thanks to its internal fan, it won’t throttle under pressure.

Ultimately, the choice between the newer MacBook Neo or the slightly older Mac mini M4 comes down to whether you value portability or power more. If you need a computer you can bring with you or even move from room to room easily, then the Neo is the better choice. However, if you don’t mind working at a desk and paying a bit more for a monitor and peripherals (if you don’t have them already), then the Mac mini M4 is still an excellent option.

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched the MacBook Air for a MacBook Neo for 48 hours — and I'm shocked
• I hated the Mac mini M4’s power button until I accidentally proved Apple was right
• I played 5 games on the MacBook Neo — here's my report card

Whenever Apple announces new devices it means that some older ones get discontinued. Last week, Apple revealed a slew of new products including the intriguing MacBook Neo, budget-friendly iPhone 17e and more powerful MacBook Pro M5 Pro/Max laptops.

As part of streamlining the devices it sells, the company discontinued 15 existing devices. Surprisingly, not every device is years old. The oldest was released in 2019, while the most recent only debuted six months ago.

Here's the list of 15 discontinued products:

• iPhone 16e with A18 (2025)
• 11-inch iPad Air with M3 (2025)
• 13-inch iPad Air with M3 (2025)
• 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 (2025)
• 15-inch MacBook Air with M4 (2025)
• 13-inch MacBook Pro with M5 and 512GB storage (2025)
• 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro (2024)
• 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro (2024)
• 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Max (2024)
• 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Max (2024)
• Mac Studio with M3 Ultra and 512GB memory (2025)
• Studio Display with A13 Bionic (2022)
• Pro Display XDR (2019)
• Pro Stand for Pro Display XDR (2019)
• Pro Display XDR VESA Mount Adapter (2019)

For the most part, the Apple is just swapping one product for its updated version. The iPhone 16e gets the boot for the 17e. The M3 iPad Air has been replaced by the M4 version, the same for the M4 MacBook Air models which have been replaced with M5 MacBook Airs.

The surprising discontinuation is the 512GB MacBook Pro M5, which was announced in October 2025 for $1,599. Instead, the new base model features 1TB of internal storage, and costs $1,699.

It's unclear if this related to the ongoing memory crisis that is reducing storage and RAM options for many companies.

Finally, we have the two oldest devices: the original Studio Display from 2022 and the Pro Display XDR (released in 2019), which were replaced by the new Studio Display XDR and an updated base version.

What does discontinued mean for your devices?

Unlike Apple's vintage or obsolete devices, discontinuation just means the company no longer sells these products through official channels. However, they are still eligible for software updates, repairs and support for at least five to seven years after their initial release date.

Apple typically places devices on its vintage list around five years after the company stops selling them. At that point, they're unlikely to get software updates, and repairs will only be available as long as parts are available. So if you own any of these discontinued products, you still have some time before you need to consider an upgrade.

More from Tom's Guide

• I love my MacBook Air, but anyone buying the M5 should absolutely add one of these must-have accessories to their shopping basket
• Apple March event — MacBook Neo reactions, iPhone 17e and all the new products
• Apple buried these 3 genuinely useful iPhone features — here's how to find them

As the rest of the tech world seemingly falls apart thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, Apple is slated to have a busy start to 2026 with a slew new devices expected to launch in the next six months.

From the refreshed iPhone 17e to new iPads, we expect to see a variety of devices, including a new budget-friendly MacBook to take on Chromebooks and cheaper Windows notebooks. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed a number of new devices in his PowerOn newsletter, many of which we've covered. Here's what Apple should release soon — and what's on the horizon.

iPhones: iPhone 17e

Apple's e-series is going to be an annual spring release with the second version launching this year in the iPhone 17e. Most of the changes with this model will reportedly be internal with new chips and the addition of MagSafe charging.

It should get the A19 chip from the iPhone 17 plus the Apple-developed C1 modem and N1 wireless chip. This means the iPhone 17e should support Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread - the smart home low-power mesh.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 17e may retain the $599 of the 16e, which makes it not quite as budget-friendly as you'd like a downgraded iPhone to be.

As my colleague Tom Pritchard noted, "It may be a cheap iPhone, but we've seen cheaper, and I'm wondering whether buying a used flagship iPhone is a better use of your money."

Later this fall, we expect to see the iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and the iPhone Fold launch in September.

iPads: Entry-level, Air, Mini

Gurman claims that at least three refreshed iPad models are coming this year, including a new base model, iPad Air and an updated iPad mini.

Like the 17e, the biggest upgrades will all be internal. All three are expected to get the new in-house Apple wireless and modem chips. Additionally, they should get faster processors. Gurman claimed they would get the A18 chip, but an earlier report based on leaked internal documents indicated that the iPads would get the newer A19 chipset or the M4 chip.

The base model will get the A19, while the iPad Air will get the M4 set.

Finally, at the end of 2025, it was rumored that the iPad mini 8 will get an OLED upgrade, and it might feature the A20 Pro CPU that will feature in the iPhone 18 Pro later this year. The upgraded iPad mini isn't expected to launch until later this year after the iPhone 18 Pro launch.

MacBooks: Budget, M5 Air, and new Pro models

Apple launched its MacBook Pro M5 in October last year but was missing the M5 Pro and M5 Max/Ultra models. The most current rumors have set the high-end Pro models to launch as early as the week of March 2. We expect the MacBook Air M5 to launch around this time as well.

The more interesting potential release is the rumored cheap MacBook meant to take on low-cost Windows laptops and Google Chromebooks. Rumors have slated this budget MacBook to cost around $599, likely as a way for Apple to kneecap the refurbished market for deals like the M1 MacBook Air from Walmart.

The laptop should have a 12-inch to 13-inch display and run on the A18 Pro chipset, though that is speculation. I haven't seen a release date in the rumor mill, but I would put a couple bucks on it launching alongside the iPhone 17e, creating a "budget ecosystem" for Apple. Possibly, it could debut as part of a week of MacBooks with the Pro models.

Finally, on the computing front, Apple could finally release an updated Studio Display and Mac Studio desktops. Allegedly, new Mac minis, likely with the M5 chip, are on the docket as well. It's not clear when these devices will launch. Plus, an OLED MacBook Pro M6 is rumored to launch at some point this year, likely in October, its usual window.

iOS 26.4: Siri 2.0, iOS 27

One of our complaints about the 16e was the high price point and the lack of actual Apple Intelligence, thanks to Apple's struggles with AI and creating a true Siri 2.0.

That version should finally launch with iOS 26.4, likely in March, which will include upgrades to Siri. The real upgrade probably won't launch until WWDC 2026 in June when we'll learn more about iOS 27 and the Google Gemini partnership to bolster Apple Intelligence.

All in all, it's a busy season for the tech giant, and Tom's Guide will be there to cover all the new devices and help you decide if it's time to upgrade.

More from Tom's Guide

• New Snapdragon X2 Elite benchmarks surface — and Apple and Intel should be worried
• 5 Apple Watch settings you should change right now for more accurate heart rate tracking
• Best iPhones: Which iPhone should you buy?

I was over the moon at the idea of a completely redesigned Mac mini in a much smaller case with a more powerful M4 chip. That was until Apple finally showed off its new design, revealing that, this time around, the power button on the Mac mini M4 would be on the bottom instead of on the back of the device.

The Apple Magic Mouse with its oddly placed charging port immediately sprung to mind. At least with a wireless mouse though, you don’t have to plug it in all that often. Now with one of the best mini PCs, a power button is integral to their daily use. Apple on the other hand saw things quite differently.

Shortly after the Mac mini M4’s launch, Apple’s SVP of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak and SVP of Hardware Engineering John Ternus explained in an interview with IThome that the underside of the Mac mini M4 was the “optimal spot” for its power button due to the redesign. At the same time, they also noted that most Mac users never actually turn their devices off.

Although I used a Mac growing up and while in college, back when I reviewed the Mac mini M4, I had mostly been using Windows-based mini PCs. As such, I initially scoffed at the idea of never shutting down my computer and how Apple had practically made the device’s power button unreachable.

Now though, after using the Mac mini M4 for over a year I realized Apple just might have been right.

A non-optional accessory

Just like when I spent a week testing out the Mac mini M2 ahead of the release of this updated model, the first accessory I added to the Mac mini M4 was a USB-C powered dock and stand.

I know most people are fine using Bluetooth accessories these days but since I’m constantly switching between computers, I actually prefer one of the best mechanical keyboards and a trackball mouse with 2.4 GHz USB receivers. With three USB-A ports on the front, I even have one left over to plug in a flash drive. Likewise, with an SD card reader on the left, it’s easy to quickly take photos off my camera.

The Satechi Mac Mini M4 Stand & Hub also has another trick up its sleeve. When you flip it over, there’s a free slot where you can install up to a 4TB M.2 SSD. Doing so lets you get around paying the Apple Tax for extra storage. Also, thanks to the fact that the Mac mini M4 comes with 16GB of RAM as the new standard, you likely won’t have to jump up to an upgraded model since this accessory easily lets you add more storage space.

The other big problem the Satechi Stand & Hub solves is that you can now easily reach the Mac mini M4’s power button. Without it, you’d have to awkwardly tilt the device over on your desk anytime you wanted to power it back on after a shutdown.

Although I haven’t stopped using this accessory with my Mac mini M4 for over a year now, the cutout at the back isn’t the killer feature I initially thought it would be.

Powered on and forgotten

Even though I still think the Mac mini M4 is the best mini PC for most people and especially for Apple users, I’ve been using it less lately so that I can spend my time testing and reviewing other, Windows-based mini PCs.

When OpenAI rolled out its ChatGPT Atlas browser back in October of last year though, I was tasked with installing it and doing a hands-on. Since it was Mac-only at that time, I got it up and running on my Mac mini M4. Now if I had one of the best MacBooks on hand, it would have been a lot easier taking pictures of this new AI-powered browser running on a Mac. Instead, I ended up putting a new desk setup together just to do so.

To Apple’s credit, when I was done, I didn’t shut down the Mac mini M4. Instead, I let it go into sleep mode and that was that. Much to my surprise though, when I returned from CES 2026 last week, I saw its status light was still on. After a few taps on my keyboard, it instantly sprung back to life, completely oblivious to the fact that I had left it powered on for almost three months.

It was at that moment that it dawned on me, maybe Apple was right. With a new puppy in our game room sleeping where I previously worked, I’ve found myself working from the Mac mini M4 in the next room and letting it fall asleep on its own each night for the past week.

I think what surprised me the most though is that besides that small white indicator light, I wouldn’t have known Apple’s mini PC was sleeping as it’s completely quiet when doing so and it isn't a light sleeper like some of the Windows-based mini PCs I’ve tested and reviewed. It doesn’t “wake up” for updates or from overly sensitive peripherals.

Even when my son would bump into my desk when running over to check on the puppy, the Mac mini M4 never stirred. That was until I started typing on the keyboard in front of it.

From hidden to essential

Now that I fully understand Apple’s reasoning with the Mac mini M4’s power button placement, I’d still like to see some changes with the Mac mini M5 or whatever comes next. Instead of tucking it away on the underside of the device, what if Apple actually made it useful?

After reviewing the MSI Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG and loving the fingerprint scanner integrated into its power button, I’d love to see Apple do something similar with the next Mac mini. Right now, if you want to use Touch ID to do things like log in, use Apple Pay, install new software or buy apps from the Mac App Store, your only option is to purchase a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID separately. But imagine how much more useful this functionality would be if it was built right into your Mac?

Even if Apple doesn’t want to give up the biggest selling point of its most expensive keyboard, there are other ways the Mac mini’s power button could be useful. Given that we’re getting an upgraded and more intelligent Siri soon, imagine if a short press of the power button could bring that up while a long press could be used to shutdown your computer. The possibilities are really almost endless once you bring short, long and even double presses into the mix.

It might have taken me over a year, but now, I finally understand why Apple compromised with the placement of the Mac mini M4’s power button. I’d say I was going to shut down my computer now but given that it’s been on for months, I guess I’ll just step away from my keyboard and let it drift off to sleep.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried this new mechanical keyboard with the Mac mini M4 and it puts Apple’s Magic Keyboard to shame
• Mac mini M4 — 4 reasons to buy and 3 reasons to skip
• I gave my Mac mini M4 the ultimate upgrade with this Mac Pro-style case and it fixes some of my biggest complaints

There's been no shortage of rumors regarding Apple's next iMac. Shortly after a leak suggested that Apple would launch an all-in-one desktop with an M5 Max processor, a new leak has emerged suggesting that Apple will switch to an OLED panel for the upcoming iMac.

Korean publisher The Elec reports that Apple is planning an OLED iMac, which would be a significant departure from the IPS LCD panels currently used in iMac devices. Though if you've ever used the latest iMac, you know that Apple has made the most of that screen tech to create a solid-looking display, and I expect the company will do the same with its first OLED iMac.

What we know about the new iMac OLED

Apple is apparently asking Samsung and LG, companies it typically partners with to make displays for its devices, for information on meeting the specs Apple has put forth.

Presumably, the display makers will be able to handle what Apple wants, and then it'll be a matter of Apple getting quotes to determine which company can meet the demands for a better price.

And what are those specs? Fortunately, the leak from The Elec contains the specs Apple has requested: "The iMac OLED specifications recently requested by Apple are known to be 24 inches, 600 nits of brightness, and 218PPI (Pixels Per Inch) in pixels," reads the request reported by the Korean publication.

If the iMac with an OLED display comes out, it would improve the all-in-one computer's brightness. In fact, based on the specs Apple is looking for in the report, the screen could be up to 20% brighter than the existing 24-inch iMac.

Before you get too excited, the report also suggests that because this is in the early stages, Apple won't finish the OLED iMac until 2027 or 2028, with a release window sometime after that.

The other bit of bad news is the 24-inch size mentioned in the specs. Apparently, Apple isn't looking into larger OLED displays for the iMac, as the OLED tech it's considering doesn’t support panels larger than 30 inches. If you've been holding out for a large iMac with an OLED, you might need to keep the hope burning for a while longer.

MacBook Pro OLED up first

Apple has gradually started switching its devices to OLED, but it hasn't gone all-in yet. First, the Apple Watch got the newer screen technology. From there, Apple started adding OLED to its beloved iPhone and iPad models.

On the back of its smartphones, the Cupertino company is expected to put OLED screens on the MacBook Pro M6. And it could also be the first MacBook with a touch screen display.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple's iPhone roadmap for the next two years just leaked — everything you need to know
• iOS 26.3 has a pleasant surprise in the form of an updated iPhone wallpaper gallery — here's what's new
• Massive Apple leak reveals over 30 upcoming products — iPhone Fold, cheap MacBook, smart glasses, AirTag 2 and more

This week, a massive code leak revealed more than 30 Apple devices could debut in the next couple of years. Surprisingly, though, a separate code leak emerged shortly afterwards, revealing at least one more Apple product on the horizon.

Apple is reportedly developing a new iMac Pro featuring its M5 Max chipset, according to leaked internal software seen by MacRumors. The massive leak was the result of a prototype of iOS 26 that was accidentally sold, which contained a “ kernel debug kit” used by Apple’s engineers.

Typically, these systems label unreleased Apple devices using codenames or platform names. Sometimes they also include secondary references to chipsets or marketing names.

According to MacRumors, the software references an iMac codenamed J833c running platform H17C. H17C is a label associated with Sotra C, an alleged codename for the M5 Max chip. This line suggests that Apple is actively testing an iMac featuring the M5 Max.

There are other devices in the code like iPad minis running tvOS that are probably just used for internal Apple testing. However, the J833c codename appeared earlier this year in a different leak.

That July leak revealed every Mac product that could launch in 2026, including a variety of MacBooks and Mac Studios. However, that leak only showed the iMac featuring a standard M5 chip.

The M5 Pro and Max chips are expected to debut in 2026, and there have been rumors of Apple developing a high-end “Pro” iMac going all the way back to 2022. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported a few times that Apple is working on an iMac with a bigger screen.

Other Macs

Apparently, the leaked kit also confirmed a few other Mac devices that were highlighted in the July leak. It lists 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a 14-inch MacBook Pro featuring an M6 chip, and 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M6 Pro and M6 Max chips.

Additionally, it also lists 13 and 15-inch M5 MacBook Air models, an M5 and M5 Pro Mac mini, and new Mac Studio models, which could feature the M5 Ultra chip. The rumored budget-friendly MacBook featuring an A18 Pro chip is also listed.

We’ll have to wait until next year to find out if some of these leaked Macs turn out to be real products, but for now, take all this info with a grain of salt. If you’re planning to upgrade to one of the best MacBooks, though, it might be worth waiting until next year if you want a new laptop with a more powerful M5 Max or Ultra chip inside.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple's iPhone roadmap for the next two years just leaked — everything you need to know
• iOS 26.3 has a pleasant surprise in the form of an updated iPhone wallpaper gallery — here's what's new
• Massive Apple leak reveals over 30 upcoming products — iPhone Fold, cheap MacBook, smart glasses, AirTag 2 and more

Apple's ongoing vintage and obsoletes products list got a recent update, and the latest update adds some unique Apple products, including the infamous "trash can" 2013 Mac Pro, considered retro 12 years after it's introduction.

In general, products added to the list are actually more recent than the trash can desktop, but Apple sold that version of the Mac Pro for years. To be added to the vintage list a device has to be five years is produced and distributed for sale.

Apple sold the trash can Mac Pro until December of 2019 when it was replaced with the equally unique "cheesegrater" Mac Pro, a design that has largely stuck around since then.

At the time, the Mac Pro's cylindrical design was smaller than than the previous tower Mac Pro. However, the design was flawed with a lack of space to upgrade components like GPUs and RAM.

As MacRumors reported in 2017, even Apple had to admit that the design was a failure when it came to updating the system, even for Apple engineers.

"I think we designed ourselves into a bit of a thermal corner, if you will," said Craig Federighi said, who was then software engineering chief.

Beyond the turbine-looking Mac Pro, a few other Apple devices are now vintage:

• 2019 13-inch MacBook Air
• 2019 iMac
• 2018 11-inch iPad Pro
• 2018 third-generation 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌
• iPhone 8 128GB

Additionally, a number of devices are now considered obsolete. The transition occurs when a product has been considered vintage for two years. More accurately, devices are obsolete seven years after Apple discontinued them.

Most of this list includes Apple's long-dead AirPort routers.

• AirPort Express second generation, 2TB and 3TB
• AirPort Time Capsule 2TB
• AirPort Time Capsule 3TB
• 802.11ac AirPort Extreme

Apple will support vintage products with repairs if parts are available. However, once parts supplies are gone, repairs will no longer be offered. Obsolete devices won't be repaired by Apple Stores or Apple Authorized Service Providers.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone 17 Pro Max just leaked in a surprising new color — get ready for orange
• Apple Smart Home Hub — we just got bad news about the release window
• iPhone 17 Air — here’s what Apple could learn from Samsung’s thin phone releases

If your Mac mini has decided it won't power up anymore, you're not alone. Apple just launched a new repair program for the M2 Mac mini (2023) as a "very small percentage" may no longer power on.

The problem affects devices manufactured between June 16, 2024 to November 23, 2024, but that's not an easy way to work out if yours is included. Instead, head over to Apple's Mac mini Service Program page and enter your serial number.

If your Apple Mac mini M2 (2023) has the problem that leads to a lot of nothing going on, then you'll be offered a free repair either with Apple direct or an authorized service partner — just fill in your details and go to an Apple Store or partner repair store.

Given the type of repair needed, it's likely that you'll be without your Mac mini for at least a couple of days, so it might be a good idea to keep a cheap laptop handy. Even if it's a Windows machine, you can still access a lot of your Apple data on iCloud.com.

What happened to the Mac mini M2 (2023)?

According to Apple's service program, the hardware issue was only introduced to the Mac mini M2 a year ago, with models manufactured between June and November 2024. So it's only just getting an 'official' problem status now.

However, Reddit user hkfan451 took to r/macmini in October 2024 to report that their brand new Mac mini M2 had a power issue and Apple wouldn't allow them to mail it in for repair (although you can now that the official service program is in operation).

It's not clear if that is the same issue that Apple has now acknowledged, but the timeline would match up. Though, some Mac minis have run into power issues that are unrelated to this manufacturing issue.

In late 2023, there were discussions on the Apple Community forums about Mac mini M2 units losing power. And it's a tricky one to troubleshoot since you don't have a built-in display, so you also need to check that the unit doesn't just appear dead, but actually isn't powering on at all.

If there doesn't seem to be any activity from the Mac mini at all — so no beeps, and the status indicator light on the front stays off instead of turning white — then it's time for a service.

Fortunately, some power-related issues may also be covered under warranty.

More from Tom's Guide

• Midea recalls 1.7 million U-shaped air conditioners over mold concerns - what to do
• IKEA just issued product recall over this kitchen gadget — danger of parts being ingested with food
• Anker recalls over 1 million power banks due to fire hazard — see if you're affected

Apple is reportedly "ramping up" production on its new Studio Display, with rumors indicating it will boast a Mini-LED upgrade — and it's set to arrive as soon as next year.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (via MacRumors), the next Apple Studio Display "should arrive by 2026," offering a similar 27-inch display size and design of the current model. Interestingly, it's set to arrive alongside MacBook Pro and iPad Pro models with M5 chips.

While no further details are mentioned, display analyst Ross Young believes the upcoming Studio Display will feature Mini-LED backlighting. If accurate, this means we could see and improved overall brightness of the display, along with better contrast and black levels, compared the 2022 Apple Studio Display.

We've seen Apple use Mini-LEDs before, most notably in the $4,999 Apple Pro Display XDR. We noted that this display is bigger, brighter and better optimized for professional content creators, but it comes with a steep price tag. With Mini-LED technology in a more affordable Studio Display ($1,499), Mac users can look forward to a far better screen for cheaper.

Upgraded resolution, too?

Paired with an upgraded Mac mini M4, which comes with a Thunderbolt 4 port and support for up to three external displays, the Apple Studio Display makes for a fine display for Mac users. However, considering Apple's latest mini PC can run two 6K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate, it could be a sign of what's to come.

The current Apple Studio Display offers 5K (5,120 x 2,880) resolution in a 27-inch screen, with bright, gorgeous colors. Now, with the Mac mini M4, and a possible M5 model coming down the pipeline since the next-gen chip is slated to come late this year or in 2026, Apple could match this resolution with a 6K monitor in the new Studio Display.

There's still a lot to learn about a new Apple Studio Display, but we're looking forward to seeing it in Mini-LED backlighting glory if rumors are to be believed. We've noted that full-array LEDs on TVs are on their way out in favor of Mini-LEDs, so we could be seeing the same for monitors.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've used every iPhone SE but I don't see myself upgrading to the new iPhone SE 4
• MacBook Pro tipped for M5 upgrade ahead of iPad Pro — what we know
• iPhone 17 Pro Max just tipped for very welcome design upgrade

Mini LED backlighting is coming to Apple's next 27-inch Studio Displays, according to well-regarded display analyst Ross Young (via MacRumors).

These new displays would be next iteration of the Studio Display that hasn't been updated since Apple introduced the 27-inch monitor back in 2022. According to Young's subscribers-only post, the upcoming version will stay the same size but feature Mini LED backlighting, which could improve the contrast, black levels, and the overall brightness of the display.

Young's report says that the display will use Mini LEDs from Epistar, while LG Display will supply the panels. Together, these new display specs should hopefully make the Studio Display far less glossy or susceptible to glare. But it's worth noting that this wouldn't be a first for Apple – Mini LED tech in the Pro Display XDR, but that hasn't seen an upgrade since 2020.

The currently-available 2022 version features a 5K LED panel and starts at $1,499. Although we don't know yet if switching to Mini LED technology will reflect in the cost of a next-generation version, there are other ways Apple could improve the Studio Display. For example, we're hoping the company upgrades the terrible webcam in the display, and potentially upgrading the speakers would be a good improvement as well.

On a personal level, making the power cable removable would be very welcome. Similarly, Tom's Guide security editor, Anthony Spadafora, longs for more ports as it currently only has one Thunderbolt port and three USB-C ones.

Several other currently available Apple devices already use Mini LED or have switched over to OLED like the MacBook Pro M4 and the iPad Pro M4, respectively.

It's not clear when this upgrade Studio Display would arrive though MacRumors suggests 2026 or late 2025.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried the Apple Watch ankle trend — here’s why I’d never do it again
• Apple event set for Feb. 19 — and it looks like the iPhone SE 4 is coming
• iPhone 17 Pro Max just tipped for very welcome design upgrade

After testing out the Mac mini M2 for a few weeks last year, it was clear that Apple’s mini PC was in need of an upgrade. While it did well enough with web browsing and basic tasks, it was easier than I thought to utilize all 8GB of RAM on the base model.

Fortunately, back in November of last year, Apple unveiled the new Mac mini M4 which unlike its predecessor, came with 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB on the base model. Alongside Cupertino’s more powerful M4 chip, this extra memory made a huge difference when it came to multitasking and with heavier workloads like video editing.

There was only one small problem for me, instead of two USB-A ports and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the Mac mini M4 doesn’t have any full-size USB ports. Instead, it has two USB-C ports on the front and three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back. If you’re using Apple’s Magic Keyboard alongside a Magic Mouse or even a Magic Trackpad, this likely won’t be a problem since all of the company’s accessories are wireless and connect to your Mac via Bluetooth.

Personally, I’m not quite ready to completely move to USB-C as I still have some older devices with USB-A ports. Likewise, while Apple upped the Mac mini M4’s RAM from 8GB to 16GB, the same can’t be said for the device’s storage as moving up from 256GB to 512GB or even a 1TB of internal storage still carries a premium.

This is where accessories like Satechi’s new Mac Mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure can be quite useful. Not only do you get more ports, but you also get the option to outfit your Mac Mini M4 with additional storage without having to pay the Apple Tax.

On the front, there are two USB-A 3.2 ports, a single USB-A 2.0 port and an SD card reader. Meanwhile, on the back, there’s a single, hard-wired USB-C cable that you plug into one of the rear ports on your Mac mini M4.

Just like with Satechi’s similar stand and hub for the Mac mini M2, this one also allows you to add your own M.2 SSD for additional storage space. In fact, the company says you can add up to 4TB of NVMe storage. You just have to make sure that your M.2 SSD is the right size to fit inside this new accessory.

If you think about it, giving up one Thunderbolt 4 connection at the back of the Mac mini M4 is totally worth it for all of these extra USB-A ports along with the option to upgrade your computer’s storage even after you purchased it from Apple. The Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand and Hub has one more trick up its sleeve though.

Pressed for power

Back when the Mac mini M4 was first revealed, myself and many others were shocked by Apple’s decision to move the device’s power button from the back side to underneath its new computer. Sure, the cooling fan at the bottom does raise up its chassis slightly, but this isn’t nearly enough space to slide your finger underneath it to press the Mac mini M4’s power button.

Just like with the Magic Mouse which needs to be flipped over to charge, this design decision baffled both Apple’s fans and critics alike. Instead of justifying the decision, the company doubled down by explaining that the Mac mini M4 doesn't need to be turned off or restarted all that often. Surprisingly, most Mac mini users just let their computer go to sleep instead of turning it off each night.

During my time spent testing and reviewing the Mac mini M4, I did the exact same thing but it did take some getting used to. Letting one of the best mini PCs go to sleep instead of just shutting it down didn’t make any sense to me then and it still doesn’t either. Sometimes, you just want to turn off your computer and walk away, like when you’re done for the day or don’t plan on using it for a long period of time. On its own, the Mac mini M4 needs to be completely flipped over to press its power button.

In the picture above, you can see a cutout on Satechi’s stand and hub which makes it much easier to press the device’s power button. No more fumbling around, flipping your computer over or just leaving it in sleep mode so that you never have to push the power button again.

The Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub will be available to purchase in limited quantities for just $99 at the beginning of February. However, in March, the company plans to make it generally available to the wider public.

The right accessory can make all the difference and if you want even more ports, the ability to add extra storage and an easy way to reach the Mac mini M4’s power button, Satechi’s new hub is a great investment. Just keep in mind that you will need to provide your own M.2 SSD.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve waited years for Apple to give a damn about Mac gaming — and it’s finally happening
• Mac mini M4 — 4 reasons to buy and 3 reasons to skip
• This accessory fixes the biggest downside with the iMac M4 and Apple Studio Display

Apple's newest Mac mini M4 is a tiny powerhouse that is nearly flawless save for a few annoying shortcomings. One is the awkward placement of the power button, which has been controversial. It's one reason we suggested you skip the Mac mini M4.

Designers at Apple managed to make the latest mini desktop computer half the size of the previous model while giving the device more accessible ports. You can see where engineers would be challenged in laying out external features on the casing.

Two Apple executives were interviewed by the Bilibili channel "Movie Hurricane" (via IThome), and they broke down why the power button is on the bottom of the computer. Bilibili is China's version of YouTube.

Greg Joswiak, Apple's Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing, and John Ternus, the Senior VP of Hardware Engineering, made sure to emphasize that the button is easily accessible by "tucking" a finger under the mini to press it.

In the interview, they claim that because the Mac Mini M4 is much more compact, the new placement is "the optimal spot for a power button."

Previous iterations featured the button on the device's rear next to the ports.

"Honestly, most people almost never use the power button on a Mac," one of the execs added.

We couldn't find any hard numbers, though some smaller surveys suggested that most people don't turn off their computers or put them in sleep mode at the end of the day. So, for most, hitting the power button isn't going to be a daily or weekly moment.

Still, it's inconvenient, and if you have to put the mini in a tight space, it could be hard to access.

This hasn't stopped people from 3D-printing clever hacks. A personal favorite is one created by Jerrod H on Maker World (via PC Gamer) that looks like an old PowerMac G5. Others have created simple extensions that you can tap without lifting the mini.

Despite the awkward placement of the power button, the Mac mini M4 is a great computer and easily one of the best mini PCs. In our review, we said, "The Mac mini M4 is an excellent mini PC, and besides being the smallest, it’s also the most powerful one Apple has released yet."

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Black Friday deals live — I've found the best sales on iPhones, MacBooks, iPads and more
• Apple AirPods could start monitoring your health from 2026 — what we know
• iOS 18.2 beta 3 is here — here’s the new upgrades for your iPhone

An unnamed source reached out to a popular Upgrade podcast (overheard by 9to5Mac), hosted by Myke Hurley and Jason Snell, claiming that Apple is working on a 90Hz display that might show up on future M3-powered iPad Air, the 24-inch iMac and Studio Display models.

The current Apple iMac M3, 13-inch iPad Air 2024, and 5K Studio Displays are locked at 60Hz refresh rates on the available displays. According to the source, the first 90Hz display will be on a future M3-powered iPad Air. From there, it will move to the 24-inch iMac and Studio Display.

This would match recent outputs from Apple, were the newest iPad gets upgraded first, and the Apple desktops or laptops see upgrades later.

The anonymous source told Upgrade, "I have news on screen improvements for the next generation of the M3 iPad Air. Apple is working on a higher refresh rate LCD display with a new liquid motion panel fixed at around 90Hz. They’re also working on expanding it to other models or products like a 24-inch iMac and a next-gen studio display."

Apple just announced a new M4-powered iMac at the end of October, launching on November 8. That device appears to feature a locked 60Hz refresh rate but is more powerful. Check back with Tom's Guide for our full review of the iMac M4 later this week.

An upgraded Studio Display hasn't seen many rumors, and with the new iMac launching this month, we probably won't see the next-generation monitor until late 2025, when Apple is expected to launch M5-powered MacBooks.

Meanwhile, it has been dinged by device purists because their devices haven't caught up to the variable 120Hz rate available on Android and PCs available now. That said, next year's iPhone 17 series will reportedly feature a "ProMotion" display that supports 120Hz refresh rates.

The full Upgrade episode can be found here.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Intelligence is the most staggered launch in Apple's history — is that a good thing?
• iOS 18.2 has a big Find My upgrade — and we can't believe Apple didn't think of this before
• Tubi just added 'Reservoir Dogs' for free — stream Quentin Tarantino's best movie now

Now it’s time for Apple’s big guns, and by “big” we mean incredibly tiny. The rumors were true on a redesigned M4 Mac mini, and the size is shocking — announced during Apple's Mac Week. A 5-inch square packs either M4 or M4 Pro power, and makes one of my personal favorite mini PCs even smaller and better than ever.

Now, Apple is quick to tell you just how this system compares to M1 and Intel Mac minis, or to “AI PCs” (read: Snapdragon X Elite, AMD and Intel-based Copilot+ PCs). But if you have the M2 Mac Mini already, is this worth the upgrade? I think this is worth a closer look. Here's all the biggest differences you need to know between the M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini.

M4

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Price and availability

Just like iMac M4, the pricing is staying the same. The standard M4 Mac mini will set you back $599, whereas the M4 Pro variant will come in at a starting price of $1,399. Pre-orders are available now, with a launch date of November 8.

Now, when we get into Pro chip territory, I like to play a game called “how many times will I have to remortgage the house to afford the maxed out spec.” This year, it’s a doozy. If I was to get the M4 Pro Mac mini with 14-core CPU, 20-core GPU, 64GB of Unified Memory (RAM), an 8TB SSD and 10 Gigabit Ethernet, you’re looking at a bill of $4,699.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Design

I’ll be honest. I saw the rumors on the Mac mini, but I still didn’t expect the new Mac mini to be this small.

In terms of aesthetics, the Mac mini M4 is still that solid block of aluminum adorned with ports on the front and rear. But, as you can see, it’s smaller and impressively lighter — in fact, that means it is Apple’s first ever carbon neutral Mac. Manufacturing, transporting and using this machine emits over 80% less greenhouse gases than before.

However, there is one point of potential frustration that I’d like to bring up with the M4 Mac mini. If you’ve seen me write about the iMac already, you’ll know that I’m more than a little annoyed that Apple has continued to put the USB-C port on the underside of the Magic Mouse. Hiding important things on the underside of devices just seems a bit silly to me.

So why oh why is the power button on the bottom of the Mac mini? I get the clean aesthetic, but we’re talking about probably the most important part of any desktop computer — the power switch — and that’s now in an awkward position!

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Performance

This is where it gets juicy. The new Mac mini comes either with the M4 or M4 Pro chipsets, which both collectively deliver some bonkers performance potential through their 3-nanometer transistors.

As we’ve already seen from M4 iPad Pro benchmarks, the standard M4 is capable of some zippy performance — packing 1.8x faster CPU performance and 2.2x faster GPU performance than the M1 Mac mini.

But the real intrigue (and the one I’m more curious to sink my teeth into) is M4 Pro. The Neural Engine is now 2x faster than the previous generation chip; the GPU’s improved architecture is capable of 2x faster ray-tracing; and Apple is touting the industry’s best single-threaded performance in its performance cores.

Not only that, but M4 Pro gives you Thunderbolt 5 support for super fast data transfer speeds, and the memory bandwidth for its RAM runs at a spicy 273 GB/s. That’s ludicrous bandwidth for loading and running apps fast under heaving multitasking — twice as much as any AI PC chip according to Apple.

And this will all contribute to some breakneck speeds in AI workloads, alongside lightning quick Apple Intelligence.

M4 Mac mini vs M2 Mac mini: Should you upgrade?

With the M4 iMac, the answer to this was simple. If you already have the M3 iMac, the spec bump may not be worth it. But with this being a drastic redesign, the answer is a little unclear.

• For those with an Intel or M1 Mac mini: Absolutely yes! What are you still doing looking at this? Go and pre-order one!
• For those with an M2 Mac mini: If you can wait just a while longer for M4 Mac mini review, then I definitely would. However, I don’t think you’d feel any buyer’s remorse in pre-ordering this new mini monster.

And what a mini monster it is. Apple has truly upped its game here and we can’t wait to get our hands on one to review. Stay tuned!

More from Tom's Guide

• iMac M4 vs iMac M3 — biggest upgrades explained
• Windows 11 24H2 update disaster — it’s now crashing Intel motherboards
• Thunderbolt 5 vs Thunderbolt 4: Everything you need to know

Kicking off the week of big M4 Mac announcements, Apple has just debuted the M4 iMac with some tasty upgrades to the design and its performance. It may look identical (with the exception of the new colors), but there’s a lot more going on when you take a closer look at the updated best all-in-one computer.

And that’s why I’m here — to break down every single difference here, and help you figure out whether the M4 iMac is the one for you. As you’ll see (spoiler alert) the updates in performance are kind of a minor spec bump, which is why Apple was careful to compare this to the M1 and Intel iMacs for that shock value.

But there will still be some reasons why an upgrade so soon could be worth it to certain power users. Let me explain, and show you how the iMac M4 vs iMac M3 stack up against one another.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Specs

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Price and availability

Pricing is staying the same — you can pre-order the iMac M4 for $1,299 with prices going up to $2,899 if you go for the fully maxed out spec. The big launch date is set for November 8.

That base configuration, though, comes with one important upgrade over the M3. Instead of 8GB RAM being the base option, you now get 16GB. That’s going to be critical for Apple Intelligence and multitasking.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Design

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The all-in-one construction of the 24-inch iMac remains the same with its flat rectangular chassis that comes in at an impressively thin 0.45 inches. 

On top of that, the stand’s hinge continues to give you a roughly 40-degree angle of tilt, with a hole in the back for cable management. Thunderbolt 4 ports remain on the bottom right corner of the system, and the option Ethernet can be found on the power brick you connect the iMac to.

One new thing (make that seven) is the new vibrant colors you can pick this up in: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver. The power cord and accessories are color-matched to the system for a tasteful all-in-one match up.

Oh, and the webcam has been vastly improved too from a 1080p cam to a full-blown 12MP Center Stage snapper. This is sure to guarantee a vastly improved picture quality on FaceTime.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Display

This is one of the bigger differences and upgrades — depending on how you feel about display technology. You see, you are still getting that same gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina Display. But now, you can opt for an optional $200 nano-texture glass option.

With this alternative glass cover atop your display, reflections and glare should be drastically reduced. So if you have this next to a window with sunlight pouring in, you shouldn’t face any issues.

Plus, display support has now seen a drastic improvement too, with up to two external displays at 6K 60Hz, or a single 8K 120Hz panel.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Performance

Now for the internal components — Apple is finally taking the M4 found in iPad Pro and stuffing it into the iMac. As for speed boosts, this means 2.1x faster photo and video editing performance than M1, and up to 6x faster general performance than the most popular Intel-based iMac.

You‘ll notice that Apple’s been particular in choosing to compare the M4 iMac to older models. However, we can take M4 iPad Pro numbers and compare them to the M3 iMac, to get a general idea of what we can get.

As you can see, the performance differences here are a lot smaller. But you should still see a noticeable improvement in gaming performance (particularly with faster hardware-accelerated ray tracing) and Apple Intelligence capabilities with a vastly larger Neural Engine.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Keyboard and mouse

USB-C. That’s it. That’s the update. In one way, this makes me rather happy — these were the final accessories to cling onto the Lightning port, and it’s great to see Apple kill this socket once and for all.

The included Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse do feel good to use, with plenty of depth on the chiclet keys and a smooth multi-touch surface atop the mouse. For an extra $80, you can grab a keyboard with a number pad too, and an additional $50 will get you the Magic Trackpad.

But the Cupertino crew had one job: move that port from underneath the Magic Mouse to the side, so you don’t have to just outright stop using it. Unfortunately, Apple has not done that, and one of the more annoying design decisions we’ve seen continues for yet another year.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Should you upgrade?

Much like last year, the M4 iMac is a spec bump with the same aesthetics. So when asking the question about if you should upgrade, there are multiple answers:

• For those with an Intel or M1 iMac: This is a definite “yes.” The performance gains are similar to those users felt when first seeing M1 chips in late 2020!
• For those with an M3 iMac: I’d wait for our review to see how significant that change is in the iMac realm.

There are certain situations where I anticipate that M4 performance will be appreciated over M3, such as faster video editing and high-end gaming. But stay tuned for our full review for a fuller understanding of what the new iMac brings in terms of performance and value. 

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched my Windows PC for a Mac for the first time in almost 20 years — here’s why
• Forget M4 MacBooks — save up to $500 on these early Black Friday MacBook deals
• This new Google Chrome upgrade made me say 'whoa' out loud — and it's a game changer

Apple promised a week of Mac announcements starting today, and the company has just now unveiled the new iMac. Featuring the M4 chip, Apple’s all-in-one computer sports seven colors, a new 12MP Center Stage camera, a new nano-texture glass option, up to four USB-C ports and starts with 16GB of RAM. As with all recent Apple devices, Apple Intelligence is another prominent feature.

In a blog post, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, said: “It’s a whole new era for iMac.” For those keeping track, the iMac is the first Apple computer to sport an M4 chip, which debuted in the latest iPad Pro. Apple claims the new iMac is up to 1.7x faster than the M1 iMac, and that the processor is more capable of handling advanced graphics and intense workloads. The chip’s Neural Engine (for AI) is also over 3x faster than on iMac M1, says Apple.

The new iMac retains the same svelte design of predecessors like the iMac M3 we reviewed. However, it packs some new features such as the aforementioned 12MP front camera either two or four USB-C ports. New colors include green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver. The iMac also comes with a color-matched Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse — all of which now feature a USB-C port for charging.

iMac M4: Specs

You can now configure the iMac’s 24-inch display with a new nano-texture glass option meant to reduce reflections and glare without sacrificing image quality. This should make it easier to use the new iMac in areas of your home (or business) that receive a lot of sunlight.

The iMac M4 comes with macOS Sequoia out of the box, so you can try features like iPhone mirroring and the updated Safari. Apple Intelligence is also another prominent macOS Sequoia feature. You’ll get access to features like Writing Tools, which acts as a personal editor by rewriting, proofreading and summarizing text on almost any app you use for writing. Speaking with the updated Siri will also feel more natural. Apple Intelligence could become even more useful when ChatGPT is integrated into both Siri and Writing Tools in December.

The new iMac M4 is now available to pre-order from Apple’s website with a starting price of $1,299 and begins shipping on November 8. This model is available in the aforementioned colors, and packs an M4 chip with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage—with the latter two configurable up to 24GB and up to 1TB, respectively.

You can also get an iMac with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU starting at $1,499. This model also starts with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but you can upgrade to up to 32GB and 2TB, respectively. All configurations come with a color-matching Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Intelligence is ready to launch — does that mean it's time to get an iPhone 16?
• iPhone SE 4 screen sizes and design changes grab the attention, but only one rumored change matters
• Massive Google Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 leak just revealed the biggest AI upgrades

We’ve heard rumors that Apple may have an upgraded M4 Mac mini on the way, which may be announced at a special Apple event next month. But it seems Apple may have accidentally leaked the new machine a little early, and this one may come with five USB-C ports.

The machine was seemingly revealed thanks to a change of code in Apple software (likely macOS Sequoia) — as spotted by Aaron Rogers at MacRumors. This snippet reveals that the Mac mini will run on Apple Silicon (probably M4), and will pack five USB-C ports.   

The last model we saw, the Mac Mini M2, had two USB-C ports and an extra two USB-A ports. Alongside HDMI, a headphone jack and Gigabit ethernet. Five USB-C ports seems like a major upgrade , but rumor has it that Apple will be removing the USB-A ports. That means you'll be unable to use your existing USB-A accessories without some sort of adapter. 

It’s unclear what’s going to happen about the additional ports. Apple of the past might have tried to roll them into USB-C, as it did with MacBook Pro, but that proved to be very unpopular. So much so that basic ports like HDMI and card readers were reintroduced on MacBook Pros a few years ago.

Mark Gurman at Bloomberg also believes that the Mac mini will be getting a major redesign this year — something that hasn’t happened since 2010. Apparently this new model could be as small as an Apple TV, with M4 and M4 Pro chip options. Meaning the Mac mini has completely skipped over the M3 series.

We’ll no doubt find out more next month at the final Apple event of the year. The Mac mini is expected to be joined by the M4 MacBooks, a new iMac, as well as the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. 

More from Tom's Guide

• What to expect at Apple's October event: M4 MacBook Pro, a new iPad Mini and more
• iPadOS 18 review: The best iPadOS update yet
• macOS Sequoia is live now — how to download and 5 features to try first

Apple hasn't sold a 27-inch iMac for just about two years, but a new rumor suggests that Cupertino hasn't abandoned the larger iMac variant. The rumor comes to us courtesy of Apple-whisperer Mark Gurman in his most recent Power On newsletter for Bloomberg. 

In his post, Gurman alleges that a larger display iMac "remains something Apple is exploring." However, he does note that it is "unclear" whether or not this potential iMac will feature the M4 chip or if perhaps Apple is waiting for next year's M5 chip.

Apple is already preparing to launch M4-powered MacBooks and potentially an M4 iMac, though that is most likely a refreshed version of the current 24-inch iMac.

The 27-inch version was officially killed off by Apple in 2023, though it had been retired since March of 2022. However, it wasn't a priority even before its retirement as Apple hadn't made a new version since the 2020 iteration.

While we haven't seen the 27-inch iMac in some time, the rumors surrounding a larger iMac haven't died down. Last year, it was rumored that Apple was working on a 32-inch version with Pro and Max processors. Perhaps that gigantic iMac is what Gurman is hinting that Apple is developing.

Of course, when Apple killed off the 27-inch iMac the company turned around and launched a 27-inch Studio Display, a monitor our review called fantastic. Paired with a new M2-powered Mac Studio and you've essentially replaced the iMac, though at a much higher price.

Some kind of M4 laptop and desktop computer is coming later this fall, but it might not be an improved Studio Display or Mac Studio. Apple has had a staggered rollout of the M4 chip with the new iPad Pro but it's not clear how that powerful chip will filter into its computers or if Apple Intelligence is altering Apple's plans. 

We could also be waiting for next year's M5 chip to really take Apple's next lineup of MacBooks, iMacs and Mac Minis to the next level.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple will let iPhone apps access NFC soon — what that means for you
• Writing Tools is one of Apple Intelligence's most useful features 
• iPhone 16 Pro dedicated camera button detailed in new report — here's how it works

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.

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.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 Apple Intelligence features to try in iOS 18 — here’s what you can do
• Google Pixel 9 preorder perks just leaked — here’s what you get
• Launch day leaked for Apple's iPhone 16 series — and it could be sooner than last year's announcement

The launch of the M4 iPad Pro is a big deal for Apple. The launch of a new chip is exciting enough, but the M4 promises to revolutionize the way Apple products work. Not only does the chip offer incredible performance and unbelievable battery life, it also represents Apple’s biggest push into AI processing so far.

Naturally, some of you will be waiting for these chips to appear in Macs, rather than iPads. While we expect that select devices will get the M4 chip later this year, like the MacBook Pro or Mac mini, you may not want to hold your breath for an M4 version of the Mac Studio or Mac Pro.

According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple isn’t likely to release a new version of either desktop machine this year. We may see them from mid-2025, assuming everything goes according to plan, but no earlier than that. That means that the M2-powered machines, which debuted at WWDC in 2023, will be going at least two years without a refresh, 

The good news is that Gurman believes that the only other Mac that won’t get an M4 upgrade this year is the MacBook Air. That's no huge surprise since the MacBook Air M3 has only been available for a few months, and plenty of people would be upset if Apple upgraded it too quickly.

But this does mean means the likes of the MacBook Pro, Mac Mini and possibly even the iMac may be available with an M4 chip before the end of the year. When they’ll be released isn’t clear, but Gurman added that we shouldn’t see any new Mac hardware at WWDC 2024.

That isn’t hugely surprising, seeing as how WWDC is a software-centric event for developers. While there have been hardware announcements during the keynote in the past, they’re typically quite rare. This year should be no exception and at most we should expect that hardware talk will be focused on the Apple Vision Pro headset. Any appearance would presumably hype up the rumored international release, as opposed to new hardware announcements.

The rest of the conference will be focused on the upcoming upgrades for Apple devices. iOS 18 will be the biggest announcement given Apple's focus on AI, and we'll also hear about iPadOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11 and visionOS 2. We'll bring you all the biggest news during the WWDC 2024 keynote address on June 10.

More from Tom's Guide

• I shot over 200 photos with the Pixel 8a vs iPhone SE — here’s the winner
• iPhone 16 colors could include these two new options — and bring back an old favorite
• iOS 18 rumored to give Siri a massive AI boost — here's what it means for you

Apple has launched a new suite of Macs sporting the M4 chip — continuing its expansion beyond powering just the iPad Pro.

Over the past few days, we’ve seen the M4 iMac, a redesigned M4 Mac mini and a turbo-boosted M4 MacBook Pro. As for the M4 MacBook Air, you’ll have to wait until early 2025 for that, with the Mac Studio and Mac Pro reportedly approaching at the end of next year.

But let’s focus on the here and now. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, Intel Core Ultra 200 series and AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 may have ruled the roost in the AI PC space for a little while there, but Apple’s fighting back hard.

Here’s what we know about the M4 chip so far. And for the specific hardware announcements, check out our hub of everything Apple announced this week.

Apple M4 chip: Release date and price

November 8 is a great date for Apple. All the M4 Macs will drop at this time, and pre-orders are open.

Right now, you can pre-order the M4 iMac from $1,299, the M4 Mac Mini from $599, the M4 Pro Mac Mini from $1,399, and the M4 MacBook Pro from $1,599.

Apple M4 chip: Different chip models

We’ve seen the M4 chip in three flavors: the standard M4 with either 8 or 10 CPU cores, the M4 Pro with up to 20 GPU cores and the M4 Max. All of these bring significant gains to graphics performance with up to 2x faster ray tracing performance, and a massively beefed-up Neural Engine (or NPU to those who are used to the Copilot+ PC lingo).

In the M4 MacBook Pro leaks, we got a look at some benchmarks, and the results are clearly rather impressive!

Two other key things we’re seeing about M4 in these Mac announcements is the support for multiple displays on standard M4, and the Pro variant getting Thunderbolt 5 capabilities. That is seriously turbo boosting data transfer speeds, which alongside the RAM packing 273GB/s of memory bandwidth (twice as much as any AI PC chip), this is going to be a multitasking monster.

Only one that is left for us to find out about is the M4 Ultra. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Apple stitches two M4 Maxes together in a new Mac Studio.

Apple M4: AI features

Apple Intelligence has launched in iPadOS 18.1 and MacOS Sequoia 15.1 — albeit in a bit of a restricted sense. This phased roll-out means users can currently use it to Rewrite and Proofread text, transcribe and summarize audio recordings, search for pics in Photos with natural language, and make use of a more intelligent, conversational Siri.

With version 18.2 and 15.2 respectively in December, you can expect more features like Visual Intelligence, ChatGPT integration, and creating Genmoji.

Apple M4 chip: Outlook

With new hardware, M4 is really starting to hit its stride. The speeds are impressive, and the big AI upgrades unlock a lot of performant Apple Intelligence operation.

We’ll update this post with all the M4-related news we come across, so stay tuned for more!

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched my Windows PC for a Mac for the first time in almost 20 years — here’s why
• Forget M4 MacBooks — save up to $500 on these early Black Friday MacBook deals
• M4 MacBook Air launch timing just tipped in new report

So far, Apple’s M3 chipset has only appeared in the iMac and MacBook Pro. With the latter, you can configure a model with M3 Pro or M3 Max if you wish, but these won’t be the fastest Apple chips for too much longer if a new report from TrendForce is to be believed.

Referencing the Chinese outlet ICsmart, which in turn cites “a Korean agency,” the report suggests that the M3 Ultra “might make its debut in the upgraded Mac Studio around mid-year.”

If that’s correct, then reading between the lines, that’s almost certain to be WWDC 2024. Apple’s developer-focused annual event has previously seen hardware launches including the HomePod, first iPhone SE and, crucially, the M2 Ultra Mac Studio last year. While it could be scheduled for any point in 2024, it hasn’t fallen outside of June since 2006.

The chips will apparently be the first to be made via the more cost-effective N3E process. But for the consumer, the main thing to note is that these are set to be seriously powerful. How powerful? Back in November, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman crunched the numbers, floating the idea of an “outrageous” amount of speed. 

“If the company continues to double both the CPU and graphics configurations with the Ultra, we’re looking at a Mac chip that tops out at an outrageous 32 CPU cores and 80 graphics cores,” he wrote. “And as Apple steps up the memory, you could imagine an option with 256 gigabytes.”

To put that in perspective, the most powerful configuration of M3 Max MacBook Pro you can buy has 16 CPU cores and 40 graphics cores with 128GB of RAM. Of course, that would set you back at least $4,999 (and more if you wanted to add to the 1TB of storage included by default). 

While both TrendForce and ICsmart’s reports are light on details, one interesting omission from both is any mention of the Mac Pro, the other Apple desktop currently configurable with M2 Ultra chips. 

That could be an oversight, or it could be a sign that Apple is losing interest in its priciest desktop. After all, before it got the M2 Ultra chip last year, it hadn’t been updated since 2019 and was the only computer Apple sold that still used Intel CPUs. It’s possible Apple won’t update it for a bit longer — or maybe at all if the Mac Studio works well enough for power users and the company decides to phase it out.

We should find out more in the next few months, as we expect pre-WWDC leaks to pick up steam. 

There have been rumors about a new 27-inch iMac for some time now, even the possibility that it may launch this year as the iMac Pro 2023. Unfortunately, it seems like this machine may never see the light of day, either powered by Apple Silicon or otherwise.

Apple has confirmed to The Verge that it has no plans to build a 27-inch iMac. Instead the company has said anyone holding out for such a larger-screened machine will have to pick up a Studio display with either a Mac Studio or Mac Mini. The Studio Display measures 27-inches and offers 5K resolution but also costs $1,599 by itself. 

There’s also the new 24-inch iMac M3, which starts at $1,299 and comes powered by the new M3 chip. It may be a smaller 4.5K screen, but it means you don’t need to buy a separate computer to get stuff done.

The last version 27-inch iMac was officially retired in March 2022, but despite rumors there has been no sign of an M series chip replacement. Which is strange, because the machine was one of Apple’s flagship products — popular with consumers and professionals alike. That happens when you combine a large hi-res screen with a solid set of speakers and powerful graphical and computational performance.

Take all that and run it on Apple Silicon, and you have the recipe for something truly great. But as all other Apple machines, including desktops and iPads, have gradually moved to M-series chips, the 27-inch iMac lies forgotten. Clearly Apple would like customers to opt for other things, like the Studio Display.

But as powerful as a Studio Display would be when paired with a Mac mini or Mac Studio, it doesn’t have the same neatness you’d get from one of the best all-in-one computers. As for the 24-inch iMac, well, it’s a great machine and by far the best iMac Apple has created. But the loss of the extra screen space isn’t going to do it any favors.

Maybe we’ll see a larger iMac, possibly even an iMac Pro, at some point in the future. But for now, it looks like you’ll all have to give up waiting and pick up a different product in Apple’s lineup.

More from Tom's Guide

• MacBook Pro M3 and M3 Max battery life tested — here’s how long they last
• MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2023) review: The most powerful MacBook ever
• Black Friday MacBook deals 2023 — best early sales now

After missing the Apple M2 party, the iMac is finally getting updated with the latest Apple silicon — in this case, the new Apple M3 chip. 

While it looks identical to the iMac 2021 (24-inch) on the outside, the new processor on the inside should make it one of the best all-in-one computers. But is that enough to justify upgrading?

With iMac M3 pre-orders now live, we wanted to do an early comparison of the two iMacs to help you decide whether to upgrade. This is an interesting face-off considering how the only major difference is the devices’ respective internals. If you’ve thought about getting an iMac, the new model is an easy choice. However, if you’re content with the Apple M1 model from 2021, you might not need the new one.

We’ll update this story once we’ve reviewed the iMac M3, though you can check out our iMac M3 2023 hands-on impressions to hear our initial thoughts about the new all-in-one. For now, here’s how the iMac M3 and iMac M1 stack up against one another. Should you upgrade? Read on to find out.

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Specs

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Price and availability 

The iMac M3 is now available to pre-order for $1,299 from the online Apple Store. For those keeping track, this price is identical to the iMac M1 when it launched. Shipments for the iMac M3 begin on November 7.

The base configuration of the iMac M3 sports a 24-inch 4.5K display, an 8-core GPU, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. An upgraded model with a 10-core GPU, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD will also be available for $1,499. For $1,599, you can upgrade to a 512GB SSD. There are a generous selection of 7 color options to choose from.

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Design 

The new 24-inch iMac looks the same as its predecessor. As before, this all-in-one comes in 7 color options: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver, Yellow, Orange, Purple, though the latter three colors aren't available on the entry-level model. You can get color-matched accessories as well.

The flat rectangular chassis measures 0.45 inches thin and 14.75 inches tall from top edge to bottom lip. The iMac 2023 stands 18.1 inches tall with a hinge that lets you tilt the display slightly backward. There’s a hole in the stand to route the power cable through.

Unfortunately, there is no vertical height adjustment. This won’t be an issue if you’re short like me. If you’re tall, you might have to place the iMac M3 on top of something to get it to ergonomic eye level. You were able to purchase the previous iMac with a built-in VESA mount adapter instead of a stand. At time of writing, we couldn’t find this option in the Apple store.

As before, the new iMac’s ports are almost all located along the bottom right-hand corner on the back of the display. Sure, this design choice keeps your cables hidden from view, but it might force you to turn the computer over to access the ports — unless you’re able to do so by touch alone.

The entry-level iMac only has two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack, but higher-end models pack two Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB 3 ports on the back, along with a headphone jack along the lower-left edge of the display and a Gigabit Ethernet port built into the power adapter.

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Display 

If you guessed that the new iMac’s display was identical to the old model’s, you’d be correct.

The iMac M3’s 24-inch display delivers a sharp 4,480 x 2,520 resolution with 218 pixels per inch. It also supports the P3 wide color space and TrueTone — which adjusts the display’s color temperature based on the quality of ambient light.

A light gray bezel less than 0.75 inches thick surrounds the screen, along with a thicker 2.38-inch lip along the bottom that matches the iMac’s color. The display features the same anti-reflective coating applied to Apple’s Pro Display XDR monitor.

I got to check out the iMac M3 and found its display bright and colorful. Of course, we’ll need to run lab tests on Apple’s all-in-one to get objective metrics of what its display can do. That said, I don’t expect any major changes (or any at all) in our test results.

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Performance 

Now let’s get to what’s different: internal components — namely the new M3 chip. Since we’ve yet to conduct our tests, we have to go by Apple’s numbers. But if what the company says about its latest M-series processor is accurate, there should be a noticeable difference between the iMac M3 and iMac M1 in terms of performance.

The iMac packs the same base M3 chip as the new MacBook Pro 14-inch M3. Apple says the performance cores are up to 30% faster than on M1, while efficiency cores are up to 50% faster. The M3 line will have the same multi-core performance as M1 but use as little as half the power — up to 35% more performance at peak power, according to Apple.

The entry-level M3 chip features 25 billion transistors. This chip has a 10-core GPU that’s 65% faster than M1 for graphics performance, claims Apple. It also features an 8-core CPU (4 performance, 4 efficiency) that’s 35% faster than M1 for computing performance. The base M3 supports up to 24GB of unified memory.

Apple is boasting about the M3 lineup’s enhanced GPU which has a new feature called Dynamic Caching. This allocates the use of local memory in hardware in real time and only uses the exact amount of memory needed for specific tasks. According to Apple, this feature is an industry first and will increase the performance of demanding applications and video games.

Hardware-accelerated ray tracing makes its debut on Mac thanks to the new M3 chips. The new GPU also brings hardware-accelerated mesh shading to Mac. This should all result in higher-quality graphics with more accurate lighting and detailed environments. Apple says the M3 GPU delivers the same performance as M1 at half the power — up to 65% more performance at its peak.

I played Baldur’s Gate 3 on the iMac M3 and was impressed by the vibrant graphical detail — especially during cutscenes. Raytracing also made the fantastical environments appear realistic. I should also note that load times were reasonably fast. Games optimized for Apple silicon should run smoothly on the iMac M3.

In our iMac M1 review, we said the 24-inch all-in-one wasn’t built to deliver great performance in graphically demanding games. For example, Rise of the Tomb Raider, which was old even in 2021, ran at a pitiful 18.9 frames per second at 1080p and Very High settings on the iMac M1.

Again, we need to run the iMac M3 through our performance tests, but we expect a big leap from its M1 counterpart.

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Keyboard and mouse 

Lastly, we have the keyboard and mouse which, surprise surprise, are no different than before. This could be a negative or a positive, depending on your feelings for these peripherals.

The 24-inch iMac ships with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and a Magic Mouse. You’ll have to pay $50 if you’d prefer a Magic Touchpad over the mouse, or pay $129 to get both. The iMac M3 also comes with a TouchID-less Magic Keyboard, but you can pay an extra $50 to get the keyboard with TouchID support. For $80, you’ll get a keyboard with TouchID support and a number pad.

Both devices work well enough, though if you have big hands like me, you might find the keyboard a tad too cramped to comfortably type on for long periods. And since this is the same Magic Mouse, you’ll have to flip it over to charge it — making it useless when plugged in. But I’m not the first to complain about this design choice, so I'll stop ranting.

iMac M3 vs iMac M1: Should you upgrade?

It’s good to see the iMac receive an M3 spec bump. Though it’s still effectively the same product aesthetically, the performance boost M3 promises should still make it very enticing for those looking for a dependable all-in-one computer. If you’re new to Macs or own a pre-2021 iMac, upgrading to the iMac M3 is a no-brainer.

But the question remains: should you upgrade to an iMac M3 if you already own an iMac M1? If you mostly use computers for work and watching streaming videos, then the iMac M1 is still a capable machine that will probably last you for a few more years. However, if you need a beefier machine for video editing or high-end gaming, the iMac M3 would be a smart upgrade.

Again, we’ll update this post after we’ve reviewed the iMac M3 to give you a fuller understanding of what each machine has to offer. Stay tuned!

More from Tom's Guide

• MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro, 2023) hands-on
• New MacBook Pro M3 unveiled — here's what you get for $1,599
• Don’t waste your money on M3 Pro — here’s why

You'd be hard-pressed to tell the new 24-inch iMac 2023 apart from its 2021 predecessor, but rest assured, there are some big improvements under the hood.

The iMac 2023, announced during Apple's Scary Fast October event, packs the next-generation Apple M3 chip. Compared to the previous iMac's M1 processor, the iMac with M3 promises up to twice the speed and better performance across a variety of tasks. Apple claims this new iMac M3 is the best yet for gaming, too.

That said, the machine comes in a familiar package. It's once again available in a rainbow of color options, and you'll still find all the ports on the back. The starting $1,299 / AUS $2,199 also still has its limitations, but overall, the iMac 2023 is already positioned to be one of the best all-in-one computers of the year. 

We'll need to conduct a full review before coming to our conclusions, so for now, here are our first impressions from going hands-on with the M3-powered iMac.

iMac M3 2023 specs

iMac M3 2023 price and availability

The iMac M3 2023 is available for pre-order now, with full availability on Tuesday, November 7. Here’s where you can buy it now.

You'll pay the same price as you did for the iMac with M1. For the $1,299 / AU$2,199 starting price, you'll get the base model with 8-core GPU, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. For $1,499 / AU$2,499, you can get the model with a 10-core GPU. You can pay an additional premium a machine with 512GB SSD, too. 

iMac M3 2023 design and display

Whereas the previous-gen iMac received a major redesign, this 24-inch iMac looks the same — it even comes with the same coats of paint. The machine comes in 7 color options: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver, Yellow, Orange, Purple, though once again the latter three colors aren't available on the entry-level model. You're still able to pick up color-matched accessories, too. 

The flat rectangular chassis measures about 0.45 inches thin and 14.75 inches tall from top edge to bottom lip. Lacking any vertical height adjustment, the iMac 2023 stands 18.1 inches tall with a hinge that lets you tilt the display slightly backwards if needed.

Speaking of the display, you'll find the same 24-inch 4.5K Retina panel with 500-nits of brightness. It also has the same 1080p FaceTime camera up top, the same port selection, and the same power cord that feeds through the machine's stand. Are you seeing the theme here?

iMac M3 2023 performance

While the iMac 2023 might not look like anything new, performance should feel entirely fresh thanks to the M3 chip and 8-core CPU/10-core GPU. Unlike the MacBook Pro family, the iMac skipped over the M2 chip. As a result, the iMac 2023 should feel plenty more powerful compared the machine powered by M1. In fact, Apple claims that the iMac with M3 is twice as fast as the iMac with M1.

Not only does Apple silicon promise a fulfilling macOS experience with integrations across Apple's product ecosystem, but it should improve use across a variety of needs. The 16-core Neural Engine built on the chip is apparently 60% faster than it was on M1, resulting in improved on-device AI processing. The M3 processor also has a new Media Engine that provides hardware acceleration for video codecs like H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW, as well as support for AV1 decoding.

But what I'm perhaps most excited about is the gaming performance made possible by M3. Just like the A17 Pro found on the iPhone 15 Pro, the M3 supports accelerated ray tracing, letting games have more realistic lighting based on the environments. I demoed Stray on the new iMac, and thought the neon-lit alleys looked incredibly nuanced. With the M3, there's probably never been a better time to try out Mac gaming. 

iMac M3 2023 outlook

Although the iMac M3 2023 might not seem revolutionary at a glance, it refreshes a popular all-in-one computer with some impressive-sounding performance upgrades. The new M3 silicon seems to offer improvements for all kinds of users, whether they be students, small business owners and even gamers. 

What will almost certainly be Apple’s last event of 2024 has been and gone, but it left a lot of question marks.

Yes, the ‘Scary Fast’ event wasn’t short on announcements, given we got three different M3 chips powering three different computers. But despite this, it feels like there were a few big missed opportunities for Apple. 

Here are the five main things we missed, and the prospects of them coming in the next 12 months.

1. 32-inch iMac

It’s great that Apple hasn’t forgotten the iMac. The colorful 24-inch model was well overdue for a refresh, as it was still pootling along with its first-generation M1 chipset. The move to M3 will, Apple says, offer double the speed for buyers keen to make the upgrade.

But you know what’s even more overdue for an upgrade? The discontinued 27-inch iMac. For plenty of people, a 24-inch screen on an all-in-one computer simply doesn’t cut it, and they’re crying out for something bigger.

That will be coming in time, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Earlier this month he wrote that a 32-inch model is on Apple’s roadmap at some point after the 24-inch iMac refresh, so hopefully we’ll see a big-screen iMac land before 2024 is out. Though the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons we might be looking at 2025.

2. M3 Mac mini

One way Apple could have satisfied users who like a big-screen experience would be with a refreshed Mac mini. The dinky desktop doesn’t come with a screen, meaning you can plug it into anything via HDMI.

But it was a no-show. One appeared to be in testing back in August, so it’s something of a mystery as to why Apple didn’t think the time was right for it to make its debut. Perhaps the company didn’t want to overshadow the return of the iMac.

In any case, this will no doubt come before 2024 is out, which makes it tough to recommend buying the current M2 Mac mini for the moment, unless you see a phenomenally good deal.

3. iPad mini

Apple’s non-Pro iPads are supposedly nearly ready to emerge, but for some reason Apple has apparently pushed them into 2024.

To be clear, they were always a long shot for the ‘Scary Fast’ event, which Apple had made pretty clear was a Mac-focused affair. 

But with an iPad mini battery showing up in a Chinese regulatory listing alongside things that did end up appearing, fans of tiny tablets were hoping for a ‘one more thing’ style reveal that didn’t come.

4. USB-C accessories

With Apple’s (forced) decision to abandon Lightning cable in favor of USB-C on the iPhone 15, it seemed likely that the 24-inch M3 iMac would arrive with USB-C accessories to match. Indeed, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicted it.

It didn’t happen. Instead, the new Mac’s accessories will arrive with the same Lightning ports as before. 

That’s surprising, but there’s a very real time limit on this. The European Union has mandated USB-C as the standardized connector, with all new products requiring the port by the end of 2024. Yes, Apple could keep Lightning outside of Europe — but it won’t. It just doesn’t make sense financially to build different ports on the same device.

5. Magic Mouse with a sensibly placed charging port

Many people thought Apple would take advantage of the switch to USB-C to do away with one of its most baffling design decisions of all time: putting the Lightning port on the bottom of its Magic Mouse. 

As users have frequently pointed out, this placement may look neat, but it means you can’t use the mouse while it’s charging, which is just impractical.

No refreshed USB-C Magic Mouse means the port continues to live in its current position. If that’s disappointing to you, be sure to read our list of the best mice to find a quality alternative for your Mac.

When Apple launched its colorful range of 24-inch iMacs to replace the silver 21.5-inch version in April 2021, most people assumed that the 27-inch iMac would soon be getting the same stylish makeover and introduction of Apple Silicon.

Nearly 30 months later, and that still hasn’t happened. Apple has merely discontinued both the Intel-powered 27-inch iMacs and iMac Pros without offering a direct replacement, leaving big-screen fans despondent.

So there’s good and bad news in the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The good news is that Apple hasn’t forgotten about the big-screen iMac fans out there. The bad news is that there’s still quite a wait ahead of them.

“This larger model is still poised to follow the 24-inch one, coming in either late 2024 or 2025,” Gurman writes. “It will have a 32-inch display, making it the biggest iMac in Apple’s history.”

Yes, 32 inches — an 18.5% increase in screen real estate. But given the chunky bezels that adorned the 27-inch iMac, the actual footprint might not be all that different. After all, the 24-inch iMac isn’t all that different to its 21.5-inch predecessor, and considerably thinner: 18.1 x 21.5 x 5.8 inches (24-inch model) vs 17.7 x 20.8 x 6.9 inches (21.5-inch version). 

Assuming the basic design remains the same, you can expect a substantial chin on the screen, however, as the picture below shows.

Why the long wait?

By the time the new iMac rolls around, it could be more than four years since the colorful 24-inch version arrived, which begs one simple question: why such a long gap?

According to Gurman, that wasn’t the plan. “Apple had aimed to release a larger, pro-focused iMac soon after the 24-inch iMac launched,” he writes. “Under the original road map, you would have seen the M1 24-inch iMac, then an M2-based iMac Pro and, finally, a 24-inch iMac refresh.”

The iMac Pro didn’t arrive “due to cost concerns”, which is apparently why Apple introduced the Mac Studio and Studio Display to give high-end desktop users something to tide them over.

Gurman refers to this upcoming all-in-one computer as an iMac Pro rather than a larger iMac, and that might be reflected in the pricing, of course. While Apple’s last 27-inch iMac started at $1,799, the cheapest iMac Pro configuration came in at $4,999. For comparison, the cheapest Mac Studio and Studio Display bundle would set you back $3,598, so it’s possible we’ll split the difference.

Hopefully Apple will have configurations available for all its customers — from those who just want a cheap(ish) big-screen experience, to those who want a ludicrous number of cores. We’ll hopefully find out late next year.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple could be working on a 32-inch iMac — and I want one
• M3 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air tipped for 2024
• iPad mini 7 and iPad Air 6 could arrive this week

Rumors are hotting up that Apple is preparing to refresh its 24-inch iMac with M2 and M2 Pro chips. But anyone hoping for a speedy reveal of the new machines may have longer to wait than we originally thought. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, any refresh to the 24-inch iMac line will happen next year in 2024. So much for a 2023 refresh alongside hotly-tipped iPad mini 7 and iPad Air 6, then.

Kuo, a supply-chain analyst with a strong track record in predicting Apple’s movements, also believes Apple will release a higher-end 32-inch iMac with a mini LED display in 2025. Given Apple’s current 32-inch Pro Display XDR with mini LED costs $5k, this new iMac will surely be for those with deep pockets. We’re well past Apple Vision Pro territory here. 

Kuo’s prediction follows on from his correct analysis that Apple would refresh the Mac Pro and Mac mini this year. Earlier this week, it was reported that more powerful configurations of the current M1 iMac are facing delayed shipments. Customers ordering increased SSD and RAM are being forced until November to reveal their product. Which, some have speculated, could be a sign Apple is preparing for a hardware refresh.

Separately, other rumors have suggested Apple would skip the M2 chip for the iMac and would instead simply go with a new M3. Seeing as the M2 chip launched last summer alongside the MacBook Air M2, it would make sense for the M3 chip to debut in a new iMac 12 months later.

"I haven't seen anything to indicate there will be a new iMac until the M3 chip generation, which won't arrive until the tail end of this year at the earliest or next year," wrote Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, back in February 2023. "So if you want to stick with the iMac, you'll just have to sit tight."

We’ve covered all the latest updates on a possible M3 iMac in our hub page here, but for now it seems like Kuo has the inside track on a 24-inch revision with M2 and M2 Pro and we shouldn’t get our hopes up until the new year. 

As my colleague Tony Polanco put it, none of this information is official yet, so it’s best to take it with a pinch of salt. While it would make far more sense for Apple to wait and release an M2 iMac, the M2 and M2 Pro chips are still plenty powerful. So we’ll have to wait and see what ends up coming out of Cupertino in the months ahead.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple could be working on a 32-inch iMac — and I want one
• M3 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air tipped for 2024
• iPad mini 7 and iPad Air 6 could arrive this week

The all-in-one 24-inch iMac with an Apple M1 chip is one of the few Apple computers that hasn’t been upgraded with the latest M-series chips. We’ve heard rumors about the next iMac for some time, and it’s more than likely Apple will eventually upgrade this particular Mac. However, if a new rumor is accurate, the upcoming iMac will receive an update — but it’s not the one we expected.

According to Japanese Apple blog MacOtakara (via 9to5Mac), more powerful configurations of the existing M1 iMac are seeing delayed shipments — with those who’ve increased SSD and RAM being forced to wait until November to receive their computer. The blog, which 9to5Mac says is well-sourced when it comes to hardware rumors, believes these delayed shipments could signal that Apple is preparing for a hardware refresh.

Here’s where things get interesting. According to MacOtakara, Apple will apparently upgrade the iMac with Apple M2 and Apple M2 Pro models.

This hardware update would’ve made sense a year ago when the Apple M2 chip debuted, or even earlier this year when the M2 Pro and Apple M2 Max chips arrived. However, reports suggest that Apple M3 processors could launch as soon as the first half of 2024. If all these rumors are true, then an M2 iMac — while more powerful than its M1-driven predecessor — would have an older processor when Macs with the M3 chip launch.

Outlook 

To be fair, none of what we’ve reported above has been substantiated so it’s best to take it all with a dose of skepticism. It’s also important to note that delayed shipments don’t always indicate an imminent hardware refresh. As 9to5Mac points out, the current MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch have faced delays.

It’s unclear when Apple will update the iMac or what processor it plans to ship it with. Though the M2 and M2 Pro chips are plenty powerful, it’d make more sense for the company to release an M3 iMac seeing as how the (still powerful) M1 chip is aging out. But again, none of this is yet official so it’s best to wait and see until we get the definitive word from Apple.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple could be working on a 32-inch iMac — and I want one
• M3 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air tipped for 2024
• iPad mini 7 and iPad Air 6 could arrive this week

It looks like testing on a new iteration of the Mac mini has begun at Apple according to fresh reports from an industry insider. 

In his regular ‘Power On’ newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims multiple new Macs are being worked on across Apple’s Cupertino campus; all of which sport the upcoming Apple M3 chip. 

The company’s latest silicon reportedly uses the advanced TSMC 3nm process, which, if accurate, makes Apple the first to use this advanced process node. 

Gurman has already stated that “several next-generation machines are in testing, including “new iMacs, as well as entry-level and high-end MacBook Pros.”

Now the Bloomberg journalist is reporting yet another model has gone into testing; this one running a base version of the M3 chip. And due to the rumored specs of this device, it could well be a M3-powered Mac mini. 

Mac mini M3: potential specs  

If a new version of the mini is in development, Gurman suggests its internal codename is ‘Mac 15,12’. Specs-wise, it looks to have 8 CPU cores “made up of four efficiency cores and four performance cores." It is claimed this new pint-sized PC also has 10 GPU cores and 24GB of system memory. 

If Gurman’s sources are accurate, this early build of the new Mac mini M3 is running macOS Sonoma 14.1 — which will be the first major update for Apple’s forthcoming operating system. 

According to the third-party developer logs shared with Gurman, the following M3 Macs are also currently in development:

•  M3 13-inch MacBook Air (codename Mac 15,1 and J513 / J613) 
•  M3 15-inch MacBook Air (codename Mac 15,2 and J515 / J615) 
•  M3 13-inch MacBook Pro (codename Mac 15,3 and J504) 
•  M3 iMac (codename Mac 15,4, Mac 15,5, J433 and J434) 
•  M3 Pro and M3 Max 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros (codename Mac 15,7, Mac 15,8, J514 and J516) 
•  Possible M3 Mac mini (codename Mac 15,12) 

If various sources prove true, we could see the first M3 MacBooks launch in October  (potentially even some of the models above). 

The prospect of getting our hands on a Mac mini M3 is exciting. We loved its predecessor the Mac mini M2, awarding it 4/5 stars in our review, with my colleague Alex praising its small form factor, aggressive price point and strong performance.  

Considering the M3 chip should deliver considerably more power than its predecessor, we can’t wait to see what the rumored new mini and those MacBooks above deliver in terms of performance. 

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone 15 release date looks confirmed by 2 new reports
• Apple M3 chip: Early rumors and everything we know
• Don’t buy a MacBook until M3 chip arrives this fall — here’s why

Apple is reportedly experimenting with making larger iMacs, with one version tipped to come with a 32-inch display, though we’re not likely to see such a model until late 2024. 

That’s according to Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, who also noted that he predicts M3-powered iMacs to arrive early next year.  

Currently, Apple’s iMac comes with a 24-inch display and the Apple M1 chip. While it’s a perfectly capable desktop, it’s not using the latest or most powerful chips in the Apple Silicon family. And I’d argue its design is starting to look a little dated, especially given it has somewhat prominent display bezels. 

But we’re not expecting any major design changes to come with the iMacs forecasted for  2024. There's likely to be an M2 chip option, or even an M3 chip if Apple debuts a next-generation silicon this year or next spring. 

However, a more powerful iMac isn’t that exciting, for me at least. But a 32-inch iMac is a different story. 

Size does matter

As I write this, I'm looking at a 32-inch Alienware AW3423DWF gaming monitor. While it has a serious suite of features, such as a 165Hz refresh rate and a curved panel, its size and its 21:9 aspect ratio has won me over. With such space I’m able to have at least three windows open side-by-side with plenty of room for me to make out text and images without leaning into the panel. And this bypasses the need to use a second screen. 

So I’m now a convert to the big monitor life, and thus the idea of an iMac with a big Retina display is appealing. Apple already has its 32-inch Pro Display XDR monitor, giving it plenty of experience on working with larger screens. 

Of course, that Pro display is hugely expensive and has a hefty 6K resolution. But I’d not expect Apple to go that far with a 32-inch iMac, instead perhaps targeting a QHD resolution of 3440 x 1440 and using the same panel tech found on the MacBook Air M2 for example. 

And as Macs are starting to look like they could be proper gaming machines, an iMac with a big immersive display would make a lot of sense. Add in the growing list of compelling shows and movies on Apple TV Plus, and a 32-inch iMac could be a serious entertainment machine, alongside an all-in-one PC aimed at general computing. 

A bigger display also means more room for components and potential cooling, via heatsinks and vapour chambers, which can then help extract more performance out of M-series chips for longer. In short, a 32-inch iMac could be more powerful more capable, and offer what could be a proper generational shift for the iMac. 

The wrinkle here is Gurman said Apple is experimenting meaning a 32-inch iMac might never see the light of day. I really hope it does, as the current iMac is overpriced when you can get a MacBook Air and a decent 24-inch display for the same price or less than the base iMac. 

Speaking of which, Amazon Prime Day is here so you can score a good deal on Macs and displays; check out our round up of Prime Day MacBook deals and how you can save $200 on one of the best OLED monitors ever. 

More from Tom's Guide

• The PC isn’t dead, it’s just different  — and I’m thanking Apple
• This could be the iPhone 15 Pro’s unique color
• Apple Vision Pro should make Apple TV+ shows look amazing — here’s how

The first benchmarks are in, and it appears that, as expected, the M2 Ultra is indeed the fastest chip that Apple has ever produced.

MacRumors spotted the Geekbench 6 listing for the new chip, announced by Apple last week as an optional upgrade for the 2023 Mac Studio and the only option for Mac Pro buyers. Both launch next week with prices starting at $3,999 for an M2-Ultra packed Mac Studio and $6,999 for the Mac Pro.

The results are every bit as impressive as you’d hope, with the chip recording a single-core score of 2,837 and a multi-core result of 21,730. 

For comparison’s sake, a Mac Studio running the M1 Ultra achieves around 2,350 to 2,430 for single-core, and 17,900 to 18,700 for multicore performance. In other words, at best, this represents around a 20% boost to CPU power, which is what Apple promised during its keynote unveiling.

What this doesn’t reveal, of course, is how much faster the M2 Ultra will be in terms of graphical and AI-related tasks. For that, Apple has promised that the 76-core GPU will deliver a 30% boost, while the 32-core Neural Engine is set to be 40% faster.

While this is a substantial performance boost over the M1 Mac Studio, it’s an even bigger boost for the Mac Pro, which hadn’t been refreshed since 2019 — a time when it was still running an Intel Xeon processor. 

As you might expect, the M2 Ultra wipes the floor with the fastest Intel-based Mac Pro and its 28-core Xeon W processor. According to GeekBench, it achieves a single-core score of 1,378 and a multi-core one of 10,390, despite prices starting at over $5,000 just a couple of weeks ago.

That doubling of CPU performance isn’t to cast any shade on Intel — comparing a state-of-the-art 2023 chipset to one from 2019 clearly isn’t a fair comparison. Indeed, Intel’s Core i9-13900KS comes out on top with a score of 3,083 for single-core performance and one of 21,668 for multi-core. Rather, it’s to highlight that Mac Pro enthusiasts have something that’s cutting edge again.

As to whether power users should buy an M2 Ultra Mac Studio or Mac Pro, it depends on their use cases. The former is deliberately compact, which impacts your ability to customize it. The latter, meanwhile, comes with seven PCIe expansion slots, giving you plenty of room to grow.

That limited flexibility comes at a cost, mind. An M2 Ultra-toting Mac Pro starts at $3,000 more than the Mac Studio, meaning that most power users would be better off sticking with the Studio.

More from Tom's Guide

• iOS 17 is another example of how Android updates are straight-up embarrassing
• Mac mini M2 vs. Mac Studio: What's the difference?
• Apple Vision Pro price is $3,499 — and everybody had the same reaction

Apple has updated its Mac Studio, bringing in M2 chip architecture to the professional compact desktop. 

Announced at WWDC 2023, the new Mac Studio will have the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, which offer up to 50% faster performance than the previous Mac Studio. And for iMac users on the fence about an upgrade, the new Studio can deliver 4x faster performance than the most powerful Intel-based iMac. 

While the M2 Max has a 12-core CPU and a GPU with up to 38 cores (in addition to access to up to 96GB of unified memory with 400GB/s of memory bandwidth), the real power will come from the new M2 Ultra chip that the next-gen Mac Studio can be equipped with. 

Mac Studio with M2 Ultra chip

Made up of two M2 Max chips stitched together, the M2 Ultra has a 24-core CPU, a GPU with up to 76 cores, a frankly absurd 192GB of unified memory, and 134 billion transistors. All those numbers translate to a chip that offers 20% faster CPU performance and 30% faster graphics processing.

In actual use, this translates to 3D artists using Octane to render up to 3x faster, and enables colorists using DaVinci Resolve to see up to 50% faster video processing than before.

In short, professionals running demanding workloads like rendering multiple videos (there's support for up to 6x XDR Pro displays and 22 streams of 8K ProRes video) or working in After Effects and other pro creator tools, will find that the Mac Studio simply chews through them. That was arguably the case with the previous Studio, which was far from short of power, but for people looking to move from an older Mac or Intel machine to the latest Apple Silicon-based Mac, then the new Studio could be well worth considering.

And it should also be on the radar of people who work with machine learning workloads and tools, as the M2 Ultra can deliver 31.6 trillion operations per second.

Available to order today, the new Mac Studio starts at $1,999 / £2,099 / AU$$3,299, and is available to order today.

More from Tom's Guide

• WWDC 2023 live blog: Apple headset, iOS 17, MacBook Air 15-inch and latest news
• Apple VR/AR headset shipments could be delayed until 2024
• MacBook Air 15-inch: Price, release date, specs and more

The new Mac Pro 2023 has been announced at Apple’s WWDC 2023 event, and it’s one of the two most powerful Macs the company has ever made. 

The existing Pro hasn’t received a refresh since 2019, and was the last computer from Apple yet to receive the Apple silicon treatment. That’s all changed with the announcement of the new Mac Pro 2023.

The latest Mac Pro is now available to order, and will start shipping June 12. Apple’s ludicrously powerful computer is focused on professionals, so it’s not a huge shock to see the ‘cheapest’ version retailing for an eye-watering $6,999 / £7,699. 

Thankfully, the Mac Pro 2023’s specs are mightily impressive, regardless of what config you opt for.

Mac Pro 2023 latest news (June 5)

• Mac Pro starts at $6,999 / £7,699, coming next week.
• New M2 Ultra chip is 3x faster than the most powerful Intel-based Mac. 
• Built-in AfterBurner performance — can decode 6 streams of 8K ProRes RAW, 16 streams of 4K ProRes or 23 streams of 4K ProRes RAW   
• Multiple graphics options, including Radeon Pro W5500X and Radeo Pro W5700X. 
• Tower and Rack Enclosures available. 

Mac Pro 2023 Specs

The headline news is undoubtedly the new M2 Ultra silicon. Apple describes this as a “monster of a chip”, which seems apt considering it’s 20% faster than the previous Mac Pro’s M1 Ultra. Boasting 24 CPU cores, up to 76 GPU cores and supporting up to 192 GB of unified memory (the base config starts at 64GB), this really is a beast of a processor. 

The Mac Pro 2023’s new M2 Pro Ultra chip boasts a 32-core Neural Engine that is capable of handling 31.6 trillion operations per second. The latest Mac Pro also supports up to six Pro Display XDRs, has eight Thunderbolt 4 ports (double that of the 2019 model), Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and an upgradeable GPU – the highest config lets you combine a duo of W6000 Series GPUs to create the Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module. 

While the cheapest Mac Pro config ships with a 1TB SSD, storage can be increased to either 2TB, 4TB or 8TB. 

When it comes to display support, the stats will make your knees shake. The Pro can support up to eight displays across multiple resolutions. This breaks down as either eight 4K displays at 60Hz, six 6K screens at 60Hz or three 8K displays at 60Hz. And yes, our knees still feel wobbly. 

After years without a refresh, the Mac Pro 2023 is one hell of an upgrade over the existing 2019 model.

Mac Pro 2023 release date  

The Mac Pro 2023 starts shipping the week beginning June 12, and was announced alongside the latest version of the Mac Studio at Apple WWDC 2023. That’s over four years since the last Mac Pro model, which was released in May 2019.

After close to half a decade of waiting, we’re glad Apple is making the Mac Pro 2023 available to customers so quickly after its WWDC 2023 reveal. 

Mac Pro 2023 price 

While it will be available in various configurations, the most basic version of the new Mac Pro retails for $6,999 / £7,699. For those who work in education, the cheapest Pro config is available at a slight discount, selling for $6,599 / £7,189. The Mac Pro 2023 is available in both tower and rack-mounted enclosures. 

The latest Pro was never going to be cheap. After all, the previous model started at $5,999 / £5,499 / AU$9,99. Considering the upgrades the new Mac Pro 2023 Pro provides, the price bump over its predecessor is hardly a monocle-dropping shocker.

Mac Pro 2023 design  

As previous rumors from Apple tipster Mark Gurman suggested, the Mac Pro 2023 sticks with the ‘cheese grater’ design of its predecessor. 

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Both the 2023 and 2019 version of the Mac Pro look rather striking, even elegant when placed next to non-Apple pro-grade PCs. We’re also pleased to see that the new Pro retains the modular design of the previous iteration, which should ensure replacing and upgrading components should be hassle-free.

The new Mac Pro comes in two designs: either Tower or Rack. The former weighs in at 37.2 pounds and can be configured to come with feet or wheels. The slightly heavier Rack tips the scales at 37.9 pounds and includes mount rails. 

Mac Pro 2023 outlook  

Like its 2019 predecessor, the new Mac Pro 2023 remains a hugely powerful yet ultimately niche device. Unless you've recently come into huge swathes of disposable income, it's unlikely this mega computer will ever find its way into your home. 

That's not to say the latest Mac Pro it isn't a hugely impressive piece of tech wizardy. Its M2 Ultra chip boasts some utterly ludicrous specs, trebling performance in certain areas compared to the previous model.

Whether that's worth $7,000 is a rarified debate only the most filthy rich of professionals and video editors can have between themselves.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best MacBooks right now
• 5 macOS tips to boost your productivity
• iMac 2023 with M3 chip rumored release date, specs, price and more

Apple has finally updated its desktop 24-inch iMac — packing the slim all-in-one desktop with the powerful M3 chipset. This system was announced at the company’s ‘Scary Fast’ event, with pre-orders open now and a launch date set for Tuesday, November 7. 

So, what’s new about it? On the face of it, it may not seem like a lot, as the design has remained the same. But under the hood, it’s received a serious turbo-boost that will make it up to 2x faster than the previous generation M1 iMac.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at everything we know about this new desktop machine.

iMac M3 2023 release date and price

The M3 iMac is launching on Tuesday, November 7, with pre-orders opening today. Here’s where you can buy it.

As for pricing, it remains the same as the previous M1 iMac. For $1,299 / AU$2,199, you can pick up the base model with 8-core GPU, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Add another $200 / AU$300 on there, and the model with a 10-core GPU is yours.

iMac M3 2023 design and display

• Design remains identical to the M1 iMac
• So does the display too — 24-inch 4.5K LCD panel with 500-nits brightness

The 2021 iMac brought in an all-new design for the all-in-one desktop, with a slim chassis and a bouquet of pastel colors. However, it wasn’t perfect, with a large chin and somewhat chunky bezels around the display. Unfortunately, the rumors seem to suggest Apple will continue with this design. 

Rather than tweak the aesthetic, this new iMac is all about a new chipset. The display has remained a 24-inch 4.5K Retina panel with 500-nits of brightness. The 1080p FaceTime camera remains the same up top, and port selection remains the same with four USB-C (including two Thunderbolt ports). More ports would have been appreciated, say an SD card reader and HDMI input/output. 

Plus, the same attention to colors that pop apply with iMacs available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver — complete with color-matched accessories with Touch ID.

iMac 2023 specs

• M3 chip developed using 3nm process — up to 60% faster than M1
• Faster at day-to-day tasks, and supports hardware accelerated ray tracing for games

The rumors were true — the new iMac uses an M3 chip, and it brings a whole lot of performance boosts with it. We could talk about the 3nm process to build these chips (just like the A17 Pro in iPhone 15 Pro), but let’s put this 8-core CPU, up to 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine into some real-world context.

Apps like Safari and Microsoft Excel load 30% faster, games load faster with up to 50% faster frame rates, you can edit and playback up to 12 streams of 4K video (3x more than the M1 iMac), photo processing in Photoshop is 2x faster, and its those graphical capabilities that really drive home the special part of what M3 brings to the table.

You see, much like A17 Pro, it too supports hardware accelerated ray tracing, so you can expect AAA titles to be looking great on here — provided developers make the most of that new game porting toolkit.

Alongside this, some of the additional upgrades include efficiency cores that are 15% faster, the capability of running multi-threaded tasks using half the power (thank you, 3nm, for that), and a faster and more efficient neural engine.

As for RAM and storage, configurations remain the same — starting with 8GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD.

iMac 2023 outlook

And that’s it! The next iMac is more of a big spec bump than any significant redesign. Some design nips and tucks, as well as more display options would have been great — alongside a 27-inch model option.

But on paper, this is a tasty upgrade with a big boost in performance for a great all-in-one desktop that is capable of doing a whole lot from your standard productivity, to more prosumer-focused tasks and even gaming.

As to whether this all adds up to a must-buy in real-world use, you’ll have to wait for our full review to find out.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023) review: The laptop to beat
• Mac mini M2 review: More power for less
• The best laptops in 2023 — tested and rated

We’ve heard rumors before of a new iMac arriving with an M3 chip, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, such a computer could launch as soon as late spring. 

As a reliable Apple tipster, Gurman tends to be on the money with his information. And in this case, he’s revised a previous report touting a refreshed iMac could arrive in the fall to coming “between late spring and summer.” Which, to us, means June — likely at WWDC 2023. However, Gurman said the iMac won’t go into production for at least three months, meaning it'll apparently be available for consumers in the second half of the year; probably August time. 

Given the Apple M2 chip was launched in June 2022, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched for a next-generation chip to arrive some 12 months later. And as the 24-inch iMac is still using the M1 chip, it would be an available candidate for an Apple Silicon upgrade. 

The M3 is likely to continue with Apple’s efforts to get more power out of its silicon while also retaining impressive efficiency, which is one of the reasons the MacBook Air M2 is a joy to use. There’s scope for Cupertino’s engineers to adopt a 3-nanometer process, via chip maker TSMC, in order to fit more transistors on a silicon slice and thus get more power. 

As for the iMac itself, Gurman reckons it’ll stick with a 24-inch display and that its design changes will mostly be under the hood. We hope this isn't the case; despite the slimness and pleasing color options, the current iMac has a somewhat unsightly display bezel and could do with a few more ports. 

Speaking of desktop Macs, Gurman also noted that a new Mac Pro is expected in the summer, this time shunning Intel chips in favor of Apple Silicon. This is arguably overdue as the Mac Pro is the only Mac machine that’s not been given Apple’s own in-house designed chips. 

Gurman says the Mac Pro will come with the M2 Ultra, which we expect will blow the M1 Ultra out of the water, with up to 24 CPU cores and 76 graphics cores, and memory expected to top out at a massive 192GB. 

There’s not much in the way of information about the Mac Pro’s design, which could take the cheesegrater look of the current model and run with it. But we’d be hopeful for a completely new design built around the M-series chips. 

With WWDC a few months away, we’d expect to hear more about these rumored Macs then. But either way, it looks like 2023 will be a busy year for the Mac, especially as we’ve already seen the new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro. 

A new 24-inch iMac may not arrive until late 2023 at the very earliest, with the all-in-one desktop computer tipped to replace the Apple M2 chip in favor of third-generation Apple Silicon. 

That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who in his latest Power On newsletter reported that he’s not received any hint of an M2 version of the iMac on the horizon. "I haven't seen anything to indicate there will be a new iMac until the M3 chip generation, which won't arrive until the tail end of this year at the earliest or next year," explained Gurman. "So if you want to stick with the iMac, you'll just have to sit tight."

As it stands, the current iMac 24-inch comes with the Apple M1 chip, which is plenty powerful but now lags behind the M2 chip that’s more powerful yet has better efficiency too. And there’s a good argument for a new iMac, as the design of the current model is somewhat polarizing; sure it’s super-slim and comes in a range of pastel colors, but it also sports an arguably ugly display bezel and a rather large ‘chin’. 

There’s also the new Mac mini M2 that, as the name suggests, now comes with an M2 or M2 Pro chip meaning you can get a more powerful and portable desktop Mac for less money; sure it doesn't come with a display, but it starts at $599 compared to the iMac’s $1,299 price tag. That means you could get a Mac mini M2 and an excellent display for less than an entry-level iMac. 

With improvements to its M-series chips, Apple could produce a redesigned iMac, hopefully opting for a machine that's mostly a display like a lot of the best all-in-one computers. And we’d like that display to make use of a 120Hz refresh rate, and potentially have a mini-LED panel given such tech has been used in the MacBook Pro 16-inch. 

As for the next-gen M-series chip, likely to be dubbed the M3, we can expect an uptick in performance and efficiency yet again, with Apple tipped to move to a 3-nanometer process node to stick more transistors onto its custom silicon. And that would likely pave the way for a more powerful iPad Pro and MacBook Air. 

Equally, M1 performance was already pretty impressive, so we’d hope to see Apple bring something more to the table, say a big boost in AI processing to power new smart features in macOS. But we’ll probably not find out anything official about the next iMac and Apple Silicon chips until late fall this year. 

And we’d not be surprised if Apple waited until 2024 to bring out next-gen M-series chips in order to debut silicon and machines that really stand out from their predecessors. 

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone 15 just tipped for camera redesign
• 11 hidden iPhone features you should be using
• Google Maps just a huge upgrade — here's all the new features

Desktop Mac buyers may be frustrated at the latest rumor that the Mac Studio could be left by the wayside while Apple upgrades the Mac Pro.

In the subscriber Q&A section of Mark Gurman's Feb 5 Power On newsletter, Gurman responded to a query about future updates to the Mac Studio, saying: "I wouldn’t anticipate the introduction of a Mac Studio in the near future."

He elaborated that there's a possibility there won't be any Mac Studio refresh at all, or that Apple may hold off until the M3 or M4 chips arrive, presumably in two or three years' time. The reason is that Apple sees the Mac Studio and Mac Pro as having very similar functionality, and therefore wants to differentiate them once the Pro gets updated.

The Mac Pro is for now the only Mac Apple currently sells with Intel chips rather than its own M-series silicon, which has led to amusing situations where the far cheaper Mac mini M2 now outperforms the Mac Pro on certain benchmarks. But with the Pro rumored to get M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips, it should soon regain its spot at the top of Apple's Mac power hierarchy.

Like the original 2019 model, the next Mac Pro is looking to be aimed at the most demanding users. It'll offer room to expand your storage, GPU and other components (excluding RAM, unfortunately), something other Apple Silicon Macs don't let you do, but should still ship in the same cheese-grater-esque tower case. 

The Mac Studio comes in a much more compact body than the Mac Pro does, so users wanting the best performance-per-square inch in their Mac will be annoyed if the Studio is stuck with outdated chips for a year or two. The new Mac mini does offer impressive performance, particularly the M2 Pro variant, although it isn't quite as strong on the GPU benchmarks, plus it lacks some of the Studio's ports and can't support as many displays

With the Mac mini M2 and MacBook Pro 14-inch M2 Pro and MacBook Pro 16-inch M2 Pro having just receiving 2023 updates, it's looking less likely that we'll see an Apple spring event this year. Apple could still surprise us with a March showcase of the Mac Pro alongside other rumored devices such as the Apple AR/VR headset, but perhaps we'll be left waiting until WWDC in the summer, or even Apple's September iPhone 15 launch event, to see the Mac Pro debut.

More from Tom's Guide

• iPhone 15 Ultra reportedly not happening this year
• I’m a security editor — this is how I create strong and easy-to-remember passwords 
• Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review — a 200-megapixel beast

Update: We've got more benchmarks, this time for the M2 Max-powered MacBook Pro.

The Mac mini M2 just got its first set of results in the popular CPU benchmarking tool Geekbench 5, revealing how Apple's new Pro chip stacks up to the M1 equivalents.

Apple's refreshed Mac mini, which was announced alongside the MacBook Pro 2023 models earlier this week, has been tested on Geekbench with both an M2 Pro config as well as the basic M2 version. The results show the new chips outperform not only the M1 Pro chip from the 2021 MacBook Pros in single-core performance, but also the more powerful M1 Max chip from those same laptops and the Mac Studio.

The Mac Studio still delivers a much higher multi-core score, We put together the possible Mac mini M2 and M2 Pro results into the table below, along with some other recent Macs.

Mac mini M2 and M2 Pro leaked benchmarks 

The alleged Mac mini M2 beats the Mac mini M1 with ease on both the single-core and multi-core parts of the Geekbench test. It also scores similarly in the single-core test to the more expensive M2 Pro model. However, the non-Pro chip is far behind on multi-core scores, since the Apple M2 chip only has a total of 8 CPU cores rather than 12 cores (or 10 on some models) like the M2 Pro.

Compared to previous high-scoring Macs, the Mac mini with M2 Pro edges out the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, MacBook Pro with M1 Max and Mac Studio with M1 Ultra on single-core tests. It also beats both the M1 and M1 Max Macs on the multi-core test too, but still loses out to the almighty M1 Ultra chip in the Mac Studio.

Apple promoted the new M2 Pro and M2 Max chips with talk of their more densely-packed transistors, higher memory bandwidth and extra cores for the CPU and GPU. Clearly it's worked in at least the case of the M2 Pro, although we'll have to wait for more benchmarks to appear — as well as crucial real-life testing — to see just how much of a benefit the new chips offer.

The results give a strong outlook for the new MacBook Pro models, which also use the M2 Pro (or M2 Max) chip, but with the option for even more RAM (up to 96GB vs. 32GB in the best Mac mini) for improved multitasking, plus all the benefits of the MacBook Pro's design and display.

If you're interested in one of Apple's new laptops, we have guides on how to preorder MacBook Pro 2023 before they go on sale on January 23. If you're not quite sure yet about the refreshed MacBook Pros or Mac mini, then keep it locked to Tom's Guide as we'll have reviews up of the new machines as soon as possible.

The Mac Pro M2 has been tipped to come at a rumored Apple March event, along with a few other Macs. Unfortunately, the latest rumors for these new Macs have suggested that their designs will remain largely unchanged — and the Mac Pro looks set to follow suit.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Mac Pro should look identical to the 2019 iteration of the power user desktop tower. The only major change will be the transition to Apple’s M2-series silicon rather than an Intel CPU.

Well, almost the only major change. Gurman reports that the new Mac Pro will get a serious downgrade compared to its Intel-powered predecessor. The new Mac Pro will not get user-upgradable RAM. This is due to the RAM being tied to the M2 Ultra motherboard, leaving no slots for swapping out or adding additional memory.

This is potentially a massive misstep by Apple, as Gurman himself points out. The purpose of the Mac Pro is to provide the ultimate Apple desktop, and if you cannot expand the memory, that’s a major limitation. Gurman does state that this new Mac Pro M2 should have slots for two SSD storage drives, as well as additional graphics, media and networking cards. Still, without the ability to expand the RAM on the desktop, it will be tougher to extend the lifespan of the device. Given a likely high price point, those looking for a powerful Mac desktop may be looking towards the Mac Studio instead.

Then again, maybe it won’t matter. The Mac Pro was always going to be a relatively niche device, and while you cannot upgrade the RAM after the fact, current rumors suggest that the Mac Pro can be loaded with up to 256GB of RAM. So if you just buy a top-of-the-line Mac Pro, you might not be worrying about the lack of upgradable RAM for a long time anyway.

A new Mac Pro wasn’t all Gurman discussed this week either. He also tipped the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M2 Pro and M2 Max processors to come in 2023 — though again, with little else updated compared to the previous M1-powered versions. In fact, the only groundbreaking thing we may see from Apple this year is its long-rumored Apple VR/AR headset. Gurman thinks this device will launch in the Spring but not ship until later in the year, which tracks with the other rumors we’ve been hearing. Make sure to follow along to our event hub for Apple’s rumored March event for all the latest updates on what may be coming. 

Apple’s Mac Pro is the only machine in the Mac lineup to have yet to receive the Apple Silicon treatment, but Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman now says a new Mac Pro with an M2 Ultra chip is on its way. 

In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman noted that rumors of a Mac Pro with an “M2 Extreme” chip — think an updated and more powerful take on the M1 Ultra found in the  Apple Mac Studio — won’t be happening, due to complexity and cost concerns. The chip was touted to have 48 CPU cores and 152 GPU cores, essentially being a form of dual M2 Ultra chips. 

Nevertheless, this rumored Mac Pro should still be the most powerful Mac ever, given the M1 Ultra already offers huge performance. So adding in the efficiency and performance tweaks of the M2 architecture should make for a massively powerful desktop Mac. 

“The Mac Pro is expected to rely on a new-generation M2 Ultra chip (rather than the M1 Ultra) and will retain one of its hallmark features: easy expandability for additional memory, storage and other components,” explained Gurman. 

The easily swappable and upgradable components is a promising tip, as when one spends several thousand dollars or pounds on a Mac Pro, having the flexibility to upgrade it is definitely a boon. But this could suggest that Apple will stick with the ‘cheese grater’ design of the current Mac Pro, given that the desktop chassis has been thoughtfully designed for upgrades. 

The current Mac Pro uses Intel chips, whereas this rumored next-gen model will use Apple Silicon. So that raises the question of how upgradeable will the chip be over time. Apple’s M-series chips blend the central processing unit (CPU) with the graphic processing unit (GPU) on a system-on-a-chip (SoC) format. And unlike replacing the CPU on say one of our best gaming PCs, swapping an SoC is a whole different story. 

This is pure speculation, but perhaps Apple could take the modular approach to memory and other components and apply it to the SoC for the next Mac Pro, letting users swap out the M2 Ultra for a more powerful chip in the future.

Gurman claims the Mac Pro with M2 Ultra will arrive in 2023, though didn’t narrow down a launch window. We suspect it could arrive in the Spring, likely alongside a Mac mini M2, and new MacBook Pro M2 models of the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro. 

Last year’s addition to the iMac family is generally regarded as a solid step forward for the company’s smallest all-in-one computer. Indeed, in our 24-inch iMac review, we gave the computer a solid four-and-a-half-star rating praising its super screen and speedy performance.

But some people are not fans of the thick chin that sits along the bottom of the iMac underneath the screen, breaking its symmetry. For most, this criticism will only go as far as grumbling in below-the-line comments sections, but some — like these engineers in China — will go to extremes to make the iMac they believe Apple should have created all along. Behold: an iMac without its chin!

The chin is there for a reason, of course: it’s where the actual Mac internals are hidden away, so you can’t just remove it and still have a working computer. 

As such, the modders instead relocated it — attaching it to the back of the computer, neatly hidden away and giving you a symmetrical screen from the front, as you can see in the image below.

The process was as intricate and time intensive as you would expect. First the chin area had to be removed, with the edges ground into the same shape as the top. Then a whole new rear casing was 3D printed for testing before being machined out of alumnium and anodized, before the components were placed inside with some extra precautions to reduce the risk of overheating.

It’s undoubtedly an impressive feat of engineering, but I find myself looking at it and missing the old model. If I saw both in a showroom and had to buy one, I think I’d pick Apple’s original design.

Think different

This has little to do with practical concerns. People have suggested that moving the internal components behind the screen could reduce its life of it thanks to inevitable heat dissipation, but for the purposes of this, I’m assuming both works identically. 

The main problem I have with it is that it lacks personality. In simple terms, it’s just not an iMac anymore — it could be any (admittedly sleek-looking) monitor from any manufacturer from Samsung to Dell. And to me, Apple products have a distinctive style that actively screams their difference.

For the iMac, it seems that’s the chin. Aside from anything else, it’s where the splash of color is added too, and the teal model is, to my mind, just beautiful.

Although it’s mainly aesthetic, I do have a couple of practical concerns too. Firstly, grabbing onto the chin is how you tilt the screen back for comfortable viewing. If you had to use the new version — well, just make sure you have a microfiber cloth handy for removing those fingerprints. It’s also a handy place for sticking post-it notes, for those of us who aren’t quite ready to trust their digital equivalent.

Maybe this is the direction Apple will move in eventually, but personally, I hope not. The iMac’s chin could be every bit as iconic as the iPod’s click wheel or indeed the classic curved iMac. I hope that Apple stays the course with the iMac Pro 2023.

The Apple M2 chip launched at WWDC 2022 and it has already worked its way into a lot of Apple’s product lines. Just last week we got two new iPad Pro 2022 models and two new MacBook Pros are expected to come by the end of the year. 

Now it looks like we may get a new Mac Pro desktop running on Apple’s latest silicon. Bloomberg analyst Mark Gurman says that Apple is actively testing a Mac Pro with an M2 processor. The processor on this test model is rumored to feature a 24-core CPU M2 chip, which is significantly more than the 8-core M2 chip currently available.

In fact, it looks like this Mac Pro is tipped to feature two new M2 chips, which Gurman dubs the M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme. The M2 Ultra is rumored to have 24 CPU cores and 76 GPU cores, and the M2 Extreme is suggested to get double the performance of the M2 Ultra, with 48 CPU cores and a whopping 152 GPU cores. Gurman writes this ultra-powerful desktop will also be able to feature up to 256GB of RAM, and the test model is rumored to have 192GB of RAM.

If you are hoping to get your hands on the next-generation M2 Mac Pro you’ll need some patience. Gurman says that we won’t see it until 2023 at the earliest, and rumors suggest the new M2-powered MacBook Pros and Mac mini 2022 would need to come out prior to the new Mac Pro. Luckily, most people will find this desktop to be overkill, reserving the rumored desktop for those that need truly insane computing power.

Apple M2 lineup 

While the new 14-inch MacBook Pro M2, 16-inch MacBook Pro M2, Mac mini 2022 and Mac Pro M2 are all still rumored, we do already have a fair amount of M2-powered Apple devices.

Shortly after WWDC 2022, Apple gave us a brand-new MacBook Air M2 (2022) and an updated MacBook Pro 13-inch M2 (2022). We initially thought the MacBook Air M2 was the better choice over the MacBook Pro 13-inch M2. The superior design, better webcam and bigger display make it a better choice for most users, and months later our opinion hasn’t changed.

Of course, the newest member of the M2-powered family is the new iPad Pro 2022. This, like the 13-inch MacBook Pro M2, was more of a slight update rather than a full-scale refresh. The good news is that it still means that the iPad Pro 2022 is a great tablet with excellent battery life and an even better processor. The bad news is that we aren’t seeing significant reasons so far to encourage users to update. Make sure to stay tuned to our iPad Pro 2022 12.9-inch review in progress to get our final thoughts. 

Apple is reportedly working on a new iMac Pro with a larger screen, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (via MacRumors). 

The word is this Mac desktop is aimed at the professional market and will reportedly pack an Apple M3 processor, which is a big deal since Apple just debuted the M2 chip in the MacBook Pro 2022. However, don’t expect to see the reported new iMac anytime soon.

According to Gurman, Apple is working on at least two iMac models packing the rumored M3 chip. This includes an updated 24-inch iMac with a standard M3 processor and a 27-inch iMac Pro model sporting either an M3 Pro or M3 Max chip.

“I also still believe that Apple is working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market,” says Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter. “I'd imagine this will use a variation of the M3 chip, likely an M3 Pro and M3 Max. That would match the chips inside of the MacBook Pro. I don't think the combination of a Mac Studio or Mac mini plus an Apple Studio Display cuts it for many pro users who want more screen real estate.”

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Gurman made a similar claim back in April 2022. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also tweeted about a possible iMac Pro in March. Both said the new Apple computer (along with the rumored Mac Mini) will not arrive anytime soon. At the earliest, we may see one or more of these desktops drop in 2023 – though that certainly isn’t set in stone.

With regard to timing, Apple is reportedly looking to start trial production for the M3 chips at the end of 2022. Gurman has previously said Apple devices packing the M3 processor will start releasing in 2023. This family of chips is expected to be built on TSMC’s 3nm process, whereas the M1 and M2 chips are built on 5nm technology. A 2023 release for the iMac Pro seems likely, but a 2024 launch isn't out of the question.

iMac Pro 2023 outlook

It’s interesting that Apple will reportedly skip the M2 processor altogether for its next iMacs and instead go with M3 chips. Given how the M3 will reportedly use 3nm technology – which will no doubt offer more power and efficiency than M2, which is built on a 5nm process – it’s possible Apple wants to wait until M3 is ready before releasing its new iMacs.

While we must treat all of the above with a healthy dose of skepticism, it’s not unreasonable to assume Apple will release an updated iMac or iMac Pro in the future. Stay tuned for further updates as we hear them!

A new iMac is reportedly in the works at Apple, and we may see it sooner than you think. That promising news comes courtesy of Bloomberg Mark Gurman, a proven Apple insider who believes that Apple will ship a new "iMac Pro" in 2023 with a larger screen than the 24-inch iMac (pictured above) Apple launched in 2021.

Such a new iMac Pro would almost certainly replace the existing Apple iMac 27-inch 2020, an excellent machine that's still sold with Intel chips — and thus starting to look a little long in the tooth next to all of Apple's M1-powered products.

The 27-inch iMac has long been of the best all-in-one computers you can buy, thanks to its big, beautiful display and graphical muscle under the hood, so the promise of a revamped "Pro" model shipping in 2023 has us excited about the future of the Mac desktop.

Here's everything we know so far about this potential 27-inch iMac Pro 2023.

iMac Pro 2023 price and release date

We're still waiting on Apple to officially confirm plans to ship an iMac in 2023. Once it does, we'll have a much clearer picture of when it's due out and how much you should expect to pay.

Reliable Apple tipster and display analyst Ross Young once suggested the the iMac Pro could arrive in June 2022, which turned out not to be true. He also added that the next iMac Pro will feature a display panel with "around 1000 zones and over 4000 mini-LEDs." 

Reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the iMac Pro may not arrive until 2023. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has also claimed there is a new iMac Pro in development, but it won't be ready for some time. However there will be an M3-powered regular iMac coming in the meantime.

As far as pricing goes, don't expect the iMac Pro 2023 to be any cheaper than the current 27-inch iMac, which has a starting price of $1,799. We expect its successor to pack more powerful components, including an under-the-hood upgrade from Intel chips to Apple silicon, so it's a safe bet we're looking at a starting price of around $2,000 for this upcoming 27-inch iMac 2023.

iMac Pro 2023 design

So far we haven't heard much about what (if any) changes to expect in the design of an iMac Pro 2023. Since we expect it to be a refresh of the 27-inch iMac, it seems likely that a 2023 iMac will have the same 27-inch display as its predecessor. The bezels may be slimmer, with less of a bottom "chin" on the display, which would bring it into line with the revamped design of Apple's 24-inch iMac 2021. 

If Apple does take a page from the design of its 24-inch iMac when building the iMac 2023, we'd love to see it come in the same vibrant array of eye-catching color schemes.

iMac Pro 2023 display

Early on we heard compelling rumors that Apple was designing a 27-inch iMac Pro for 2022 that had the same remarkable mini-LED displays as its 2021 iPad Pro, MacBook Pros, and 24-inch iMac. 

That could still pan out, but the iMac 27-inch's biggest upgrade just got shot down thanks to some reporting from DigiTimes which claims Apple has opted to stick with an LCD panel for its next iMac. then again other leaks and tips have contested this and a mini-LED display would seemingly make sense for the next iMac Pro. 

iMac Pro 2023 performance

Apple has yet to confirm any specs for a potential iMac Pro 2023, so we can only make educated guesses about what such a Mac might be packing under the hood.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expected Apple to launch no fewer than six new Mac models in 2022, including the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the refreshed MacBook Air. As of July 2022, the Apple tipster was forecasting that we'll see a new iMac Pro in 2023 with "Pro" and "Max" options of a new M3 chip, which we otherwise haven't heard a peep about. Nevertheless, the potential for an M3 chip has some people excited for Apple silicon in 2023.

Of course, a new 2023 iMac Pro might also ship packing the Apple M2 chip that made its debut in the MacBook Pro 2022. However, it seems unlikely, as the M2 chip is a more power-efficient version of the M1 that lacks the muscle of the M1 Pro or M1 Max — which would make it ill-suited to serve as the centerpiece for a powerful new 27-inch iMac.

Specs-wise, you should expect a new 27-inch iMac Pro 2023 to start with at least 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, as that's what's available in the entry-level configuration of the current 27-inch iMac. However, we hope that Apple will see fit to bump that up to 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD as the lowest possible specs you can get on a new 27-inch iMac Pro, as that's what's really required for something bearing the "Pro" moniker.

iMac Pro 2023 camera

We haven't heard so much as a peep yet about what sort of webcam you should expect from a new 27-inch iMac Pro. However, there's every reason to believe it will be at least as good as the camera on the 24-inch iMac 2021, and that's quite a good camera.

It's a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and in our hands-on testing it captures clear, accurate images and video. That's nice to have since iMacs are traditionally set up like family PCs, so there's every reason to think you'll be taking calls from friends and family with friends or family alongside you at the computer. The M1 chip in the 24-inch iMac also helps out by doing a bit of image signal processing to improve image quality, and we certainly hope to see similar functionality on a future 27-inch iMac Pro 2023.

iMac Pro 2023 outlook

Right now we have every reason to expect Apple will release a new 27-inch iMac Pro in 2023. The 27-inch iMac is one of the few remaining Apple computing products which is still sold with Intel chips, and given that Apple announced plans to transition all Macs to Apple silicon back in 2020, the 27-inch iMac is overdue for an update.

All that remains to be seen is when it will happen, and what kind of upgrade we should expect in terms of both performance and design.

Apple is gearing up to launch a whole host of products at its upcoming September event and in the first half of 2023, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. 

After announcing the new MacBook Air 2022 and MacBook Pro 2022 13-inch with the new M2 chip at WWDC this year, Apple is apparently not done with the Macbook lineup just yet. They are reportedly working on new Macs that will be powered by a new M2 Pro chip.

In his latest Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman details additional Macs in Apple’s product roadmap. This includes a new Mac mini 2022 model, which could come with the M2 chip and M2 Pro chips, while the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro will apparently have M2 Pro and M2 Max variants available.

Gurman also mentions a new Mac Pro tower with M2 Ultra and "M2 Extreme" chips. The products will apparently “come in much quicker succession than the M1-based Macs did.”

The core of Apple’s new Macs will remain the new and powerful M2 chip and the macOS Ventura that was announced at WWDC 2022.

It seems like M2 is not the only ‘new’ chip from Apple this year, if what Gurman is saying is true  — we could have several sub chips from Apple’s oven each powered to take on a specific product. 

Mac Pro is already the most powerful desktop Mac that Apple sells  — so it is exciting to see what Apple has to offer with high-octane sounding chips like “M2 Ultra” and “M2 Extreme”.

The slew of new chips doesn’t end there. Gurman also claims that Apple is working on the next M3 chip and that we might see it on the 13-inch Macbook Air in 2023. 

Gurman writes, “Apple is also already at work on the M2’s successor, the M3, and the company is planning to use that chip as early as next year with updates to the 13-inch MacBook Air.”

There could also be a 15-inch Macbook Air 2023 and a new 12-inch laptop in the works for next year. 

 A new Apple HomePod 

Yes, that’s the big surprise claim that Gurman made in his newsletter. Apple abruptly discontinued its smart speaker the HomePod in 2021, but now Gurman reports that a new HomePod could be launched by the company. 

According to Gurman, the new HomePod will probably look and sound similar to the HomePod 2018 model. It could feature Apple’s upcoming S8 chip that’s apparently coming to the Apple Watch 8 and it could also have an updated display on the top of the speaker that may include multi-touch functionality.

Currently the only smart speaker with Siri from Apple is the HomePod Mini that retails for $99 and comes with a S5 chip. S8 on the HomePod could mean a whole lot of power and improvement in audio performance, but at the same time it could mean we may not see a new iteration of the HomePod Mini anytime soon.

The HomePod had a price tag of $349 and was one of the most expensive smart speakers around at that time. The HomePod Mini, on the other hand, was more successful as it squeezed some of the best features of the HomePod into a more compact and affordable device.

It’s not clear if the HomePod will launch this year or early next year.

Gurman says Apple is “about to embark on one of the most ambitious periods of new products in its history” with the deluge of products it is going to launch.