Apple Will Finally Address the Biggest Complaint About Its Cheapest Mac

A new Mac mini is just around the corner. Yes, there is still no date, and it is not even official from Apple, but all indications are that it will arrive sooner rather than later, and it will also have an M4 chip inside. At least, that is what Mark Gurman points out in his latest newsletter. Turning on the powerwhich details some of the features of the updated Mac mini M4.

As for specific details, there’s still a lot of mystery here. What we do know is that it will be the smallest Mac ever made, and it will shrink in size to get closer to those levels without actually reaching them, logically. on Apple TV, which has grown slightly in size. We also know that it will lose out, this time to match the rest of the range, on USB A, and will offer exclusively USB-C on all its ports, not counting the video ports.

However, the company appears to be testing the connectivity options of the new Mac mini M4. According to Gurman, Apple has tested models with at least three USB-C ports on the back of the mini, as well as place to connect the power cable and HDMI port for connecting the device to TVs and monitors. This opens the door for the final model, which will definitely include 5 USB-C ports. Two of them are located on the front for easy access and have a similar layout to the current Mac Studio. This is one of the most frequent requests from users and one of the few complaints that can be made about the current model.

Mac mini M4: 5 USB ports and the size of Apple TV

The question that remains about the Mac mini’s connectivity is whether all of its USB-C ports will be Thunderbolt-type, or whether just some of them—the ones in the back—will offer that connectivity, leaving the front ones to be plain USB-C, though. with the latest protocol specification.

In fact, both because of its size and the capabilities it will offer, albeit with greater connectivity, They suggest it will be some kind of iPad Pro in a small box.This will allow the price of the device to be kept similar to the current models. Available today, the Mac mini starts at $599.but there is no guarantee that Apple will offer a model at a lower price than the current one.

And it won’t be the only one. This new Mac mini is just one of a series of new Macs coming in the coming months, including updates to the iMac desktop and MacBook Pro with M4 chips coming later this year.