Mark Gurman had just talked about Apple unveiling two new Macs at or shortly after WWDC, and there are other strong indications. In the past, it was not uncommon to find hardware IDs in the depths of the system, which referred to hardware that had not previously appeared. This is exactly what has now been repeated. If you trace the firmware of the studio display, it is spoken of as a Macmini10.1. This is clearly the next generation of the compact desktop calculator, as the current version with the M1 chip is labeled Macmini9,1, and the latest Intel-based version was labeled Macmini8,1.
Mac mini 2022 in summer?
Such findings also give limited indications of when the official unveiling can be expected. When Apple includes new hardware in the description files, it’s usually not long before sales start: the presentation usually takes place while the corresponding system version is running. Therefore, Gurman’s assessment of “mid 2022” should not only refer to the revised generation of MacBook Air, but also to the next Mac mini. However, there are still conflicting statements about what inner workings the second Mac mini with Apple processors is based on.
Discussion: M1 or M2?
There was repeated talk that Apple wanted to offer a performance variant that optionally installed the Pro version with more cores instead of the regular M1 chip. However, other sources reported that the Mac mini was one of the first Macs with the M2 chip. Exactly the same discussion exists regarding the MacBook Air. The theory of whether Apple really already has an M2 installed is particularly challenged when the entire model range hasn’t even been converted to M1 processors. The successor to the Mac Pro is planned for late 2022 or early 2023, and according to recent reports, the device will receive a chip consisting of two M1 Ultras combined. It’s considered certain that an M1 Pro offers significantly more performance than an M2, so it seems unlikely, at least with the Mac mini, to see M1 Pro and M2 chip variants side by side. It would probably not be easy for many customers to decide on the right model.
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