The Apple Mac Mini (2022) is one of our most anticipated devices here at TechRadar, and hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer for it.
The mini-PC, which may be announced at the Apple March event on March 8, 2022, would be the follow-up to the fan-favorite Mac Mini (M1), powered by the Apple M1 chip and released alongside the Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) and 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro (M1, 2020).
The mini-PC definitely impressed us when we reviewed it in 2020, and the M1 chip powering it showed itself to be a pretty competent performer overall. Still, a home PC is a pretty big piece of kit, so can a Mac Mini win over converts beyond the device's fanbase?
One of the major advantages of the Mac Mini is its size, which is perfect for those who need a home PC but don't want a large PC case or an all-in-one computer like the latest iMac. Others might be worried though that a mini-PC won't be powerful enough for their needs.
The anticipated announcement of a new processor, the Apple M2, might put those concerns to rest, and it could help the Mac Mini (2022) make a much bigger splash this year.
Apple Mac Mini (2022): cut to the chase
- What is it? Apple's next-generation mini-PC
- When is it out? Unknown, but we could get an announcement on March 8, 2022
- What will it cost? Unknown, but likely similar to current pricing (starting at $699 / £699 / AU$1,099)
Apple Mac Mini (2022): release date and price
The Apple Mac Mini (2022) hasn't even been announced yet, so there's no official release date that we can confirm, but we're expecting it to be among several devices announced at the Apple March event on March 8, 2022 (though not all or even a majority of them to be Macs).
The last Mac Mini (M1) was released in late 2020, so going off Apple's typical 18 to 24 product release cadence, March 2022 is right around the start of that release window. There have also been a lot of rumors around a 13-inch MacBook Pro being released at the Apple March event, and it is widely expected to feature the new M2 chip, so it makes plenty of sense for a Mac Mini to get an upgrade as well.
The 2020 models of both products were announced at the same time, and both feature the M1 chip. There are also a lot of rumors that the 13-inch MacBook Pro won't see a major redesign, which might be reserved for a new MacBook Air reveal later this year.
If that is true, then it may make sense for the Mac Mini with M2 to be announced alongside the 13-inch MacBook Pro since there's much less excitement around a Mac Mini redesign than there is for a MacBook.
After all, announcing two new M2-powered devices that don't feature major redesigns is better than announcing just the one, and if the Mini were to only get internal improvements, swapping out the M1 for the M2 would make mass production significantly simpler.
MacBook Air (2022): design
There has been a lot of talk about the potential redesign of Apple's MacBook Air (2022) as well as the lack of redesign for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, so which side of things do we expect the Mac Mini to come down on?
It's a hard question to answer, unfortunately, since there is less interest in seeing a Mac Mini redesign, there's less incentive for Apple to redesign the Mac Mini. However, one of the reasons why the lack of a redesign for the 13-inch MacBook Pro makes a lot of sense is that the 13-inch MacBook Pro might be discontinued after this year in favor of the 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021).
If you're going to continue to release a product, and we don't expect the Mac Mini to be discontinued any time soon, then it's almost certain that it will have to get a redesign (albeit, nothing major) to fit in with other Mac products that do, namely the iMac, and presumably the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch.
Apple Mac Mini (2022): specs and performance
There's not much we can say specifically about the Mac Mini's specs without knowing the Apple chip that runs it, but we do expect that it will have the same 8GB/16GB Unified Memory configuration options, with anywhere from a 256GB SSD up to a 2TB SSD.
We also expect the number and types of ports to stay more or less the same, but we're hoping for an upgrade to USB-C Thunderbolt 4 from the existing Thunderbolt 3. Same goes for upgrades in the way of HDMI 2.1 and a DisplayPort 1.4 output, but with Thunderbolt 4, those ports might not be necessary anyway, so they might get the axe with a new Mac Mini.
That might shift around our list of best monitors for the Mac Mini, but something tells us this isn't much of a concern for Apple.
As for the chips powering the new device, that's where things can get interesting.
There is some buzz that we won't just see an M2-powered Mac Mini, but we might also see an M1 Pro and even an outside chance of an M1 Max-powered Mac Mini.
These latter two might be more for professionals rather than home PCs, but the possibility could give the Mac Mini much broader appeal, especially since it might allow consumers of all stripes to access the performance of an M1 Pro and M1 Max at a more accessible price point than you'd get with a MacBook Pro.
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