Samuel Axon
Apple’s Mac Studio simply got here out, however there’s some excellent news for anybody ready on a refresh to Apple’s least expensive Mac desktop. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith uncovered a reference to an as-yet-unannounced “Macmini10,1” mannequin identifier in a firmware file for the Studio Show, implying that Apple is testing a brand new Mac mini internally and that it may very well be launched sooner moderately than later.
The presence of an unreleased Mac mini mannequin identifier in a firmware file tells us little concerning the machine, past the truth that the {hardware} bodily exists someplace inside Apple. However we will say with some confidence that it is meant to be a brand new technology of Mac mini, moderately than a revision of the present design—Apple makes use of “Macmini9,1” for the present mini, and “Macmini8,1” for the ultimate Intel mannequin from 2018.
Apple is predicted to refresh the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Professional with a next-generation Apple M2 processor someday this 12 months. The M1 and all its variants use the CPU structure from 2020’s A14, codenamed “Firestorm” for the efficiency cores and “Icestorm” for the effectivity cores. The M2 will possible replace that structure and will presumably add extra GPU cores as nicely.

Samuel Axon
What stays to be seen is whether or not the M2 will help extra ports and show outputs than the M1. Older Intel-based Macs supported as much as three linked shows, and the 2018 Mac mini included 4 Thunderbolt ports, the place M1-based Macs high out at two Thunderbolt ports and two linked shows (together with the built-in display screen, for laptops). Fewer ports and show outputs arguably isn’t a deal-breaker for Apple’s least expensive Macs, however an M2 mini may gain advantage from a bigger and extra versatile collection of ports.
Present rumors recommend that Apple might introduce new Macs as quickly as June when the corporate holds its yearly builders convention. That stated, WWDC is often software-focused, and new {hardware} bulletins do not at all times occur.