In his Energy On e-newsletter, Mark Gurman reiterates that new Mac fashions with the M4 chip are nonetheless on monitor to launch later this yr, though there may be one attention-grabbing new element. Gurman additionally provides that MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Professional will obtain their M4 updates in 2025.
Apple final up to date the MacBook Professional and iMac fashions final October at its “Scary Quick” occasion, introducing M3 chips throughout the board. MacBook Professional obtained a brand new Area Black end, in addition to a less expensive entry-level mannequin that changed the previous 13-inch MacBook Professional with Contact Bar. The 24-inch iMac stayed largely the identical, though the included Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard didn’t transition to USB-C. These equipment sadly nonetheless use Lightning.
With a brand new replace coming to those fashions this fall, Gurman doesn’t count on a lot apart from the introduction of latest M4 chips. The M4 chip first debuted within the iPad Professional again in Could, with no Mac fashions receiving the brand new chip but. For the reason that iMac nonetheless makes use of Lightning equipment, I’d additionally guess that we’ll see USB-C equipment within the field of the 24-inch iMac mannequin with M4 later this yr.
Gurman additionally says that we’ll see a Mac mini replace later this yr, which is a little more attention-grabbing. The Mac mini skipped the M3 sequence of chips, and was final up to date in January 2023. Again with that refresh they launched a brand new mannequin of Mac mini with the M2 Professional chip, however apart from that it was a lightweight refresh.
On this e-newsletter, Gurman mentions one attention-grabbing new element:
Although the M4 overhaul will largely concentrate on making the computer systems extra highly effective, there’s at the least one Mac mannequin that can get extra dramatic adjustments.
For the reason that transition to Apple Silicon, Apple has given a contemporary new look to most of its Mac lineup. The MacBook Air, MacBook Professional, and iMac have all obtained new designs. The one fashions that haven’t obtained a redesign are the Mac Professional and Mac mini.
Apple final refreshed the Mac Professional in 2022, and it reused the identical design because the 2019 Mac Professional. This was a perplexing determination to lots of people, given the truth that the 2019 Mac Professional was centered on modularity and upgradability, whereas Apple Silicon prevents a considerable amount of that. The 2019 Mac Professional chassis is clearly not best for Apple Silicon, as it’s largely empty.
As for the Mac mini, the design has remained largely unchanged since 2010. For the reason that introduction in 2010, it’s misplaced the DVD drive and Apple modified many of the ports, however its at all times remained a 7.7 inch aluminum sq..
Probably, one among these fashions will find yourself getting the “dramatic adjustments” that Gurman mentions, though it’s doable that it may very well be one thing else. In any case, subsequent yr will likely be 4 years since Apple redesigned the MacBook Professional, and there tends to be a 4-5 yr redesign cycle for that laptop computer.
Are you trying ahead to M4 refreshes of Mac fashions? Is there a selected Mac you’d prefer to see a revamp with? We’ve included a ballot beneath, but additionally be happy to depart your ideas within the feedback!
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