Skip to main content

New M1X Mac Mini leak could confirm major features in upcoming release

The M1X Mac Mini is going to see an upgrade later this year or the beginning of next year, and a tipster has now leaked its apparent schematics offering us a potential look at what the compact PC could look like, and hint at what tech specs to expect.

The schematics are provided by LeaksApplePro and match earlier leaks of the machine, though the account’s tweet has since been deleted.

Leaked render of the M1X Mac Mini.

The original leaks came from famous leaker Job Prosser in May. He claimed that the next Mac Mini will feature a thinner body than the current version as well as more ports. LeaksApplePro’s leaks validate Prosser’s claims with not just the body but the layout of the ports also looking quite similar to the renders that Prosser leaked earlier.

Apple has given the iMac and MacBook Pro design changes in the past few years, but the Mac Mini’s chassis has more or less stayed the same, not having undergone any major overhaul apart from a couple of minor changes made in 2018. The leaked renders point toward this changing, with the machine looking much more streamlined. The thinner design might also sport a ‘plexiglass’ material on top of the body, according to Prosser’s sources.

Moreover, the new Mac Mini is rumored to leverage the Apple M1X SoC, which could apparently have 10 CPU cores and up to 32 GPU cores. Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reported in May that the company has plans on releasing two versions, the ‘Jade C-Chop’ and ‘Jade C-Die’, which may differ in terms of GPU cores. This should provide a significant upgrade in performance over the current M1 model, especially in the graphics department.

Rumors also reveal details on which ports to expect, from left to right. The newest version of the Mac Mini will purportedly host a power button, a magnetic charging port, four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, one RJ45 Ethernet jack, and one HDMI port. Not present in the current M1 Mac Mini, the magnetic charging port is also an upgrade that the new model could use that would align it with the current 24-inch iMac.

Rumor has it that just like the upcoming portable Macs, the M1X Mac Mini will feature 32GB of RAM as well. It is also believed that the company will release the compact computer in a variety of colors, as we saw in the latest 24-inch iMac.

As far as the release date is concerned, another tipster claims that the M1X Mac Mini could possibly be released alongside the new MacBook Pro coming out by the end of 2021. This means we could expect them as early as October or November. However, considering the shortage of Apple components as well as the pandemic, we can’t be too sure. There is also no word on pricing as of yet.

Editors' Recommendations

Dua Rashid
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Dua is a media studies graduate student at The New School. She has been hooked on technology since she was a kid and used to…
A brand-new M3 MacBook Air could be just months away
Apple MacBook Air M1 open, on a table.

Apple has only just launched its M2 Pro and M2 Max chips inside new MacBook Pro laptops, but some people are already looking to the future. And according to a new report, next-generation Apple silicon chips could be here in a matter of months.

That idea comes from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes (via MacRumors), which claims that a new 13-inch MacBook Air with an M3 chip could launch in the second half of 2023. That device might represent the most significant performance increase in an Apple laptop since Apple silicon first launched in 2020.

Read more
Apple announces new MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips
A person sitting in a vehicle using a MacBook Pro on their lap.

Apple has unveiled new versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, ending months of speculation surrounding the devices. New features include the latest M2 Pro and M2 Max chips -- but not much else.

Almost everything else remains the same as what we saw in the M1 Pro and M1 Max versions of the MacBook Pro: the same flat-edged design, the same mini-LED display, and the same port arrangement. That’s not particularly surprising, as the M1 versions of these laptops themselves featured a major design overhaul. Another big change so soon was not really in the cards.

Read more
Got an M1 Mac? Apple will now let you repair it yourself
A person repairing a MacBook using Apple's self-service repair kit.

Apple has expanded its self-service repair program to include a new slate of desktop Macs, as spotted by Six Colors. The move has increased the number of people eligible to get hands-on and fix their Apple computers at home using official components and guides. Previously, only a handful of MacBooks qualified for the program.

The devices freshly inducted into the program include the M1 iMac, M1 Mac mini, the Mac Studio, and the Studio Display. Owners of these Macs and displays will now get access to official parts and manuals to help them fix up their products without needing to go to an Apple Store or a third-party repair shop.

Read more