Dusty is actually not an expression: no Mac comes with an older form factor than the Mac mini. Since summer 2010, believe it or not, Apple has been using the so-called unibody design for compact computers. As a well-known analyst with good connections in Apple’s supply chain has now heard, this should remain the case – at least until 2024.
No design resources for the Mac mini
According to information from Ming-Chi Kuo from the Taiwanese investment company TF International Securities, the next Mac will also be mini presumably have a similar form factor design. There has been speculation since 2021 that Apple will revise the look, based on the colorful iMac M1. In practice, however, nothing came of it. The Mac mini M2 or M2 Pro that has just been released also comes in a unibody look from Intel times. This is certainly elegant in its form as a rounded aluminum block, but – also in terms of repairability – actually outdated.
Why Apple doesn’t use resources to revamp the Mac mini’s design remains unclear. In the meantime, some rumor mongers also thought that the company would simply discontinue the cheapest desktop in the line-up because the improved Mac Studio was already available. This turned out to be a mistake, the series will be continued. The previous model, the Mac mini M1, was one of the first machines with Apple Silicon to come onto the market in 2020 and was considered very fast at the time because there was also a fan in the housing.
Finally Apple silicon in the 3 nm process
In addition to the Mac mini information, Kuo also received news about the further development of Apple’s own SoCs. While the M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max continue to be made using the 5-nanometer manufacturing process at TSMC – which Apple calls “second generation” – the 3-nm technology is finally expected to be built into the Mac in 2024. Kuo believes that the planned for 2024 M3 Pro and M3 Max chips built in this process become – either N3P or N3S.
TSMC only started mass production in the 3-nanometer process this December – too late for Apple’s new Macs. It is conceivable that a next-generation MacBook Pro, which could appear in the first half of 2024, will be the first to use the new chips.
(bsc)
