Apple Mac Mini 2024 announced with first redesign since 2010

Apple announced new Mac Mini models on Tuesday that feature the first major redesign since 2010 that makes the desktop computer significantly smaller.

Aside from a redesign that shrunk the chassis and halved the computer's volume, the key upgrade to these new computers is that they include Apple's latest chip, either the M4, or a more powerful version called the M4 Pro.

The Mac Mini is Apple's cheapest Mac, starting at $599 and without a display, which is sold separately. When the line was first introduced in 2008, it was marketed as a computer for Microsoft Windows switchers who could simply plug their existing keyboard, mouse and monitor into their new silver box.

The Mac Mini isn't one of Apple's top-selling computers in terms of sales, but it holds an important place in Apple's lineup, especially for people who build apps for iPhones and other Apple platforms. Many iPhone developers like to use a Mac Mini as a personal development server to coordinate uploads and code.

An improvement to the new design is that all ports are USB-C ports, the same more modern offering found on Apple's laptops. There are three USB-C ports on the back and two on the front, a new addition that makes it easier to plug and unplug accessories while the computer sits on a desk.

Apple said in a press release that the M4 is a significant improvement over the M2 chip in the previous version released in 2022. Graphics and games are more than twice as fast and the M4 can support up to 14 CPU cores and 20 GPU cores. an increase over the last generation. Apple first introduced the M4 in Apple's iPad Pro in May.

Apple, like all new products announced this year, is designing the new Mac Minis to be built for Apple Intelligence, the company's artificial intelligence system released this week. Apple has announced that an upcoming integration of ChatGPT into writing fields in apps like Word will allow users to generate and rewrite texts and emails using the system.

But unlike the iPhone, where only phones released in the last two years support Apple Intelligence, as of 2020, all of Apple's computers with the M1 chip and newer can run the company's AI.

Apple's Mac family remains a large business segment, even if it is less important to the company than the iPhone. In the June quarter, Apple reported Mac revenue of $7 billion, up about 2% on an annual basis.

Apple's chief marketer previously announced a “week full of announcements.” The company unveiled new iMac computers on Monday, so it seems plausible that more are coming. This week's new Macs are likely Apple's last major hardware announcements for the year.