The M4 Mac mini might finally have the courage to dump its USB-A ports

In early August, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the upcoming M4 Mac mini will have a new, smaller design and stated that it’ll have at least three USB-C ports, a power connector, and an HDMI port. In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman offered more details on the M4 Mac mini’s ports and a big change is in store.

Gurman reports that the new M4 Mac mini will have five USB-C ports, three on the back, and for the first time, two on the front. However, most people will be more interested in why: According to Gurman, there will be no USB-A ports, a change from the current Mac mini, which has two. So, if you have USB-A devices, you need adapters.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Apple dumped a popular port in the name of thinness and progress. Back in 1998, the iMac famously removed the floppy drive in favor of CD burning. The 2015 MacBook Air had a single USB-C port. And of course, Apple removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7 back in 2017.

Apple removed the USB-A ports from the iMac when the M1 model arrived in 2021, and it hasn’t made a laptop with USB-A for many years.

Elsewhere, the Mac mini will have a similar array of ports, including ethernet and HDMI. Gurman doesn’t say if it’s gigabit or 10Gbit. The current Mac mini has a gigabit ethernet with a user option for 10Gbit for an extra $100, and it’s an option Apple could continue. Apple will likely continue to offer 10Gbit ethernet as a standard port for its high-end Macs, the Mac Studio, and Mac Pro.

Gurman also didn’t specify whether the HDMI port will be an HDMI 2.1 port. The current M2 Mac mini has HDMI 2.1, which was an upgrade from HDMI 2.0 in the M1 Mac mini, so, it seems likely that the M4 Mac mini will have HDMI 2.1. The only other port Gurman mentioned is the headphone jack, which is likely to stick around for another generation. With the M2 Mac mini, Apple implemented support for high-impedance headphones and that should continue with the M4 Mac mini.

Foundry

Foundry

Foundry

Gurman did not cover the wireless connectivity, but the Mac mini will probably offer Bluetooth 5.3. Rumors have it that the upcoming iPhone 16 may support the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, and if it does, that seems to be a good indicator that the M4 Macs will upgrade from the current Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) as well.

As always, the Mac mini will have a power plug, but the power supply will be in the Mac itself. It will not have an external power brick.

When will the M4 Mac mini ship?

According to Gurman, the M4 Mac mini may arrive in Apple warehouses in early September, while the M4 Pro Mac mini won’t ship until October. “That probably means neither will be announced until about a month after the iPhone unveiling,” Gurman said, indicating an October Mac event.

In an earlier report, Gurman said that Apple plans to release the M4 Mac mini, MacBook Pro, and iMac before the end of this year. The MacBook Air, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro will follow in 2025. You can learn more about the M4 Mac schedule.

Keep track of what’s happening with the Mac mini in our M4 Mac mini superguide.

Source : Macworld