New 14-inch and 16-inch Apple Silicon MacBook Pro, redesigned Mac mini in pipeline

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited May 2021
A new report claims that Apple will launch multiple new Macs, including redesigned Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro lines starting in the summer.

Apple Silicon
Apple Silicon


Apple has previously committed to moving all of its Macs to Apple Silicon within two years, but now that transition is said to include redesigns of even the existing new M1 Macs. A new report claims that the MacBook Pro models will see a revamp in summer 2021, while the successor to the M1 will be in a redesigned MacBook Air to come at the end of the year.

According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to offer the MacBook Pro with two different processor options. Reportedly codenamed Jade C-Chop and Jade C-Die, they both feature 8 high-performance cores, and 2 energy-efficient ones.

These 10-core processor versions will vary by having either 16, or 32 graphics cores. Bloomberg says that the new processors will feature an improved Neural Engine.

RAM and ports

Both new MacBook Pro models will come with a redesigned chassis that, as previously predicted, includes a MagSafe charger port, HDMI, and SD card support.

The two models are also said to support up to 64GB of Unified RAM, up from the present maximum limit of 16GB. They will offer more Thunderbolt ports than at present.

It's a similar claim for other Macs. Apple is said to be planning another revision of the Mac mini, which will use either or both of these new 10-core processors. In this case, Bloomberg reports that the revision will give the computer four ports instead of two.

Bloomberg says that the Mac mini could be delayed, or even cancelled, however. It similarly claims that a revision to the 27-inch iMac had also been in the works, but development was paused in favor of the 24-inch model.

M1 successor

Bloomberg says that Apple is further working on what it describes as a direct successor to the M1. Reportedly codenamed Staten, the M1 replacement will have the same number of computing cores, but they will run faster.

It will also come with an increase in graphics cores from the present seven or eight, to nine or 10.

Apple is claimed to be intending to use the same Staten processor in a revision of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It has no timetable for that, however.

Last of the Intel processors

Although Apple has said it will continue supporting Intel Macs, and there have even been rumors of a new one, even the current M1 models do include some Intel technology. Specifically, they all have an Intel USB Retimer, which helps power USB-C and Thunderbolt ports.

Bloomberg claims that Apple is preparing to replace Intel's version with its own design, possibly from 2022.


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patchythepirate
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 39
    That’s nice! Last night I got a report that the new models were coming out till ‘22! Don’t you just love rumor/leak mill?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 39
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,413member
    A new Mac mini with that much power sounds very interesting indeed, imagine what a new Mac Pro will be when its turn is up in the transition queue.
    GG1argonautpatchythepiratekillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 39
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,027member
    I'm hoping for this summer for a 16" MBP with second generation M chip.  Not that I can afford it, but I might convince my employer or be able to crowd fund it.  :)  
    irelandwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 39
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    This Jade-xC variant sounds like M1X, while Staten sounds like M2.

    Looks like the speculated GPU capability of Jade-xC will increase dramatically over M1. I'll take a Jade-xC Mini, please!
    williamlondondoozydozenkillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 39
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,046member
    Loving my M1 Mac mini (16 GB) as my desktop computer. My only complaint regarding it is that it boots rather slowly but I think some of that is due to launch items that may be running with Rosetta and from time to time the computer can become temporarily unresponsive with a ton of windows open in Safari. Considering how early we are with Mac OS running on Apple Silicon I think it is pretty impressive.

    And I would like to cast a vote for a return to Space Gray for the Mac mini.
    GG1argonautdoozydozenpatchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 39
    Wait, Bloomberg is reporting that the Mac mini is being refreshed/upgraded ahead of expectations--unless it's delayed or canceled?  That's helpful.


    doozydozencaladanianirelandwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 39
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,023member
    Don't have any AS based macs yet but would be in for both the larger screen iMac and redesigned Mac mini 

    Crossing fingers. 
    edited May 2021 williamlondondoozydozenpatchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 39
    Not liking the rumor that the RAM is still packaged with the CPU and can't be upgraded. That is going to be a major issue with users that need a lot of RAM for their projects. Apple could mitigate this if they include an extremely fast SSD along the lines of the one in the PS5 that can move 5.5 GB a second. Memory swapping could be a thing again.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 9 of 39
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    chadbag said:
    Don't have any AS based macs yet but would be in for both the larger screen iMac and redesigned Mac mini 

    Crossing fingers. 

    Sounds like it will be worth the wait.   I will wait to see what is actually delivered but a Mac Mini that would be as good as what is implied here might be on my buy list.    My M1 MBA continues to amaze me, being a passively cooled laptop, a Mini without the MBA's limitations would make for a great desktop machine.

    I'm real interested to see how Apple improves Neural Engine as I suspect that it will be playing a big part in the future of Apples operating systems.   I actually see it as a big factor in the move to Apple Silicon.
    williamlondondoozydozenGG1watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 39
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,698member
    The average time between Mini updates is well over a year. Consider that.
    doozydozenwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 39
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Not liking the rumor that the RAM is still packaged with the CPU and can't be upgraded. That is going to be a major issue with users that need a lot of RAM for their projects. Apple could mitigate this if they include an extremely fast SSD along the lines of the one in the PS5 that can move 5.5 GB a second. Memory swapping could be a thing again.

    I doubt it is a rumor, Apple gains a lot of performance advantages with in package RAM.   There is a real speed benefit but a bigger factor from my perspective is that it is likely saving them a lot of power and maybe even more moving forward.    I'd kinda like to see Apple address the complaints so that people know the trade offs.

    I see the SSD problem as one of the storage devices being fast enough and at the same time reliable.   The research into the Linux kernel port indicates that the SSD controller is memory mapped which probably already explains some of the performance advantages of AS.   That fact should allow Apple to rapidly increase SSD support as Flash becomes faster.

    It will be interesting to see what Apple does for the Mac Pro and possibly other desktop machines.   To support massive memory they will have to have off die memory, probably in sockets.    That is likely to be DDR5 with very wide (multiple) memory channels.   This chip, in a slightly reduced core count) could end up in a high end iMac or even a enhanced Mac Mini or XMac type box.    So the idea of memory sockets might not go completely away when it comes to low end Macs, but it won't be in 2021.
    doozydozenwilliamlondonGG1docno42watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 39
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,123member
    I can totally see the new Mac Mini being no bigger than their old SuperDrive external CD-ROM drive from a few years back.  Basically the width of a couple iPhones laying down side-by-side.  

    These new chips and their low power/thermal advantages really open up new design possibilities.
    williamlondontmaywatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 39
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    sflocal said:
    I can totally see the new Mac Mini being no bigger than their old SuperDrive external CD-ROM drive from a few years back.  Basically the width of a couple iPhones laying down side-by-side.  

    These new chips and their low power/thermal advantages really open up new design possibilities.
    I thought I read that the current Mini form factor was purposely kept the same as the original size due to its widespread use in rack-mount applications (MacStadium, etc.). But after seeing the thinness of the 24" iMac, I can see the advantage of a new form factor for a purpose-built Mx Mini, such as two in the space of the current form factor.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 39
    zimmermannzimmermann Posts: 339member
    No word on a new iPad mini? 
  • Reply 15 of 39
    The average time between Mini updates is well over a year. Consider that.
    Consider this: Apple is no longer dependent upon Intel for their chips so maybe things will get to where new models yearly appear?
    williamlondonJinTechwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 39
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,053member
    The average time between Mini updates is well over a year. Consider that.
    Consider this: Apple is no longer dependent upon Intel for their chips so maybe things will get to where new models yearly appear?
    My thoughts exactly.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 39
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,452member
    Not liking the rumor that the RAM is still packaged with the CPU and can't be upgraded. That is going to be a major issue with users that need a lot of RAM for their projects. Apple could mitigate this if they include an extremely fast SSD along the lines of the one in the PS5 that can move 5.5 GB a second. Memory swapping could be a thing again.
    Considering the current models have the exact same RAM capacities, I fail to see the issue. 
    williamlondonStrangeDaysdocno42watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 39
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,452member
    Bizarre, this article completely ignores the section covering the Mac Pro:

    [EDIT: covered in a separate post about the same article for some reason]
    Buyers of the high-end Mac Pro desktop planned for next year will likely have a choice of two processors that are either twice or four times as powerful as the new high-end MacBook Pro chip. Codenamed Jade 2C-Die and Jade 4C-Die, a redesigned Mac Pro is planned to come in 20 or 40 computing core variations, made up of 16 high-performance or 32 high-performance cores and four or eight high-efficiency cores. The chips would also include either 64 core or 128 core options for graphics. The computing core counts top the 28 core maximum offered by today’s Intel Mac Pro chips, while the higher-end graphics chips would replace parts now made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
    edited May 2021 StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 39
    Not liking the rumor that the RAM is still packaged with the CPU and can't be upgraded. That is going to be a major issue with users that need a lot of RAM for their projects. Apple could mitigate this if they include an extremely fast SSD along the lines of the one in the PS5 that can move 5.5 GB a second. Memory swapping could be a thing again.
    Apple already has fast SSDs in all of their Macs and with only 16GB of max ram they depend heavily on swap memory, which appears to work very well. As for throughput, they run around 2.7 and 3.5 GB/s max sustained read/write. While the PS5's 5.5 GB/s SSD speed is impressive it's probably not going to boost swap speeds for a lot of the small files the operating system will utilize but it will give a boost to loading times for large graphic files (worlds) that PS5 games need.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 39
    MplsPMplsP Posts: 4,002member
    Not liking the rumor that the RAM is still packaged with the CPU and can't be upgraded. That is going to be a major issue with users that need a lot of RAM for their projects. Apple could mitigate this if they include an extremely fast SSD along the lines of the one in the PS5 that can move 5.5 GB a second. Memory swapping could be a thing again.
    Considering the current models have the exact same RAM capacities, I fail to see the issue. 
    You’ll probably be shocked to learn that many people consider the non-upgradable RAM and SSD to be an issue in the current models, so it’s not a surprise that it’s an issue for the new models, too. 
    muthuk_vanalingamwilliamlondon
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