Apple's Mac Mini Redesign For 2024 May Shun Your USB-A Devices
Apple has quite a few hardware refreshes that are now right around the corner, including its upcoming iPhone 16 lineup and a new generation of AirPods, both of which are expected to be unveiled at is Glowtime event next week. Coming just a tad later, some M4 Mac refreshes are on the horizon as well. That includes the Mac mini, which is reportedly getting the "most dramatic new design" of all of Apple's upcoming product launches. Part of what makes the redesign so dramatic is the reported dismissal of USB Type-A connectivity.
That tidbit comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who states in his most recent Power On newsletter that the Mac mini is getting first big overhaul since the original model released way back in 2010.
"Just to put that into perspective: The last time there was a Mac mini redesign, preorders of the iPhone 4 had just begun," Gurman states.
Gurman had previously tipped that the next Mac mini will be the tiniest computer Apple ever built, with a more compact footprint than previous iterations. It will also get an engine upgrade to Apple's M4 silicon, with Apple seemingly set to skip the M3 (the last Mac mini we reviewed was the M1 model in 2020) in favor of its latest-generation hardware.
A smaller size and an upgrade to the M4 lineup aren't really surprising design choices. However, what some Mac mini fans might find to be the most jarring alteration is Apple drop kicking USB-A connectivity. For reference, the current-generation Mac mini (powered by M2 silicon) features a LAN port, two (M2) or four (M2 Pro) Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and two USB-A (5Gbps) ports.
The upcoming M4 Pro version of the Mac mini is said to retain the LAN port, HDMI connector, and 3.5mm audio jack, but will ditch the USB-A ports in favor of five USB-C ports, including three on the back and two in front. It's not mentioned what the regular M4 Mac mini's connectivity will look like, but we imagine will be similar, just with fewer USB-C ports.
It's an interesting decision, considering how prevalent USB-A devices are in the wild, compared to USB-C devices. More over, this could be indicative of a wider effort to abandon USB-A altogether from Apple devices, including next year's Mac Pro and Mac Studio refreshes. USB-C, while not as ubiquitous as USB-A, is no longer the new kid on the block—the standard was introduced over a decade ago.
We'll find out soon enough—according to Gurman, suppliers are scheduled to start shipping M4 Mac mini devices from China to global warehouses early this month, with the M4 Pro models shipping next month.
